The Mystery of Ben Needham

I think this is just sloppy journalism but they say Ben was eleven when snatched.

http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/news/article/missing-bens-mother-makes-appeal-on-greek-tv


Missing Ben's mother makes appeal on Greek TV
The mother of missing Ben Needham, who disappeared after travelling to the island of Kos, has travelled to Greece to make a direct TV appeal with UK police officers.

missing-bens-mother-makes-appeal-on-greek-tv
13 May. 15 (22:14)   Comment Now


Ben Needham from Sheffield, vanished on July 24 1991 at the age of 11, after traveling to the Greek island of Kos with his mother Kerry Needham and his grandparents.

Over the years there have been a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to the youngster, who would now be 25.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed Mrs Needham and Ben's grandmother Christine Needham will be taking part in the TV show on Friday along with his sister Leighanna.

Also taking part will be Detective Superintendent Matthew Fenwick and Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, the force said.

The show, called Light At The End Of The Tunnel, broadcasts to around 50% of the Greek TV audience and is about missing people, and is a show about missing persons, presented by Angeliki Nikolouli.

In January, South Yorkshire Police were granted Home Office funding to support the Greek authorities in continuing inquiries to find Ben.

The force asked for the financial help to follow up information the family believes has never been properly investigated. The funding is for the financial year from April 2015 and is for up to £700,000.

The Home Office backed a South Yorkshire Police operation in 2012 when land was excavated on Kos, near the farmhouse from where Ben went missing. No trace of him was found.

Last year, a DNA test on a young man featured in video footage shot in Cyprus proved negative.

Source: Express & Star

Britain  Greek islands  missing  Kos  Ben Needham Sheffield

There is an update on the DM website this lunchtime following the TV interview, apparently someone has come forward thinking he may be Ben, or he could be just looking to be on TV -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3084280/Could-missing-toddler-24-years-later-Greek-TV-appeal-generates-new-leads-case-Ben-Needham-vanished-holiday-1991.html

This worries me a bit. Focussing on the findability of Ben Needham just when OG is winding down the result could be that they are presented to the public as parallel cases. Except for the cadaver dogs of course.

Even so, I don't like the timing. Surely this Greek TV thing could have been done some years ago when they searched Cos again?

Tigger, you worry too much.

I am sure it just a coincidence.

Another one.

They have been holding interviews all day.

It turns out that the latest claimant was a time waster who'd already been ruled out.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3084614/Mother-s-heartbreak-man-claiming-missing-toddler-Ben-Needham-revealed-imposter-detectives-pursuing-new-leads-following-TV-appeal.html

That's very sad, for the person who claimed to be Ben and for the family.

Is it possible that this man has no idea of his parentage or family and hopes he is the missing son, or is he just a 'timewaster'?

At the time it happened, iirc, there wasn't a great deal of information in the MSM about his disappearance. Taken by gypsies was the the common reportage.

Whatever happened and however he was lost, I sincerely hope for his mother and other grieving family some trace is found eventually.

Pity we don't have some photos from the vegetation we could look at and analyse.

Missing Ben Needham: Police to return to Greece

Detectives have pledged to return to Greece to investigate a number of leads in the disappearance of Sheffield toddler Ben Needham.

Ben was 21 months old when he went missing while on a family holiday on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

His mother Kerry appealed for help to find him on Greek television in May.

On the 24th anniversary, police said they would return to the country "over the coming months" after receiving 200 calls in response to the TV appeal.

Det Insp Jon Cousins, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "There are several lines of inquiry that I'm looking at.




"There will be further visits to Greece to speak to other people I believe are significant and have some knowledge as to what happened."

He added that officers "will be visiting Greece over the coming months".

Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police was granted Home Office funding to support the Greek authorities in continuing inquiries to find Ben.

Ben's mother, Kerry, travelled to Athens with South Yorkshire Police to appear on a missing persons programme.

The television programme, whose English translation is Light at the End of the Tunnel, broadcasts to about 50% of the Greek TV audience.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office previously said: "We have the deepest sympathies with Ben Needham's family and continue to offer them consular support.

"We are following this case closely and will fully assist South Yorkshire Police wherever possible."

Ben vanished on 24 July, 1991, after travelling to Kos with his mother and grandparents, who were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise.

In 2013, a DNA test carried out on a man in Cyprus proved he was not Ben.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-33642278

Sorry I have been unable to post the screen shot from the Ben Needham site.. But I retweeted her https://gyazo.com/0acbef7306c3efd4a7fc12a5a1b2fd0e

Apologies I am finding the forum difficult to navigate

Magnum wrote:Sorry I have been unable to post the screen shot from the Ben Needham site.. But I retweeted her https://gyazo.com/0acbef7306c3efd4a7fc12a5a1b2fd0e

Apologies I am finding the forum difficult to navigate

I have merged your topic with this one Magnum to keep all info on Ben together.

After a decade of blunders by forces here and abroad a bizarre twist in the search for Ben Needham leads police to Canada



British man Ben Gleave, 28, was made to undergo a DNA test in Canada

He believed he was ruled out when he heard nothing back from detectives

Instead a series of disastrous blunders led to his DNA sample being lost

South Yorkshire police only began searching for the lost swab last week 







Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3413903/After-decade-blunders-forces-abroad-bizarre-twist-search-missing-Ben-Needham-leads-police-Canada.html

If he has proof that he's 28 he's not Ben who would be 26 now.

The article is another excuse for the media to convey the impression that police forces are useless when it comes to missing children cases.

I think most of us have a pretty good idea what probably happened to Ben, the case has already been plausibly solved (but not proved). There were 4 people known to be in the vicinity at the time when he vanished, why blame invisible gypsies?

I cringe when I hear that Ben was abducted - though not quite as much when the same is said of Madeleine!

I think there was also a Greek workman present at the time so that makes 5 people.

I have always wondered if Ben's 11-year-old uncle was somehow involved in a terrible accident with him.

I don't know though how the family could have kept up the pretence over so many years though if they are aware of what happened.

Yes, it's suspected that another far more infamous group of people are in the know too but the Needhams are different in my opinion - they would not have to consider their whole lives being destroyed if the truth got out.

Fresh hope in hunt for Ben Needham as police given funding to follow new leads

20:00, 14 Mar 2016

Police probing Ben Needham’s disappearance have been given six months’ extra funding to chase new leads.

South Yorkshire Police's Team Ben have successfully applied for an extension to their £700,000 Home Office grant awarded to them in 2015.

Now officers have a further six months funds until October as they continue to look at a number of lines of inquiry "old and new".

he news was welcomed by Ben's mum, Kerry Needham, who is convinced her son his still
alive.

Ben vanished on July 24, 1991 from the Greek island of Kos and is one of the longest missing persons cases in UK history.

The 21-month old disappeared while he was with his grandparents who were renovating a farmhouse and Kerry was working as a waitress.

Kerry, 43, has devoted her life to finding Ben and is urging someone on the Greek island to "finally speak up" and help her.

Read more: Ben Needham's mum says a witness has come forward

She said of the funding: "It's good news because I was worried they would not get it and things would come to a standstill.

"I hope that with the assistance of the Greek police we will find Ben.


"My dream is that they find Ben at the end of it but I'm hoping in these next six months they get to speak to people on Kos and someone actually speaks up.

"Someone on that island knows. We've always said that. Someone there knows what happened. The ground just didn't open up.

"There's only two scenarios that are left. He either wandered further down the lane and something happened to him away from the farmhouse or someone took him.

"I still believe that someone took him. I don't think for one minute that he's not alive.

"It's a case of speaking to witnesses and people on the island and hoping that someone finally comes forward after all these years.

"But the funding is there and in place until October and I feel absolutely relieved that they are able to carry on because they have got an awful lot to follow.

"The police are extremely busy following up leads. They've said there's a lot more work to be done on good lines of inquiries.

Kerry Needham and her mum Christine has always searched for missing Ben


"They have reassured us that they are still determined and dedicated to get to the bottom of things. This team is a breath of fresh air."

Last year, the Mirror told how at least 30 calls, e-mails and a photo were received after Ben's family appeared on Greek TV.

Crimestoppers offered a fresh £10,000 reward and have urged people to share the #BenNeedham hash tag.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fresh-hope-hunt-ben-needham-7556744

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3580580/Team-British-police-fly-Kos-tomorrow-new-1-2m-bid-Ben-Needham-25-years-vanished-family-holiday.html

Team of British police will fly to Kos tomorrow in a new £1.2m bid to find Ben Needham 25 years after he vanished during a family holiday

• Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he vanished on 1991 holiday
  

• Over the years there have been numerous possible sightings and theories
  

• His mother confirmed officers will travel to Greek island to find witnesses
  

• Press conference will take place at the farmhouse where Ben went missing
  

By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline

Published: 09:48, 9 May 2016  | Updated: 11:39, 9 May 2016  


Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he vanished on July 24, 1991, after travelling to the island with his mother and grandparents

A team of British police officers is heading for the Greek island of Kos to look for new witnesses in the search for Ben Needham, who went missing almost 25 years ago.

Over the years there have been a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to the youngster, who would now be aged 26.

Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police announced that they had received extra funding from the Home Office to help in the search.

Now, the official campaign to find Ben, headed by his mother, Kerry, confirmed that a team of officers will fly to Kos on Tuesday.

In a statement, Help Find Ben Needham said 10 officers were travelling to the island hoping to 'find new witnesses as they urge islanders to come forward with any information which might help the case'.

He had been taken to the site, in Irakles, by his grandmother, Christine Needham, to visit his grandfather, who was helping to renovate the run-down building.

Ms Needham said: 'We believe someone on Kos does know something - and if they do please come forward. It doesn't matter how insignificant they think it is - if they have information let the police know.'

In January last year, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings secured £700,000 of special funding from the Home Office to allow South Yorkshire Police to commit further resources to the investigation into Ben's disappearance.

This year, a further £450,000 was approved by the Home Secretary.

The Home Office backed a South Yorkshire Police operation in 2012 when land was excavated on Kos, near the farmhouse from where Ben went missing. No trace of the little boy was found.

In 2014, South Yorkshire Police asked the Home Office for the Special Grant Funding to follow up information the family believed had never been properly investigated.

In May last year, Ben's mother, sister and grandmother travelled to Greece with South Yorkshire Police detectives to make a direct appeal on a Greek television show about missing people.

Police have investigated a number of new lines of inquiry as a result of the programme and the ongoing investigation into the toddler's disappearance.

South Yorkshire Police confirmed the team will hold a press conference at the farmhouse on Tuesday.

A spokesman said the detectives will be 'actively progressing lines of inquiry, distributing leaflets and posters, and carrying out house-to-house visits in Iraklis in Kos, where Ben was last seen'.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: 'The lives of Ben Needham's family were ripped apart when he disappeared more than twenty years ago and their determination to find him has not diminished. They are more desperate than ever to find answers about what happened to him.

'It is likely that someone out there knows what happened to him and we will be appealing to people in Kos who have information to come forward and tell us what they know. The force is working closely with the Greek authorities to ensure a number of lines of existing inquiry are explored.

'We are also hoping that the offer of a Crimestoppers' reward of up to £10,000 could be an incentive for someone to finally come forward after all these years - it is not too late to tell us what happened and finally allow us to unearth the truth.'

I read today that they recieved a tip off in 1993 from a random caller but has only just come to light now...

Also remember reading one of Bennetts theories that it was the uncle on the bike etc..or something. Can't find it now so perhaps whooshed.

Just wandering whether the Police have consulted the expert.. Tony Bennett on this.

He's always right apparently.

I know you like a bet, Andrew, so which of these would you have your fiver on re MM and BN?

Both abducted
MM abducted, something else happened to BN
BN abducted, something else happened to MM
Something else happened to both of them

Other posters welcome to join in, maybe a bookie will offer some odds

Will get back to you Sat. My fiver and a hell of lot more has gone on tonights football.

In luck, Sat. Found a cheeky 5 spot.

It's on MM parents are involved imo and BN's were not.

Can you give me the odds on that then. Ta.

About 3 to 1, but my mate fancies a few quid on the last one. Like you, am following the footie tonight so time for me to disappear for now

My fiver is on number 3 but I have 50 quid on this latest flurry of activity in Ben's case having an ulterior motive. Like just as OG is winding down, new developments surface in Greece. I predict new leads and sightings to emerge, burying the fading out of Grange. They can't solve it, they can't whitewash it so they will turn up the volume on Ben and dim the lights on Maddie.