1. A Child is Missing

For more than 20 years the case of the murder of six-year-old Rikki Neave went unsolved. In this new ten part investigation, award-winning journalist Winifred Robinson, has unearthed the truth through unprecedented access to police interview rooms, and follows the investigation as the police move in on the perpetrator.It's a haunting and heart-breaking case filled with injustice, a story of vulnerable children, known to the authorities who should have been protected, a tale of lives wasted and cut short. You'll hear original police tapes never broadcast before, fresh testimony from suspects and witnesses, new and compelling evidence from forensic scientists. The series takes you inside the jury room and abroad as the manhunt closes in.Close friends of Rikki, who were themselves vulnerable children, explain for the first time how a lively and mischievous six-year-old was an easy target for a killer who would kill him in the woods near his home in Peterborough and lay out his body in a macabre star shape. Rikki's death came to shape all their lives. Winifred Robinson, the reporter, and Sue Mitchell, the series producer, are an award-winning BBC documentary team. They have worked together for 20 years on high profile cases, interviewing the father of James Bulger. His son's killing provoked huge interest in Rikki’s case. In Episode One of The Boy in the Woods the BBC Journalist, Winifred Robinson, tracks the last hours before six-year-old Rikki was reported missing. He was late setting off for school that day. His mother, Ruth, watched him as he quickly ate his breakfast and then she caught sight of him just before he went out the front door: it was the last time she would ever see him alive again. The Boy in the Woods is Presented by BBC Journalist, Winifred Robinson; the Series Producer is Sue Mitchell Sound Design is by Tom Brignall