St Osyth: Skeletal remains in cowboy boots identified by police

The remains of William 'Bill' Long were found in Cockett Wick Lane, St Osyth, in April 2019

Skeletal remains of a man found wearing a pair of cowboy boots in a scrapyard three years ago have been identified.

The remains of William "Bill" Long were found in Cockett Wick Lane, St Osyth in Essex, in April 2019.

The identity of Mr Long, who was from the Tendring area and would now be in his 70s, was established by police after extensive inquiries.

Mr Long's sister Patricia said the family lost contact with him following their father's death in 1996.

Essex Police believed Mr Long was last seen, or believed to be alive, between March 1999 and March 2000 and had a girlfriend who had moved to Australia at about that time.

The death of Mr Long is being treated as homicide, though detectives said they were keeping an open mind.

The identity of Mr Long, who was from the Tendring area and would now be in his 70s, has been established three years after his remains were found in the village near Clacton

Police issued photos of the cowboy boots found with the skeletal remains as they tried to establish who had died

Mr Long's sister said she was desperate to know what happened to her brother, who had lived in the seaside village of Jaywick with their father.

"He was vulnerable and an easy target for scammers and we feel so guilty that we didn't go back to Jaywick to make sure he was OK," she said.

"The next thing we knew was when detectives came and told us Bill's remains had been found.

"It's so difficult to deal with grief and guilt when we don't know what happened."

The death of Mr Long is being treated as foul play, though detectives said they were keeping an open mind

Det Insp Kevin Hughes, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "The process to identify Bill has been measured and methodical.

"Bill's family have been told and they now have the chance to lay him to rest.

"They have questions about what happened to him and our focus now is to get them answers.

"We're keeping an open mind as to what happened to Bill and how he came to be where he was found.

"I need anyone who knew Bill, saw him, spoke to him or has any information about him or his life at the time he was last seen to come forward and speak to my team."

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]