Case No. DHF-099 | Subject: A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death on Moss Bank, Crumpsall, in north Manchester, in the early hours of Saturday 14 November 2026. Greater Manchester Police say initial enquiries suggest he was attacked by a number of men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, who fled toward Ash Tree Road. A murder investigation has been launched. No arrests have been made, and the man has not yet been publicly named. | Date: Saturday 14 November 2026 | Location: Moss Bank, Crumpsall, north Manchester, England, UK | Status: INVESTIGATION ONGOING
Posted: 14 November 2026
Status stamp: INVESTIGATION ONGOING
Why this file is stamped INVESTIGATION ONGOING: The stamp records only the position as it stands on 14 November 2026. In the early hours of Saturday 14 November 2026, a 27-year-old man was found with several stab wounds on Moss Bank, Crumpsall, and died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance. Greater Manchester Police have launched a murder investigation. No one has been arrested, no one has been charged, and the man has not yet been publicly named. A murder investigation is not a finding by a court, and no person has been accused of anything in this file. If the position changes — an arrest, a charge, a name, or any further official statement — this file will be updated, dated, and re-stamped if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten.
Image note for readers: All images in this file are original illustrations created for Dark History Files. They are atmospheric artwork, not photographs and not real evidence. No image in this file depicts the man who died, any member of any family, any investigator, any official, or any real person, and no image depicts any death, any injury, or any violence.
Caption: Case card for DHF-099 — the Crumpsall stabbing. Status: INVESTIGATION ONGOING.
THE FILE CARD
| Case File No. | DHF-099 |
| Subject | A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death on Moss Bank, Crumpsall, in north Manchester, in the early hours of Saturday 14 November 2026. Greater Manchester Police say initial enquiries suggest he was attacked by a number of men wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, who fled toward Ash Tree Road. A murder investigation has been launched. No arrests have been made, and the man has not yet been publicly named. |
| Date | Saturday 14 November 2026, shortly after 1.30 a.m. (see the note on the time in the Timeline). |
| Location | Moss Bank, Crumpsall, north Manchester, England, UK; the attackers are believed to have fled toward Ash Tree Road. |
| Status | INVESTIGATION ONGOING |
| Investigating authorities | Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Major Incident Team. Detective Inspector Neil Higginson, Senior Investigating Officer. The North West Ambulance Service reported the stabbing to police. |
| Victim | A 27-year-old man. He has not yet been publicly named. His family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. |
| Charged | No one. No arrests have been made. |
| One-line summary | A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death on a quiet residential street in north Manchester in the early hours of a Saturday morning, and the police are hunting a group of masked men who fled down the road. |
THE CASE
Saturday, half past one in the morning
Moss Bank is a residential street in Crumpsall, a suburb in the north of Manchester. In the early hours of Saturday 14 November 2026, it was quiet — the kind of street where, at half past one in the morning, the houses are dark and nothing is expected to happen. The first call came from the North West Ambulance Service. A man had been found on Moss Bank with several stab wounds, and the ambulance service reported it to Greater Manchester Police. The exact minute is not settled in the reporting, and this file records the difference rather than hiding it: the Press Association report, carried by Sky News, says officers were called shortly after 1.30 a.m.; the Oldham Times and the Bury Times put the call at around 1.35 a.m.; Hello Rayo puts it at approximately 1.34 a.m. All three agree on the substance and disagree only by a few minutes. This file says "shortly after 1.30 a.m." and leaves the minute open, because the sources do not agree and guessing would be worse than saying so.
Paramedics worked on the man at the scene and then in the ambulance. He was being taken to hospital for treatment. He did not reach it alive. Despite the efforts of the paramedics, he died from his injuries in the ambulance. That is the whole of what the reporting says about his final minutes. There is no description of the wounds beyond the words "several stab wounds", which are the reporting's own words, and no account of what happened to him in the ambulance beyond the paramedics' efforts and his death.
By the time the sun came up on Saturday, Moss Bank was a crime scene. Blue-and-white police tape closed the street. Crime Scene Investigation vans were parked across the road, and forensic officers in white protective suits worked behind the tape. The scene stayed in place through the day, and a second cordon went up on Ash Tree Road, the street the attackers are believed to have fled down.
The man on Moss Bank
The man who died was 27 years old. That is all the public record says about him so far. His name has not been released. No photograph of him has been published by the police. Nothing has been said about where he lived, what he did, or why he was on Moss Bank at half past one in the morning. None of that is in the reporting, and none of it is in this file.
His family have been informed. That is the one personal fact the police have released: his family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. The police have said nothing about what the family have been told, and this file does not speculate about them.
The absence of a name matters, and it should be stated plainly rather than filled in. A victim's name is usually released once the family have been told and formal identification has taken place. Here the family have been told — the police say so — but the name has still not been made public as of the writing of this file. It may be released in the next police update. Until it is, this file calls him what the police call him: a 27-year-old man.
The men in balaclavas
What the police have said about the attack itself is short, and every word of it is qualified. A murder investigation has been launched, and "initial enquiries suggest" the man was attacked by a number of men. The men are "believed to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas". The police "believe" they fled the scene in the direction of Ash Tree Road. No number of attackers has been given. No ages, no heights, no builds, no descriptions beyond the dark clothing and the balaclavas. No weapon has been described. No motive has been released.
Those qualifications are not hedging for the sake of it. They are the police saying, in the first hours of an investigation, what they think they know and how sure they are of it. "Initial enquiries suggest" means the picture comes from the first accounts and the first look at the scene, and it may change. This file repeats the police wording exactly, because the wording is the evidence of how much is known — and how much is not.
What can be said, on the police account, is this: more than one man was involved. They wore dark clothing. Their faces were covered. And after the attack they left the immediate scene in the direction of Ash Tree Road. That is the whole of the public description of the people the police are looking for, and the investigation's first task is to turn that description into names.
Nothing in the reporting says whether the man knew his attackers, or whether he was chosen at random, or whether the attack was planned. Nothing says whether anything was said before the attack, or whether anything was taken. Every one of those questions is open, and this file does not answer any of them, because no official source has.
The investigation
The investigation is being run by Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team, and its senior investigating officer is Detective Inspector Neil Higginson. He is the only officer named in the reporting, and his statement is the only official voice in the file so far. It was given to reporters on Saturday, and it is worth setting out in full, because it is the whole of what the police have chosen to say:
"First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victim's family and loved ones at this devastating time. This was a shocking and tragic attack which has resulted in a young man losing his life. We are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish exactly what happened and identify everyone involved. There will be a significant police presence in the area while our investigation continues, and I would like to reassure the community that we are pursuing all available lines of enquiry. A scene will remain in place on both Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road as forensic opportunities are explored. I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information that could assist our investigation to contact us however insignificant you think it might be."
That is a statement in the standard shape of the first hours of a murder investigation: condolence first, then the promise of extensive enquiries, then reassurance, then the appeal. What it does not do is add a single fact beyond the ones already given. It does not name the victim, count the attackers, or suggest a motive. The restraint is deliberate: in the first hours, the police say what they can stand behind, and nothing else.
What the investigation looks like from the street is cordons, vans, and officers in white suits. Behind that is the work the public does not see: house-to-house enquiries, the collection of CCTV, doorbell and dashcam footage, the forensic examination of the scene, and the attempt to build a timeline of the minutes before and after half past one. The appeal they issued on Saturday names the two things they want most: witnesses, and footage.
The appeal
The police appeal is specific, and it is the most useful part of this file for anyone reading it in Manchester. Detectives want anyone who witnessed the incident, or who may have CCTV, doorbell, mobile phone or dashcam footage from the area, to come forward as a matter of urgency. The appeal covers the hours around the attack, not only the moment itself: footage from before half past one may show the men arriving, and footage from after may show them leaving.
Anyone with information should contact Greater Manchester Police on 101, quoting log 208 of 14 November 2026, or use the LiveChat service at gmp.police.uk. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Those are the official channels, and they are the only ones this file lists.
The appeal's wording — "however insignificant you think it might be" — is aimed at the person who saw something small and decided it was not worth reporting. A car turning a corner. A group of men walking fast. A doorbell camera that caught a few seconds of a street at night. In an investigation where the attackers are described only by their clothing and their face coverings, a few seconds of footage may be the difference between a description and a name.
The wider picture
This killing happened in a city where knife crime, on the official figures, has been falling. The Office for National Statistics bulletin "Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2026" records that Greater Manchester Police recorded 2,783 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending June 2026 — 16% fewer than the year before. Nationally, homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument fell by 9% to 179 offences in the same period.
Those figures are context, not consolation, and this file does not use them to argue anything about this case. A falling rate does not change what happened on Moss Bank, and a single death does not change the rate.
What is not known
The largest unknown in this file is the simplest one: who did this. No one has been arrested. No one has been charged. No one has been named as a suspect, and no suspect description beyond dark clothing and balaclavas has been released. The number of attackers is not stated beyond "a number of men". Whether they knew the man they attacked, or whether the attack was planned, is unknown.
The second unknown is the victim's identity. He was 27, and his family have been informed, and that is all the public record says. His name, his home, and what brought him to Moss Bank in the early hours of Saturday morning are all unknown — and they will stay unknown in this file until the police release them.
The third unknown is the motive, and it is unknown because no authority has released one. Nothing in the reporting suggests a reason for the attack, and nothing in this file offers one. No dispute, no robbery, no gang link, no personal history has been described by any official source, and none is described here. To suggest a motive now would be to invent one, and this file does not invent.
The fourth unknown is the weapon. The reporting says the man suffered several stab wounds. It does not say what he was stabbed with, whether the weapon was recovered, or whether it was found at the scene. The police have not described it, and this file does not describe it.
What happens next is a matter of process, and this paragraph describes the process in general terms, not the facts of this case. In a murder investigation in England, the next steps are usually formal identification of the victim, a post-mortem examination, and the opening of an inquest by the coroner. If the police identify and arrest suspects, the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to charge. None of that has happened yet in this case.
Until then, the file stays open, stamped INVESTIGATION ONGOING. A 27-year-old man died on Moss Bank in the early hours of a Saturday morning, and the people who attacked him walked away toward Ash Tree Road. The police are looking for them.
Caption: Illustration of a quiet northern English residential street at dusk — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of any place in this case, and not evidence.
TIMELINE
- Saturday 14 November 2026, shortly after 1.30 a.m. — The North West Ambulance Service reports to Greater Manchester Police that a man has suffered several stab wounds on Moss Bank, Crumpsall. The exact minute is not settled: the Press Association report, carried by Sky News, says officers were called shortly after 1.30 a.m.; the Oldham Times and the Bury Times put the call at around 1.35 a.m.; Hello Rayo puts it at approximately 1.34 a.m. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry); Hello Rayo, 14 November 2026 (read via search results). Weekday verified: 14 November 2026 was a Saturday.
- Saturday 14 November 2026, in the ambulance — The 27-year-old man is taken to hospital for treatment but dies from his injuries in the ambulance, despite the efforts of paramedics. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- Saturday 14 November 2026 — Greater Manchester Police launch a murder investigation. Initial enquiries suggest the victim was attacked by a number of men believed to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, who fled toward Ash Tree Road. No arrests have been made. The victim's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry); Hello Rayo, 14 November 2026 (read via search results).
- Saturday 14 November 2026 — Detective Inspector Neil Higginson, Senior Investigating Officer from GMP's Major Incident Team, issues the police statement quoted in this file, and detectives appeal for witnesses and for CCTV, doorbell, mobile phone and dashcam footage. Crime scenes remain in place on Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road, with a significant police presence in the area. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
EVIDENCE & LEADS
- The call and the scene (Saturday 14 November 2026, shortly after 1.30 a.m.): The North West Ambulance Service reported to Greater Manchester Police that a man had suffered several stab wounds on Moss Bank, Crumpsall. The man, 27, was taken to hospital for treatment but died from his injuries in the ambulance, despite the efforts of paramedics. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry); Hello Rayo, 14 November 2026 (read via search results).
- The attackers as described by police: Initial enquiries suggest the victim was attacked by a number of men, all believed to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas. The suspects are believed to have fled the scene in the direction of Ash Tree Road. No number, no further description, and no weapon description has been released. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- The investigation: A murder investigation has been launched. Detective Inspector Neil Higginson, Senior Investigating Officer from GMP's Major Incident Team, said: "First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victim's family and loved ones at this devastating time. This was a shocking and tragic attack which has resulted in a young man losing his life. We are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish exactly what happened and identify everyone involved. There will be a significant police presence in the area while our investigation continues, and I would like to reassure the community that we are pursuing all available lines of enquiry. A scene will remain in place on both Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road as forensic opportunities are explored. I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information that could assist our investigation to contact us however insignificant you think it might be." — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- The appeal: Detectives are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or who may have CCTV, doorbell, mobile phone or dashcam footage from the area, to come forward as a matter of urgency. Anyone with information should contact GMP on 101, quoting log 208 of November 14, 2026, or use the LiveChat service at gmp.police.uk. Information can also be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Hello Rayo, 14 November 2026 (read via search results).
- No arrests: No arrests have been made and enquiries are continuing. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- The family: The victim's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- The scenes: Crime scenes remain in place on Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road as forensic enquiries are carried out, with a significant police presence in the area. — Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 (read in full); Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 (read in full via the Manx Radio carry).
- Context (ONS, not case evidence): Greater Manchester Police recorded 2,783 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending June 2026, 16% fewer than the year before, and accounted for 6% of all such offences in England and Wales. Nationally, homicides involving a knife or sharp instrument fell by 9% to 179 offences in the same period. — Office for National Statistics, "Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2026" (read via the published bulletin summary in search results).
- What is NOT evidence in this file: any motive for the attack (none has been released); any claim about whether the victim knew his attackers (nothing has been said); any claim that the attack was targeted or random (nothing has been said); any description of the weapon (none has been released); any number of attackers beyond "a number of men" (no number has been given); the victim's name, home, or background (none has been released); any claim drawn from social-media commentary about the case (none of it comes from any official source and none of it is in this file); any detail of the wounds beyond "several stab wounds", the reporting's own words.
Caption: Illustration of a closed case file on a desk at night — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of any real file, and not evidence.
STILL UNKNOWN
- Who attacked the man? No one has been arrested, no one has been charged, and no one has been named as a suspect. The only public description is a number of men in dark clothing and balaclavas. The number of attackers has not been stated.
- Who was the man? He was 27, and his family have been informed. His name, his home, his life, and what brought him to Moss Bank in the early hours of Saturday morning have not been released.
- What was the motive? No motive has been released in any reporting read for this file. Nothing in this file offers one.
- Was the attack targeted or random? Nothing has been said by any official source, and this file does not guess.
- What was the weapon? The reporting says the man suffered several stab wounds. No weapon has been described, and it has not been said whether one was recovered.
- What exactly happened in the minutes before and after half past one? The police have said only that the man was attacked on Moss Bank and that the attackers fled toward Ash Tree Road. The sequence of events, and anything said or taken, is unknown.
- What happens next? Formal identification, a post-mortem, and the opening of an inquest are the usual next steps in a murder investigation in England, but none has been reported yet in this case. Whether anyone is arrested or charged is unknown.
What would change this file: if the victim is named; if anyone is arrested or charged; if a motive is released; if the police give a fuller description of the attackers or the weapon; or if any further official statement changes the position, this file will be updated with the date, the source, and the new stamp if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten. Until then, the stamp stays INVESTIGATION ONGOING.
WATCH THE FULL STORY
No companion video yet. If Dark History Files' sister channel Curiozoid publishes a video on this case, it will be linked here.
SOURCES
- The Oldham Times, 14 November 2026 — "Crumpsall murder investigation after man, 27, fatally stabbed" (https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/26729513.crumpsall-murder-investigation-man-27-fatally-stabbed/): police were called to Moss Bank at around 1.35 a.m. on 14 November following reports from the North West Ambulance Service that a man had suffered several stab wounds; the 27-year-old was taken to hospital but died from his injuries in the ambulance despite the efforts of paramedics; GMP said initial enquiries suggest the victim was attacked by a number of males believed to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas; the suspects are believed to have fled toward Ash Tree Road; no arrests have been made; the victim's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers; a significant police presence and scenes on Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road; DI Neil Higginson, Senior Investigating Officer from GMP's Major Incident Team, quoted in full; appeal for CCTV, doorbell, mobile phone and dashcam footage; GMP on 101 quoting log 208 of November 14, 2026, LiveChat at gmp.police.uk, Crimestoppers 0800 555 111. Read in full on 14 November 2026.
- Sky News / Press Association, 14 November 2026 — "Murder investigation launched after man stabbed to death, Greater Manchester Police say", read in full via the Manx Radio carry (https://www.manxradio.com/news/uk-news/murder-investigation-launched-after-man-stabbed-to-death-greater-manchester-police-say/): a 27-year-old man was stabbed to death in a north Manchester suburb in the early hours of Saturday morning; GMP said officers were called to reports that a man had suffered several stab wounds on Moss Bank, Crumpsall, shortly after 1.30 a.m.; he died from his injuries while being taken to hospital in an ambulance; a murder investigation has been launched and initial enquiries suggest the victim was attacked by a number of men, all believed to have been wearing dark clothing and balaclavas; police believe the suspects fled toward Ash Tree Road; the victim's family has been informed and is being supported by specialist officers; DI Neil Higginson quoted; a crime scene remains in place on Moss Bank and Ash Tree Road; no arrests have been made. Read in full on 14 November 2026. The same Press Association report is carried by 3FM, Island FM, Vibe 107.6 and Mansfield Radio.
- The Bury Times, 14 November 2026 — "Crumpsall murder investigation after man, 27, fatally stabbed" (https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/26729513.crumpsall-murder-investigation-man-27-fatally-stabbed/): same report as the Oldham Times (sister title, same article). Read via search results on 14 November 2026; cited only where it agrees with the Oldham Times and Sky News reads.
- Hello Rayo, 14 November 2026 — "Murder investigation launched after fatal stabbing in Crumpsall" (https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/manchester/news/crumpsall-fatal-stabbing-murder-investigation): the incident occurred on Moss Bank early on 14 November, reported to police at approximately 1.34 a.m. by the North West Ambulance Service; the victim sustained several stab wounds and died in the ambulance despite paramedics' efforts; a group of males in dark clothing and balaclavas carried out the attack before fleeing toward Ash Tree Road; no arrests; police increased their presence; appeal via GMP 101 quoting log 208 of 14/11/2026, LiveChat at gmp.police.uk, Crimestoppers 0800 555 111. Read via search results on 14 November 2026; cited only where it agrees with the Oldham Times and Sky News reads.
- Manchester Evening News, 14 November 2026 — murder investigation report on the Crumpsall stabbing, carried as a Facebook reel (https://www.facebook.com/reel/1165305229407065/): footage of Moss Bank cordoned off, Crime Scene Investigation van and forensic officers at work; a 27-year-old man stabbed to death by a gang of men believed to be wearing dark clothing and balaclavas on Moss Bank, Crumpsall, at 1.34 a.m. on Saturday 14 November; he died in the ambulance; the suspects fled toward Ash Tree Road. Read via the social-media summary on 14 November 2026; cited only for the scene description and where it agrees with the Oldham Times and Sky News reads.
- Office for National Statistics, "Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2026" (https://cy.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/yearendingjune2026/pdf): the number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments fell by 6% (to 48,615 offences) compared with YE June 2025; the number of homicides by knife or sharp instrument fell by 9% to 179 offences; Greater Manchester Police recorded 6% of all knife-enabled offences and a 16% decrease (to 2,783 offences). Read via the published bulletin summary in search results on 14 November 2026; used only for the context paragraph in THE CASE, not as case evidence.
- Social scan, 14 November 2026: news-vertical searches plus social.search (Instagram/Threads/Facebook, engagement-ranked, since 13 November 2026) returned the Crumpsall stabbing — reported the same morning by Sky News / Press Association, the Oldham Times, the Bury Times, Hello Rayo and the Manchester Evening News, and carried across Facebook, Instagram and Threads the same day — as the freshest qualifying trending true-crime story of the day. No competing trending candidate qualified: the Hunterdon County father-murder charge (John Knipe Jr., 12 November) and the Humble, Texas U-Haul homicide charge (13 November) each rest on a single local reporting chain and did not surface in the social scan; the Port Clinton infant case is a child-victim matter and is skipped under the sensitivity locks; the Birmingham driver murder conviction (Adis Chala, April 2026) is a conviction on an April event with no new case to file; the Mississauga fatal stabbing (14 November) has no victim name, no suspect and no further detail; the Eren Wright body find is a development of DHF-048; the North Hollywood Metro crash charge is a development of DHF-089; the Maumelle case is DHF-098; the Pompano Beach case is DHF-097; the Stanley Park case is DHF-094. The trending call for this pick rests on that news record plus that social record, stated honestly here. No claim in this file rests on a social-media post alone. No search-volume numbers are stated anywhere in the draft, because no tool returned any.
- No competitor article text or image is reproduced in this file. Facts are stated in Dark History Files' own words, with official material attributed to its source. No source beyond those listed above was relied on for facts in the draft. No search-volume numbers are stated, because no tool returned any.
Reader question: A 27-year-old man died on a residential street and the only description of his attackers is dark clothing and balaclavas — what should the police look at first: the footage from the streets around Moss Bank, or the people who knew him?
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Previous file: DHF-098 — Maumelle: Stepson Shot Dead, Wife's Death Reopened — https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/2026/11/maumelle-stepson-shot-dead-wifes-death-reopened.html
Next file: DHF-100 — West Point Cadet's Guilty Plea: Drugged Pregnant Girlfriend — https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/2026/11/west-point-cadet-drugged-pregnant-girlfriend.html
This file is based on public reporting and official statements available as of 14 November 2026. Read how every file is built on the About page (https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/p/about.html), or request a file via the Contact page (https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/p/contact.html).
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