THE brother of a boy who vanished with his pal nearly thirty years ago has died aged just 39, without knowing what happened to his sibling.
Lee O’Toole spearheaded the campaign to find , who disappeared on Boxing Day, 1996.
Dubbed the “Milk Carton Kids” after appeals were printed on milk containers, the boys mysteriously vanished from Chelmsey Wood, Birmingham, and have never been found.
Now Lee, who was just nine years old at the time of his brother’s , has tragically died, with tributes flooding in from friends and family.
Lee’s daughter wrote online: “I love you so much dad, I hope you and David are so happy in heaven.
“See you soon my angels.”
A post on the Milk Carton Kids’ social media page said: “I am writing this with a very heavy heart but Lee O-Toole, David’s brother, passed away on September 16.
“As you know Lee had done everything in his powers to try to find his brother and Paddy and constantly told us how grateful he was to everyone in the community and everyone who helped during the dig in 2021.”
Another post read: “Absolutely shocked and stunned.
“Spent many hours at the dig with Lee and his family, he was such a lovely soul, and still so young.”
Lee led a community dig back in 2021 on a patch of behind Solihull Moors Football Club for several months.
No evidence relating to the case was found, but Lee was commended for his “bravery and determination” in his efforts to find them.
It followed a “credible” tip-off that , a convicted paedophile and , had been seen digging near the site around the time the boys went missing.
The last known sighting of the schoolboys was at a petrol station at around midnight on December 27, 1996.
The best friends had gone outside to play that evening, with Patrick leaving on his brand new bicycle and David on foot.
The red Apollo bike was later found abandoned behind the petrol station near the bins.
A search operation was launched the following day, although cops reportedly thought the boys were just hiding.
In April the following year, they became .
The milk was distributed in 770 Iceland shops, thanks to a campaign ran by the National Missing Persons Helpline.
Various arrests have been made in relation to the case – although none have led to answers.
West Midlands Police arrested and released on bail a 37-year-old in 2003.
In 2006, the cops said they were “closer than ever before” to solving the tragic mystery but no one was ever charged.
Killer Field was interviewed by cops that same year, but ultimately denied any involvement in the boys’ disappearance.
just three miles from where the kids were last spotted back in 2020 – sparking new hopes the mystery would be solved 24 years on.
However, after extensive forensic analysis, the results devastatingly came back as negative.
David’s Mum during the probe.
She told the Mail : “If it is Paddy and David then I’m just glad to be able to lay them to rest.
“Hopefully, we can bury them together – have a double funeral.”
A GoFundMe page for Lee has been set up to collect funds for his funeral, with £2500 raised so far.
