Patrick Warren | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 January 1985 |
| Disappeared | 27 December 1996 (age 11) Solihull, West Midlands, England |
| Status | Missing for 27 years and 11 months |
| Nationality | British |
| Height | 4 ft 10 in (147 cm) |
David Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 December 1983 |
| Disappeared | 27 December 1996 (age 13) Solihull, West Midlands, England |
| Status | Missing for 27 years and 11 months |
| Nationality | British |
| Height | 4 ft 7 in (140 cm) |
Patrick Warren (b. 1985) and David Spencer (b. 1983) were two English schoolboys who disappeared on 27 December 1996 in the town of Solihull, near Birmingham. Although initially treated by the police as runaways, they are now presumed deceased.[1] Despite a BBC Crimewatch special report on the boys, along with numerous appeals from both their families, the case remains unsolved.[2]
Brian Lunn Field,[3] convicted paedophile and sex offender, emerged as the prime suspect in the case after his 2001 conviction for the abduction, rape and murder of 14-year-old Roy Tutill in 1968. Field lived in Solihull in 1996 and is known to have been driving around in a white van in the vicinity of the boys' last known location on the night of their disappearance, while under the influence of alcohol. He had previously been convicted in 1986 of abducting two boys in his car and attempting to rape them. Police interviewed Field in prison on multiple occasions about the boys' disappearance and suspected him of killing them, but did not have sufficient evidence to charge him. He died in prison in February 2024.[4]