Mystery man: hunt turns to Ulster

Could this small plastic bottle found on the man’s body be a link to his identity? The empty bottle carries a label printed in English and Arabic for Thyroxine Sodium, used to treat underactive thyroid conditions

THE mystery man who died on Saddleworth moor could be a grandfather who vanished from a hospital in Northern Ireland almost 22 years ago.

For six weeks, detectives from Oldham CID have been doggedly sifting for clues since the elderly man’s body was found near a track at Dovestone, Greenfield.

Now the search for clues has taken a dramatic turn with police asking for DNA samples from a family in Northern Ireland.

Hugh Toner, aged 78, has not been seen since he went missing from a hospital in County Armagh on February 7, 1994.

Speaking from the family’s Armagh home, his only son, Sean, said: “We have been searching for my father for more than 20 years. We have not heard a thing from him since he walked out of hospital in the middle of the night in his bare feet, wearing just a vest and pyjama bottoms.

“He simply vanished into thin air without trace. But someone must have helped him... Someone must know where he is...

“We have heard absolutely nothing. Not a call, letter, postcard to any of the family.”

Sean said: “When I saw CCTV of the man walking down the steps I thought it could be dad. It was the way he walked and lifted his head.

“We have provided DNA samples to police in Northern Ireland and I have spoken several times to Det Sgt John Coleman who is heading the inquiry in Oldham.”

Sean added his father developed mental issues after injuring his back in Swindon and admitted himself to hospital in Northern Ireland. “I saw him just before he disappeared and he was very nervous,” he said.

An initial post-mortem into a cause of death on the man proved inconclusive and police are waiting for toxicology reports and the results of a secondary post mortem examination.