Streetwise

On Boxing Day 1996, 13-year-old David Spencer and his 11-year-old friend Patrick Warren disappeared from their homes in Chelmsley Wood near Birmingham. They've never been found. Unlike other high-profile missing persons cases involving children - such as Maddie McCann, Ben Needham, and Milly Dowler - the boys' disappearance barely caused a ripple of media interest beyond the local area. Partly, this was due to police suggesting they might have run away, or been 'playing a game'. Twenty years later, journalist Lauren Potts was commissioned to write a feature article on the case for the BBC. Now, she tells her story. About how the people on the estate have become deeply mistrustful of both the police and the media - and of how the boys may well have been let down by the authorities because they were deemed to be 'Streetwise lads' rather than vulnerable children. Read Lauren's BBC article - 'The Mystery of the Milk Carton Kids' from 2016: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37999316 Check out Lauren's other writing on her website: https://www.laurenpotts.co.uk/ If you have any story ideas for future episodes of Caught Up in Crime - you can email them to [email protected] or contact me at [email protected] Connect with me on LinkedIn Or Facebook Or Instagram Artwork by Spencer Wilson Music by Premium Beat Theme: Noir Guitar by Jonathan Boyle Tracks featured in this episode: Hacking by La Cigale Nighthawks by Cosmo Lawson Jaded by Cosmo Lawson Quiet Winter Piano by Sunshime Music Heavy Hearts by Little Red Church