Channel 4 commissions Mystery of the Man on the Moor documentary

14 months ago, a tall, grey-haired man in his late 60s was seen asking for directions to the top of a moorland mountain in the Peak District, only to be found dead a day later at local beauty spot Dovestone Reservoir.

After being tested last March it was revealed that he’d died from a dose of strychnine – one of the most painful ways to ingest poison – but CCTV evidence and his personal possessions couldn’t answer the mystery of exactly who he was, or what happened to him.

At least, until one month ago.

For the documentary Channel 4 have had access to the man working on the case, DS John Coleman of Greater Manchester Police, and the film will follow him and his team as they piece together the identity of the mysterious Moor Man from a combination of medical examinations and missing-persons reports.

“This film tells an extraordinary tale of mystery and intrigue through amazing long-term access,” Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Tom Porter said in a release.

“In a world where our every movement is seemingly tracked and monitored to the extreme, it’s almost unbelievable that someone can prove so hard to trace.”

Try to avoid looking up details before watching, then – because this sounds like a story worth experiencing.