Brother of one of the 'Milk Carton Kids' dies aged 39 without knowing what happened to his missing sibling, 13, who vanished with his friend, 11, on Boxing Day in 1996

The brother of one of the 'Milk Carton Kids' has died aged 39 without knowing what happened to his missing sibling, who was 13 when he vanished 30 years ago. Lee O'Toole spent three decades searching for answers over the disappearance of his brother David Spencer, and his brother's friend Patrick 'Paddy' Warren, 11. The pair disappeared without a trace on Boxing Day in 1996. The schoolboys had been out playing in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, and detectives initially treated them as runaways, saying there was no evidence to suspect they had come to any harm.David and Patrick became known across the country as the 'Milk Carton Kids' after police printed appeals for information on milk containers in a bid to trace them.But the bodies of the pair have never been found despite numerous appeals and searches over the years.The last known sighting of them was at a petrol station at 12.45am on December 27, 1996.A Channel 4 documentary claimed child-killer Brian Field had been seen with the boys in the days before they vanished. Friends Patrick Warren, 11, (left) and David Spencer, 13, (right) went out to play on December 26, 1996, but never returned home In 2016, David's brother Lee O'Toole (pictured) spoke for the first time about his family's agony ahead of the 20th anniversary of the disappearanceIn 2021, Lee – who was nine when his brother disappeared – led a dig near to a football ground after receiving a tip-off following the TV show.Hundreds of volunteers helped search land off Damson Wood Lane, near Solihull Moors FC, but no trace of the boys was found.Devastated family members have now revealed Lee passed away on September 16 without ever knowing what happened to his brother.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 all know Lee 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.'Lee was the strongest man we know and we want him to be remembered for his bravery and determination in everything he did.'We know now that Lee will have the answers he has always wanted and will be with David and that's all he ever wanted.'So thank you to each and every one of you for all your love and support you gave him, God bless you all.'Rest in paradise Lee, you will be forever missed and loved so so much by us.'Fly high our beautiful angel until we meet again, we love you, Love Marie and your babies.'One well-wisher commented: '(I'm) shocked. I knew Lee really well and grew up in Chelmsley Wood and knew the boys who went missing.'Sad times all round and I hope you rest in peace bro. You were a top man and would do anything for anyone. Sleep tight bro.'Another added: 'This is so heartbreaking. I hope you and your brother are together in heaven.'A GoFundMe page set up to raise money towards Lee's funeral has reached over £2,600.The page reads: 'Hi we are Lee's family, and since Lee has passed on the 16th September we have had a numerous amounts of beautiful messages and kind words and condolences from lots of people which we will be forever grateful for.'We have been asked by a number of people if they could gift money to help towards Lee's funeral. Lee O'Toole, with a group of volunteers, began a dig in Solihull in 2021 Left to right: David Spencer's brother Lee, Craig, and Chris Cullen David's brother, Lee, was part of a group carrying out the unofficial dig in Solihull, West Midlands'This is not something as a family we want to do, but we realised the amount of love and support from people who also loved Lee and would like to help us give him the send-off he truly deserves. We really appreciate this with all our hearts.'So we have set this up for those people who would like to gift towards Lee's funeral.'Under current circumstances we do not yet have any date set for Lee's funeral, once funeral arrangements have been confirmed we will share this information with everyone.'Again a massive thank you to everyone at this difficult time.'Speaking at the time of the dig, Lee had said he had decided to act after they received 'credible' new information following the TV programme.Lee said: 'The community is doing what the police should do.'A man contacted me directly to say he had seen a man digging in a field off Damson Wood Lane, near Solihull Moors Football Club, at the time they disappeared.'Apparently he's been telling the police for years and they've never acted on it.'I don't know what more police need. They've left me no choice other than to put the shovel in the ground.'It wasn't the first time land near the football club has been searched for the two boys.In 2003, police announced that they had arrested a 37-year-old man in connection with the disappearances but he was later released on bail and has never been charged.In 2006, the police announced they were 'closer than ever' to solving the mystery of what happened but no one has ever been charged with their abduction.Following the review of the case in 2006, convicted murderer and paedophile Brian Field was interviewed by officers.Field denied any involvement in the boys' disappearance and police said he was just one line of enquiry in their investigation.He was living in Solihull when he was stopped for drink-driving in 1999.He was jailed for life in 2001 for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Surrey schoolboy Roy Tutill, killed in 1968.Field died in prison in February 2024 at the age of 87.Patrick and David went out to play on December 26, 1996, but never returned.The pair were spotted by a police officer with a group of their friends playing on Meriden Lake, Birmingham, which was frozen.The youngsters were told to go home and warned of the dangers of playing on the ice. It was after returning home that the pair told their parents of their plans to visit one of Patrick's brothers.The last known sighting of them was at a Shell petrol station in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, just after midnight, where an attendant gave them a packet of biscuits.They were reported missing the following morning and a nationwide investigation was launched.But despite numerous high-profile appeals, including detectives questioning a convicted child killer who lived nearby, the boys have never been found. In 2016, at a press conference marking the 20th anniversary of their disappearance, Mr O'Toole said: 'He was like my backbone. If I ever needed anyone I would go to him.'He liked boxing and he was an outgoing person. He looked out for me. I had someone to talk to and look up to.'He was a role model, someone I wanted to be like when I was older. All that's gone.'Patrick was a good friend of his, they hadn't known each other for too long. We didn't celebrate Christmas for years. It's the wrong time of year.'I remember getting up the next day and mum dad were talking about how he'd not come home. That day didn't come. It hasn't come.'I celebrate Christmas at the minute for my kids, but not personally. I have nightmares and sleep deprivation. It's tough, it's very tough to live with.'I always think of him. Not a day goes by when I don't think of him in one way, shape or form.'I'm convinced there's someone out there who knows something. Please, I'm begging come forward. Even with the littlest piece of information.'It will help my family be able to move on. It's an empty void in our life.'I've come to terms that he's no longer here, he's dead, but it's the not knowing. We need to find out where he is and put it to rest for the family's sake.'Every day is like a rollercoaster. It's been rough and it will be like that until we get closure.'It's horrible, everyone you talk to says that they want to get this for the kids and that for the kids but my mum lost her kid and I lost my brother.'In 2021, Lee had led a dig on land off Damson Wood Lane, near Solihull Moors FC, to find their remains after organisers say they received 'credible' new information following the TV programme.At the time, he said: 'The community is doing what the police should do. A man contacted me directly to say he had seen a man digging in a field off Damson Wood Lane, near Solihull Moors Football Club, at the time they disappeared. Timeline on the disappearance of the 'Milk Carton Kids' The news coverage at the time shows how the boys' families from Chelmsley Wood - a sprawling, working class estate on the edge of Birmingham - appealed for information 1996 – Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, disappeared on Boxing Day after playing together near their home in Chelmsley Wood, SolihullPolice initially believed they were two streetwise children who had run away from home. 1997 – Four months after their last sighting, the boys became the first children to appear on four-pint milk cartons in 770 Iceland stores, as part of a campaign by the National Missing Persons Helpline.The initiative was copied from the US where it had been running since 1979 when six-year-old Etan Patz had gone missing in New York.The charity hoped it would provide vital leads on the whereabouts of Patrick and David. But after four weeks the families were still in the dark as to where they had gone. The boys were last seen just after midnight on December 27, 1997, at a Shell petrol station where the attendant gave the pair a packet of biscuits before they walked off 2006 – Ten years after their disappearance, the case was treated as a murder investigation, despite the absence of bodies.A full forensic investigation was conducted of the boys' houses, which revealed nothing untoward and checks were made of the sex offenders register – which did not exist when the pair went missing – to find out if any known paedophiles were living in the vicinity at around that time.Police discovered that paedophile and convicted child killer Brian Field was living only a few miles away from Patrick and David in Solihull when they went missing.In 1999, three years after the boys went missing, Field, a former farm labourer, was arrested for drink-driving in Chelmsley Wood.A DNA sample taken from him matched him to the 1968 rape and murder of schoolboy Roy Tutill in Surrey. A computer generated image shows how David (left) and Patrick (right) would have looked nas older teenagers several years after they had disappeared When Patrick and David's disappearance was reviewed in 2006, Field was named as a suspect.He was questioned by detectives and officers also dug up land he used as a dumping ground at Old Damson Lane in Solihull.But without evidence, in the face of his denial of any knowledge of the boys, they were unable to progress the case further.2020 – Police found human bones at a building site just three miles from the spot where the boys vanished.They dashed hopes by revealing that the remains pre-dated 1996. 2021 – Channel 4 documentary 'In the Footsteps of Killers' claims child-killer Brian Field had been seen with the boys in the days before they vanished.David's brother Lee O'Toole, 34, who was nine when his sibling disappeared, is now leading a dig on land off Damson Wood Lane, near Solihull Moors FC, after organisers say they received 'credible' new information following the TV programme.