The Mystery of Ben Needham

Thanks Seahorse, so he left 2 days before Ben disappeared, I presume he was thoroughly checked? My first thoughts would have been his Dad had taken him before I'd consider stranger abduction.

Heartbreaking to see Kerry on GMB the police must have found some evidence to put her through this torture. Did you see DI Cousins own film of the search and his running commentary? There has never been such a sharing of a police search that I remember.

Going to try and rest and pray that Kerry can cope with whatever happens this week.

Hope wrote:Thanks Seahorse, so he left 2 days before Ben disappeared, I presume he was thoroughly checked? My first thoughts  would have been his Dad had taken him before I'd consider stranger abduction.

Heartbreaking to see Kerry on GMB the police must have found some evidence to put her through this torture. Did you see DI Cousins own film of the search and his running commentary? There has never been such a sharing of a police search that I remember.

Going to try and rest and pray that Kerry can cope with whatever happens this week.

Unprecedented to my memory, Hope. I just wonder if they are trying to guilt trip someone into spilling the beans. If the digger accident/cover up was true they would have found him by now IMO. No indication from the archaeologist that anything from the second site had been disturbed over the years.

I've been meaning to ask about Ben's dad after seeing a early calendar news report from July '91 where a local business man was willing to help pay for Simon to get to Kos. I don't know if he did go back to help in the search or not or just how much/little involvement he has had in any of this? Unless Kerry has told him to stay away or something?

Kerry mentions that her apartment was in Kako Pinari (Kako Prinari in the book). Don't know exact location, but it was about 10 mins drive from the caravan, so it must be a bit further from where Kako Pinari is marked on the map (which is about a 4 minutes' drive, but roads may have improved since 1991).

TheTruthWillOut wrote:Just started reading a a thread on the Crimewatchers forum and this is an interesting extract from Kerry's book http://www.crimewatchers.net/forum/index.php?threads/ben-needham-missing-from-the-greek-island-of-kos-24-july-1991-age-21-months.3998/page-5:



So I assume this refers to Dino in the digger truck. According to this they had stopped work for the day by the time they were having lunch from around 14:00 until 14:30 Ben went missing.

https://www.facebook.com/calendarnews/videos/vb.106174219415088/1353525118013319/?type=3&theater

Day 16 briefing.

Mark Witty ‏@markwittyitv 2h2 hours ago
After last night's OpBen debrief in Kos the excavation team watched Kerry Needham @gmb interview . In complete silence

Tom Ingall ‏@TomIngall 14m14 minutes ago
Latest from DI Jon Cousins as digging gets underway on second search site. #BenNeedham @BBCLookNorth @BBCSheffield

Tom Ingall ‏@TomIngall 10m10 minutes ago
The trench dug at site two has been made wider and deeper. You can see how much soil is being taken away. @BBCLookNorth @BBCSheffield

Tom Ingall ‏@TomIngall 17m17 minutes ago
At the farmhouse dozens of piles of soil have arrived for sifting. Day 16 of the @syptweet operation and there is still lots happening.

So how did Dino have this accident if he had stopped work?

It's like watching a film being made by DI Cousins, one which has Kerry in the depths of hell. Don't know what to think anymore about the rest of the family. Makes me feel sick writing that but there are major contradictions in the little bit we've discussed.

Who is the one person Ben would go with quietly if he had toddled out to the road? His Dad who had left 2 days ago?

IIRC in UK they split for a time, had to have meeting with family to arrange to see Ben. Must be all in book.

Am sure his alibi was checked inside out. What I'm saying is when they went to police surely Chris and Eddie's first thoughts, did Simon leave Kos, come back on ferry, he'd know Chris had him, watch, follow her and wait for his chance? White car said to have 2 men inside, someone helped him?
I'd be begging police to ask Eng police to go to his family home and check it out.

Obviously it did nt happen as above, I'm trying to say would surely he'd be the 1st person the family would think of, not stranger abduction?
Don't know if I'm making sense to anyone?

Being picky and maybe it's artistic licence in book, Chris tells Ben not to play with water anymore as she has no more spare clothes, a 19 month old would nt understand that.
Another horrible thought, you can drown in inches of water, this was a drumfull.

Didn't Kerry & Simon get back together and have another child? Don't think the answer lies in that direction.

From what I recall. Kerry split from Simon when 5 months pregnant. Then got back together when Ben was born or at an early age (can't remember). Not sure myself about the whole Kos episode in regards to Simon. They split again then got back together further down the line (after Ben's disappearance) and they had the daughter together. Begins with L but again can't remember her name. They split for the final time when he went to prison (for what, I can't remember) and that's about as much as I know... Which is not a lot.

But I agree with froggy in that I don't think the answer lies in that direction either.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/29/missing-child-ben-needham

The second time I met Kerry was in 1996. I was working on a Channel 4 documentary about Ben. The silent, passive girl who had sat in the lee of her father's body three years before had become spiky and edgy. By this time, she had a daughter, Leighanna. She and Simon Ward had drifted back together and Kerry had got pregnant.

Leighanna was born in February 1994; not long after, Simon went to prison for five years, charged with robbery.

chrissie wrote:

Leighanna was born in February 1994; not long after, Simon went to prison for five years, charged with robbery.

Not wanting to be picky but I'd hope he was convicted of robbery, and not just charged with it.

Still, they all sound like lovely people.

Simon returned to Kos (after kind strangers paid for his airfare) to help search for Ben.
He handed his previous plane ticket and ferry ticket over to Kos Police. They contacted South Yorkshire Police and they checked Simon's alibi. It was all in order.


What is odd though is that Kerry only told Simon that Ben was missing on 29th July, 5 days after his disappearance.

Why wait so long. He is Ben's father and surely had a right to know immediately.
Even so, I thought it was all over the UK media at the time, so how come Simon hadn't found out that way. This was pre-internet, but surely news travels fast. Some of his friends/relatives would have informed him?

unreorganised wrote:

chrissie wrote:

Leighanna was born in February 1994; not long after, Simon went to prison for five years, charged with robbery.

Not wanting to be picky but I'd hope he was convicted of robbery, and not just charged with it.

Still, they all sound like lovely people.

Ha, indeed! I hadn't noticed that

Yes it does indeed seem like the British media took 5 days to cover this story or be informed of it.



Interesting that Ben was called/known as Benny and Kerry was called Donna at first. Not just in the internet age stuff isn't proof watched!

Thanks TTWO. I thought it was reported immediately. So the media reported it about the same time that Kerry informed Simon.

TheTruthWillOut wrote:Yes it does indeed seem like the British media took 5 days to cover this story or be informed of it.
*snipped*
Interesting that Ben was called/known as Benny and Kerry was called Donna at first. Not just in the internet age stuff isn't proof watched!

What an eye-opener to watch that old clip, thanks TTWO>    The difference between the immediacy of news now with Twitter and Facebook   (and mobile phones) is remarkable.

Could it have made a difference?  Would it have made a difference?   5 days gone by for a missing child, though Kerry said the police and army were doing all they could at the time.

There seem many discrepancies in reports of when it happened and how long before it was noticed, I so hope something comes from this present search - even though that would be the worst outcome possible.

So what do people think now given it has been 16 days since they started these digs? Nothing of substance found so far and not looking likely to be.

Right now I'm wondering why SYP have told Kerry to prepare for the worse in advance. Someone else mentioned that they don't do this without evidence first, not just based on what a witness claims. She is clearly breaking down over this and also, in my opinion, the SYP theory of Dino Barkas accidentally killing Ben and burying him under rumble contradicts what the other people present have said over the years. So indirectly SYP are calling them liars too or put more nicely the story told by them isn't the full truth of what and when things happened.

The other option is he really was taken but this option doesn't seem to have been considered at all by SYP.

I am in two minds on this. Strange to have a running commentary by an investigative team but maybe that is to stop any rumours from starting. I never considered that Ben might have been killed accidentally except for a fleeting suspicion about Stephen at the time. I then was of the opinion he had been kidnapped and hoped Kerry would find him one day.
Now I am not so sure. Something isn't right but I don't know what. I think the digger driver is suss. Too convenient but I do fear Ben is dead. So sad.

Fixed Kindle, just read book. Thoughts :

Blog 2007 says nothing unusual Chris had done  this before. Book gives impression 1st time, owner sends Stephen to local shop, extra food, tells shoplady of visitors',
She knows them, would give Ben icecream iedwhen Kerry said no, seemed nice
next day they sit at police station, she arrives in as translator, they are worried as she has poor Eng, know other Greek's much better Eng, turns out police chief is her friend and she called,volunteered.
Days following people who know them interviewed including her, they eventually discover she says Ben was never fed, she gave him choc and ice cream, total bull.
Dino reports white car, 2 men, 1 lady in back. Family told years later it was her car, their "friend". Have read elsewhere they investigated,shoplady lies about not having white car July 91.

Sorry, in bits pain, but point is family always said abd unlikely as no one knew Ben was at site that day BUT shop lady did, Stephen told her.

Dig in 2012 done as police told Dino could have had accident and buried Ben, Eddie out then, no mention asking Dino to do roadway into house.   So tractor accident theory known then.  Why give impression now it's a new angle due to friend?
Why so certain?  

Dinky cars ref to in doc in 2001 when Chris tells Eddie, book says SY Police had them all have regression therapy and she remembers cars then. Bits of dinky cars found in 2012 dig, Chris says not Ben's.

Simon alibi checks out, he is convicted of robbery, let out, lives with woman who wrote to him. Left Kerry heavily preg with Ben, with another girl in Wales, decent parents who helped Kerry financially, his dad major part in campaign for help from gov, Simon had sporadic relationship with Leighanna, Kerry certainly gave him enough chances. He was on Kos less 2 mths, sacked from 2 jobs, accused K having affair with boss.

Why oh why did they not run to old couple across rd 1st, ask them? She gave Stephen alibi that all ignored, even family and Step himself? She saw him ride off, Ben was still playing.

RE rides on bike, Step rode round field outside caravan about 2 miles / hr, holding Ben tightly.

Step took jerry can on bike to fill with diesel, left full can at caravan, went to Kerry's hotel for swim, beer, back to hers for shower. Kerry and others saw him.
Hard to see where he'd have time to have crash, bury Ben, that's without old ladies alibi.   Plus he adored Ben, he'd be devastated.

As an aside, Mirror main McCann mouthpiece and supporter, Mirror journalist called Oldfield worked on Ben story.

More but too sore, would rec all to read book, things a lot clearer.

Sorry for shorthand.

Gap in book, K and B arrive Kos, stay in caravan with family, K gets job, then jumps to walking and dropping Ben to Chris at the caravan before work, Simon arrives, Ed gets them flat.
Where were K and Ben staying in between?

Why did Ben the corgi not bark? Corgies can be vicious, he'd hear someone hanging around.

Kos police beyond shocking, ditto Brit Emb in Athens.

I come back to this: why did someone come forward and say that the digger driver gave him a deathbed confession?
If they don't find anything, what can we conclude?

1. The digger driver was delusional or making up the story. Why? It doesn't make sense.
2. The friend of the digger driver was delusional or making up the story. That makes more sense than the digger driver making it up.
3. The digger driver was telling the truth but someone moved Ben's body from the place where the digger driver had buried him. A possibility.
4. The digger driver story is not what he confessed on his deathbed, the police have his true confession as well as crucial evidence, and this dig is an exercise to try and find additional evidence to support what they already have.

Any other possibilities?