The headquarters of the Barton manhunt was the focus of a large-scale operation. As the local paper pointed out, ‘The top men from the CID’ were there, including the Deputy Chief Constable, Albert Brown, who knew the area very well indeed. Thirty-nine men travelled from Grimsby and Scunthorpe every day, so the small town on the Humber had to adapt sharply and provide for them. The scale was enormous, but led to no arrest.