A mysterious stranger has been leaving flowers at this boy's grave for decades

A graveyard mystery that’s been puzzling residents of an English village for decades has finally been solved ― at least partially ― thanks to the dogged determination of the BBC.

In a poignant (and delightfully British) documentary, BBC journalist Camila Ruz helps track down a mysterious stranger who’s been leaving poems, flowers and gifts at the grave of Karl Smith, who tragically drowned at age 12 during a Boy Scout trip in 1947.

Ann Kear, Smith’s sister, was only 7 years old at the time. Now 77, Kear has been aching to learn more about the brother she never really knew.

About 20 years ago, Kear began to notice that someone else was also tending Karl’s grave at St. Mary’s Church in Prestbury. The sister was desperate to find out who this person was, suspecting that he or she might be able to tell her more about her brother.

Kear tried everything she could think of. She left notes at the grave asking the stranger to get in touch. She wrote about her search in local publications. She even began attending Scout reunions to look for clues.

But it wasn’t until the BBC got involved that Kear began finding real answers.

The BBC first wrote about Kear’s story in 2015. Since then, the media company has been working to help Kear solve the mystery, periodically sending out reminders to its audience to chime in with any leads.

Eventually, Ruz signed on to help Kear. After many dead ends, Ruz finally located Ronald Seymour-Westborough, Karl’s friends from the Scouts who admitted he’s been leaving flowers for his buddy for years.

Ruz arranged a heartwarming meeting between Seymour-Westborough and Kear, where they reminisced about the boy who brought them together.

One part of the story remains a mystery, however. Kear is still looking for the person who’s been leaving poems at the grave. Seymour-Westborough said he’s only left flowers.

But not to worry ― Ruz promises to keep searching. We can’t wait to see what she finds!

Watch the BBC documentary “The Stranger at My Brother’s Grave” above.

  • This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

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