Age: 40-50
Sex: male
Date: 24 Apr 1908
Place: Canford Cliffs, Lilliput, Parkstone, Poole
Leonard Adey vanished on 7 October 1905.
A skeleton was found in 1908 which was thought to have been his.
The skeleton was found by a man that was walking near to Canford Cliffs in some woods at Lilliput, Parkstone near to Sandy Lane across the common in some trees and furze. He said that he first saw what appeared to be a man's head on the ground. He said that when he then went closer he saw what he was convinced were the remains of a human being, saying that the bones of the legs were exposed and that one was in a boot.
He said that he also saw some coppers and silver coins on the ground, apparently raked out by a dog and said that he then picked them up.
The jobbing gardener said that he then went to Bourne Valley and told the police what he had found and took them back to the spot.
He said that he had been across the common the same way many times and had never noticed anything before. He said that the road was about 50 or 60 yards away but that the path across the common was only 5 yards from the spot where the skeleton was found and added that he had been 12 yards away from the spot the previous summer. However, he said that in the summer the spot would have been covered in bracken and that at the time that he had found it, April, the ground was practically bare.
The policeman that went to see the skeleton said that he found it with one leg doubled up underneath it and the other partly covered over with roots of ivy and bracken. He said that there were only portions of clothing left and that upon examination he found a knife, clay pipe, two pieces of lead pencil, tobacco and matches. He said that the spot was surrounded by small fir trees, furze and brambles.
He said that he then collected the remains and took them to Poole Mortuary.
The policeman said that he then made enquiries respecting Leonard Adey who had been reported missing from his lodgings in the middle of October 1905 and that when he went to see Leonard Adey's landlady and showed her some of the remains she immediately identified them as being his property.
When the police went back to the spot where the skeleton was found they also found some bone buttons and the remains of some spectacles.
When the remains were examined by a doctor he said that there were no marks of violence on the skull and said that the spine was complete and so he could not have died from hanging. He also said that the man's hands were quite intact and folded over half closed which he said was an important fact as it indicated that his death had not been due to violence in any way. The doctor also added that the skeleton had been there for over two years and thought that death had been due to natural causes.
The landlady at the house where Leonard Adey had lived on Jubilee Road in Branksome said that Leonard Adey had been a lodger with her in October 1905 and that he had been with her for 4 years and 7 months. She said that he was 50 years old and that she last saw him on 6 October 1905 and that he had left her house on 7 October. She said that he didn't give her any notice about leaving. She said that he had been a general labourer and that he had been out of work for the previous fortnight. She added that she had heard nothing of him since. She said that he had never had any illness except neuralgia whilst he was with her and didn't know if he had ever had a fit.
She said that Leonard Adey was a very honest and temperate man and described what he had been wearing and identified the buttons found as having come from his coat. She also identified his boots which she said that Leonard Adey had repaired himself having put in several protectors on the sole.
At the inquest the jury said that they were satisfied that the skeleton found was the remains of Leonard Adey and returned a verdict of Found Dead, stating that there was no evidence to show how his death was caused.
see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
see Western Gazette - Friday 24 April 1908