Police lock down Oldham park after ‘stays’ discovered by member of public
Police closed an entire park in Oldham today after remains were found – one witness said they saw police going into the park carrying shovels and called the situtation ‘shocking’
A park in Oldham has been locked down by police after a member of the public found “remains”.
It is not yet clear if the remains belong to a human or animal and officers from Greater Manchester Police are still investigating the matter.
Police were called to Werneth Park on Frederick Street in Oldham at around 2:40pm today after a member of public found some sort of item. Officers taped the scene off from the public and the whole park was shut. One local said he saw police cars and vans go into the park and some officers attend “with shovels”.
According to the Manchester Evening News, he said: “There were loads of police cars and vans, they parked up and all went into the park, just now I saw some of them going in with shovels.”
He added: “I don’t know what to think of it. It’s messed up. Pretty shocking. You just hope it is animal remains. This is a park where you have the elderly going, kids, the last thing you want is human remains.”
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: “At around 2.40pm today (Friday 28 March 2025), we were called to reports of a suspicion item being found by a member of the public in Werneth Park on Frederick Street in Oldham. Officers remain at the scene and investigations are ongoing.
“This is an isolated incident and there is no threat or risk to the local community .It is believed that the item which has been found are remains from a human or an animal. At this early stage in the investigation we cannot confirm who the remains belong to.”
Earlier this week, a family revealed their ‘tragic loss’ after human remains were found close to Stoke-on-Trent
DNA evidence linked the remains to missing Darren Green, who disappeared in July last year. The death of the 42-year-old from Stoke is not being treated as suspicious.
The remains were discovered on March 2 by a member of the public near Festival Park in Etruria, close to Stoke-on-Trent.
Green’s family thanked police in a moving statement. They said: “We have been informed of the tragic loss of Darren. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody affected by this.
“We would like to thank the emergency services and Staffordshire Police for their professionalism, care and understanding and ask that our privacy be respected at this sad time.”
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