Greek Police getting ready to search mound for Ben Needham's remains

Greek Police getting ready to search mound for Ben Needham’s remains
by Hardlinemarxist

Did missing toddler Ben Needham die in tragic accident after all? Greek police fear body of boy who vanished 21 years ago may be hidden under building site rubble
Missing toddler Ben Needham may have been buried under rubble at a building site following a tragic accident, Greek police believe.

The search for the Sheffield boy, whose disappearance 21 years ago became one of the highest profile missing child cases in recent memory, is to be relaunched as officers seek to dig up a mound near where he was last seen.

Authorities on the island of Kos are working alongside British police and have asked them for 3D ground scanning equipment to check for bones beneath the surface.

But Ben's mother Kerry Needham, who insists her son is still alive, does not believe he will be found there.

Clinging to hope: Ben's mother Kerry, 40, believes police will not find her son under the rubble and insists he is still alive

The 40-year-old, from Ecclesfield, Sheffield, was shocked to hear detectives are planning to excavate the site next to a farmhouse which her father Eddie was renovating at the time.

Greek police decided to officially reopen the decades-old cold case after a JCB driver claimed he had been digging just 50 yards away from where the boy was last seen.

Ben disappeared on the afternoon of July 24, 1991, after his young mother left him with her parents while she went to work at a hotel.

Eddie and Christine Needham took him to a farmhouse belonging to their friend Michaelis Kypreos, where the couple ate lunch as their grandson played outside. But when they realised Ben had fallen silent, they discovered he was nowhere to be seen and called for a police search team.

Still seeking answers: A young Kerry Needham on the island of Kos, where her son Ben went missing while in the care of her parents

Nightmare: Grandparents Eddie (left) and Christine (right) were looking after Ben while young mother Kerry (centre) was at work

According to the Daily Mirror, three main theories have emerged: firstly, that Ben wandered away and was caught under rubble as it was unloaded from a truck; that he was killed in an accident and buried in a shallow grave where the building waste would later be dumped; and lastly, that he was murdered and his body was hidden on the site.

However, Ms Needham recalls the rubble was already there when she visited the area with Ben and his father, her then boyfriend Simon Ward.

She said: 'My dad was renovating the farmhouse. There was some building work going on but it was further down the lane from the farmhouse where Ben was.

Mystery: Baby Ben, who was just 21 months old when he vanished in July 1991

'The area where they are referring to is to the left of the property. That mound of rubble and waste was already there while Ben was still there.

'So I find it very unlikely to believe that Ben is there unless he buried himself. But we have got to try and turn it into a positive way of thinking and if the Greek want to satisfy that Ben is not up there then fine.

Ms Needham, who was just 19 when her son vanished, spoke of her shock upon waking up to the news that investigators were pursuing the new lead.

'It's an awful thought for me and my family to have to deal with,' she said. 'But it is now showing after 20-plus years the Greek police are actually interested in doing something with the case. I believe that has been prompted by South Yorkshire Police involvement and their genuine support for me and my family.

'And if this is what the Greek police want to do then that's fine - and if the British police can assist them then that would be excellent.'

Ben's file was re-opened after JCB driver Konstantinos Barkas came forward to reveal he had been digging on the site when the boy went missing.

He told the Mirror: 'Yes, I was the man with the JCB that day. Loads of earth was being taken to clear the ground for the new house down the road.'

The 61-year-old said he does not believe Ben was abducted.

Last year South Yorkshire Police sent Detective Chief Inspector Matt Fenwick to Kos, where he and a colleague were told of the theory that the child's remains would be found on the building site.

A Greek source told the Mirror: 'This idea is a lot more plausible than Ben being abducted. A stranger would have needed to be watching the house and then would have snatched him in broad daylight before secreting him off the island by boat or plane.'

Never found: Ben, who slipped out of his grandparents' sight at a farmhouse owned by their friend, would be 23 this year

The source added that detectives on the island knew a dumper truck had been driving on the track near the house in the days and weeks following the disappearance.

Even still, the boy's mother thinks he was taken and that a white car seen in the area that day could be a vital clue.

Ms Needham is holding on to the hope that no remains will be unearthed from beneath the rubble.

She said: 'Once it is proved that Ben is not dead, which is what I know and I believe, then maybe the Greek police will continue with their efforts to try and find Ben. They can put their minds at rest and then widen the search.

'I have now got to gather my strength and keep fighting. The one thing I don't want to happen is for the British public to think "OK then Ben's dead and we no longer have to search for him".

'I believe Ben is not dead - he is still alive and he is well and he is living out there.'



Appeal for sightings: These computer-generated images, released in the last decade as hopes of ever finding Ben faded, showed how he might have looked at the age of 10 (left) and 18 (right)

Daily Mail online May 24th, 2012

I wonder how Stephen Needham felt on hearing this news?
Ben's uncle Stephen Needham underwent hypnosis to see if he could retrieve any memories of the day Ben disappeared. He had disquieting images of killing Ben in a motorbike accident and burying him. However, police suggested this to him on several occassions during past interogations. Thus, this may not signify anything.
Hardlinemarxist | 24/05/2012 at 1:54 pm | Categories: Missing children, Missing Persons | URL: http://wp.me/pCs0i-1Vk
Comment See all comments

Hi Panda, posted here:

https://missingmadeleine.forumotion.net/t20369-greece-preparing-to-re-open-missing-ben-needham-case

chrissie wrote:Hi Panda, posted here:

https://missingmadeleine.forumotion.net/t20369-greece-preparing-to-re-open-missing-ben-needham-case

Thanks chrissie, I posted here because Benn is a missing child, can't find Mary's thread, can you tell me what it comes under? I was actually taught how to file when I was an Office junior many moons ago ......seems everyone has different ideas.

It's on the Main Maddie News thread Panda. It is relevant there as it highlights the difference in treatment received by Kerry Needham and the McCanns.

Thanks chrissie, I did have a look on the maddie thread but didnt see it. Anyway, the info must be the same so I will delete this .

t tried, cannot delete post.

Just tried , cannot delete thread.