Police have launched a fresh appeal for information on the disappearance of two east Belfast schoolboys more than 50 years ago.
David Leckey, 11, went missing from Memel Street, and Jonathan Aven, 14, from Sydenham Drive in September 1969. They were never found.
The circumstances surrounding their disappearance remain unknown, and the case is still open.
The PSNI believe the boys may have taken a train to Bangor before disappearing and have urged anyone who may have seen them in any circumstances over the past 56 years to come forward.
David’s family said they had “no indication that he was unhappy or in trouble of any kind and didn’t think he would ever have left home” when he went missing.
Jonathan was described by his father as a “happy little boy” who attended Ashfield Boys, “which he seemed to like and appeared to be doing well at.”
A PSNI spokesperson said the families of the boys have endured “unimaginable pain” since their disappearance.
They added: “More than 50 years have now passed since both David and Jonathan went missing.
“Their families have suffered over these years not knowing what happened to them on the day they left their home addresses.
“The pain and suffering of not knowing throughout the years must be unimaginable. Our thoughts very much remain with the families of both David and Jonathan at this time.”
The boys were featured in Lost Boys, a 2023 documentary that looked at the disappearances of five Belfast children between 1969 and 1974.
It explores possible links to a network of paedophiles in the city, including individuals connected to the Kincora Boys’ Home and loyalist paramilitaries, and suggests British intelligence may have protected those involved.
Anyone with information about the boys’ disappearances is asked to contact the PSNI Legacy Investigation Branch on 101, by email at LIBEnquiries@psni.pnn.police.uk quoting reference RM14009442, or via the online non-emergency reporting form.
Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
