![]() ![]() Hanlon was described as being just 4 ft 2in (130 cm) in height and was last seen wearing a brown cardigan, a fawn patterned pullover, and blue jeans. Missing persons posters distributed described Blatchford as 5 ft (150 cm) in height and wearing a green raincoat with red, stitched pockets, a floral blouse, and brown corduroy slacks. Investigators quickly discounted any possibility of the children having run away, as neither had taken any personal possessions and the two had only recently become acquainted at Albany School. This shared interest had been a major factor in the children's friendship. He enjoyed exercise, and his one great love was football. Hanlon was the youngest of three siblings. By contrast, Hanlon, although described by his family as a "plucky boy", was shy by comparison. Furthermore, at the time of her disappearance, Blatchford was markedly excited about the upcoming wedding of her sister Linda, in which she was to be a bridesmaid. Read quickly discovered Blatchford-the youngest of four sisters-was the more confident character of the two, and although she occasionally experimented with make-up and had recently begun flirting with boys her age, was very much a tomboy and enjoyed playing football, climbing trees and playing with boys' toys such as Hornby train sets. On 1 April, Superintendent Read visited both families to learn more about their children's friendship. Concern for the children's welfare was heightened by the fact that on the night of their disappearance the temperature had fallen below freezing point, and the morning of 1 April saw a snowfall across Enfield. This operation was headed by Chief Superintendent Leonard Read, and at peak 600 officers were assigned full-time to the case. The following day, the Metropolitan Police launched an intense manhunt to locate the children. Missing person reports were filed by both sets of parents at Ponders End police station at approximately 8 p.m. No known subsequent sightings of the two were reported to police. On this occasion, the two were seen walking across a nearby field. The final verifiable sighting of Blatchford and Hanlon occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. The two are known to have walked down Marrilyne Avenue hand-in-hand, with Hanlon holding his football beneath one arm. His mother agreed, upon the promise he would return in one hour for dinner. According to Beryl, Blatchford simply asked the question, "Is Gary there?" Shortly after her son joined his friend outside the front door, he asked his mother for permission to join his friend for a walk. Hanlon's mother, Beryl, answered the door. on the afternoon of 31 March 1970, 11-year-old Susan Blatchford left her home in Riley Road, Enfield, North London, to call at the home of her school friend, 12-year-old Gary Hanlon, who lived in nearby Marrilyne Avenue. They also became known by this epithet as the coroner was unable to determine if they died of exposure or foul play at the initial inquest into their deaths, leaving an initial possibility the children had died by misadventure. īlatchford and Hanlon became known as the "Babes in the Wood" due to the location of their murders and subsequent discovery of their bodies. Jebson subsequently died in prison in 2015. He was convicted of both murders in May 2000. The case remained unsolved for almost thirty years until 61-year-old Jebson, serving a life sentence for the 1974 murder of an eight-year-old girl named Rosemary Papper, confessed to their rape and murder in 1998. ![]() Their bodies were discovered on 17 June, 78 days after the two were reported missing by their parents. The victims, Susan Muriel Blatchford (age 11) and Gary John Hanlon (age 12), were lured from an unknown location close to their North London homes into a copse on the outskirts of Epping Forest, where they were raped and murdered by known paedophile Ronald Jebson. The Babes in the Wood murders are the murders of two children which occurred in a copse in Sewardstone, Essex on 31 March 1970.
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