Mary Ellen body in cellar mystery led man to long-lost mum

For the next 50 years he was left with nagging questions about what had happened to his mother.

He had very little information, a vague idea of where his mother had been living in Bolton, and a rough idea of when she disappeared, and a few photographs.

Last year, at Matthew’s request, GMP took another look at his mother’s disappearance.

He had feared she was dead and “something had happened at the time of her disappearance”.

But Matthew said he was shocked to learn from the force that she was alive.

“It just turned everything upside down,” he said.

Matthew said police could not give him his mother’s contact details, but were able to pass on a letter from him.

About three months after he wrote the letter, Matthew got a phone call from his mother, and they spoke for the first time in 50 years.

He said they started to speak on a regular basis, but it was a “real rollercoaster of emotions” for the first few weeks.

Shortly afterwards, they held a video call and and he saw his mother for the first time in five decades.

Actually seeing her was “another milestone”, he said.

Months later, the mother and son met in person for the first time.

He recalled saying “Hello mum” and sharing a big hug with her.

“She was in fear of her life, and in fear of her children’s lives” and had to make a decision that “no mother should ever have to make to escape a violent partner”, he said.

Series 1 and 2 of The Forgotten Dead: The Body in the Cellar, are on BBC Sounds.