Clacton man William 'Bill' Long identified as unearthed skeleton

Det Insp Kevin Hughes, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, led a press conference this morning at a former scrapyard in St Osyth.

The Cockett Wick Lane site, which is set to be developed on, became a crime scene in April 2019 after skeletal remains were discovered by an unsuspecting site worker.

The body of bones, which were found with a pair of distinctive leather cowboy boots, prompted the start of an unprecedented investigation which is still ongoing today.

After a painstaking three years, police have now confirmed the skeleton belongs to William ‘Bill’ Long, from the Clacton area, who would have today been in his 70s.

In order to get to this point, specialist officers have worked with a forensic anthropologist and reviewed historic local and national missing person reports.

They had also made extensive inquiries with the likes of the NHS, Department of Work and Pensions and various financial institutions.

According to Det Insp Hughes, however, the process of deciphering his identity has been particularly difficult due to the fact he was not listed on a missing persons’ database.

There was also no record of Mr Long on any national police database, nor any CCTV footage, telecommunications information or nearby witness accounts to explore.

“It has been a challenging case and it has been an unusual case because we like to consider ourselves good at what we do,” said Det Insp Hughes.

“When someone loses their life as a result of a homicide, I am very glad to say we can usually very quickly identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

“But on this occasion it has taken as long as it has taken and that is because of the methodical and meticulous investigation we have needed to implement from the outset.

“Throughout this, however, we have remained steadfast and we still want to provide justice for Bill’s family and we are not going to stop working until we do.”

Mr Long, who lived in Jaywick with his dad until his death in 1996, was believed to have moved to Australia with his then girlfriend.

The police, however, have now said Mr Long, who was last seen between March 1999 and March 2000, could have actually been living at the scrapyard where he died.

He apparently worked casual shifts at the site and was also a keyholder, so he could come and go as he pleased and was familiar with the area.

Det Insp Hughes confirmed a murder investigation has now officially been launched.

He added: “In the early days, weeks and months of the investigation, we were assisted by crime scene experts and forensic teams to try to understand if how the skeleton was presented might help us explain how Bill died.

“There was no evidence on the skeletal remains to suggest Bill had been subjected to a violent attack in terms of broken bones, but it is an unusual location for a body to be found.

“This feeds into the hypnosis that perhaps there was some third party involvement and so we have declared this as a homicide investigation, although we do remain open minded.”

Since Mr Long's identification, his heartbroken family have said they are struggling to deal with the "grief and guilt."

His sister Patricia has spoken out for the first time since police confirmed the bones discovered in Cockett Wick Lane belonged to her brother.

According to Patricia, Mr Long and his relatives, including his brother, lost contact after their father died in 1996 and it was their understanding Mr Long had moved abroad.

She said: “After our father died, we lost contact with Bill and we are desperate for information about what happened to him.

“He was vulnerable and an easy target for scammers and we feel so guilty we didn’t go back to Jaywick to make sure he was OK.

“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.

“If you are afraid and want to remain anonymous, this can be arranged. Please help us with anything you know.”

Det Insp Hughes said finally being able to identify the remains was vital.

He added: “When I first took over the case in 2020, my first objective was to establish who had died and identify any surviving family members and provide them with a first-class service.

“We have reached out to Bill’s family and established his main points of contact as being his sister and his brother.

“They have been able to tell us about what his life was like and the lifestyle he led and also described him as vulnerable, which is a concern.

“But, they thought he was living his life in Australia, so they were devastated by the news of Bill’s loss.

“I then wanted to establish how the individual died and, if there was a third party involved, to bring them to justice. 

“Quite rightly, his family has a lot of questions and we remain determined to get them the answers they need.”

Det Insp Hughes also said, although the most recent development signifies positive progress, the investigation will still forever remain tainted by a sense of sadness.

“We would not have got here without the support of the public and those who had a connection to the scrapyard,” he added. 

“As a team, to invest this amount of time and resource into trying to get to where we have got to over the last three years, there is a sense of satisfaction.

“But, that is, of course, coupled with the bitter sweetness of having to then go and give that sensitive and emotive news to a family - it was so important we got that right.”

Anyone with information about Mr Long's death can call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting crime reference number 42/64620/1.