Ben Needham vanished from the Greek island of Kos aged 21 months 33 years ago on July 24, and was last seen playing outside a run down farmhouse.
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Ben Needham's mother faces agonising wait to see if DNA results will confirm if a Danish man is her son - 33 years after he disappeared on the island of Kos
Ben Needham's mother is facing an agonising wait to see if DNA results will confirm if a Danish man is her son - more than three decades after he disappeared on the island of Kos.
A man from Denmark has now claimed his grandparents told him he was taken from the island, adding that his parents refused to deny the claims.
The man said he remembers going to a market 25 years ago and someone shouting 'Ben' at him, before he was then kept in a caravan.
Ben's mother Kerry Needham, 51, said she refuses to get her hopes up after being in a similar position multiple times, only to be let down.
The mother told
The Mirror: 'This man is looking for his real family and he has given Danish police a sample of his DNA [...].'
She added: 'In 33 years we've had hundreds of alleged sightings, the majority of them we have followed up ourselves in the earlier years.'
Wednesday sees the 33rd anniversary of 21-month-old Ben’s disappearance from the Greek island of Kos and mum Kerry has to wait to see if a stranger could be Ben - for the third time this year
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Third person claims to be missing toddler Ben Needham as mum gives Jay Slater warning
The mum of
Ben Needham, who went missing in 1991, is waiting on DNA results from a
Danish man claiming to be her son.
Wednesday, July 24, marks the 33rd anniversary of 21-month-old Ben’s disappearance from the
Greek island of Kos. Now mum Kerry has to wait to see if a stranger could be Ben, for the third time this year. The toddler was last seen playing outside a derelict farmhouse on the island. His parents have searched the globe looking for their boy.
Now a man from Denmark claims his grandparents have told him he was taken from Kos, and is insisting his parents have refused to deny these claims. The man says he was hidden for years and remembers 25 years ago going to a market and someone shouting “Ben” at him. He claims he was then kept in a caravan.
But Kerry, 51, from
Sheffield, says she can never get her hopes up, having been in this position multiple times. She told the
Mirror: “This man is looking for his real family and he has given Danish police a sample of his DNA, which
South Yorkshire Police are trying to get hold of via Interpol to do a comparison with Ben’s.”
The stranger’s DNA samples will be compared with a blood sample taken from when Ben was born at Boston Hospital in Lincolnshire, for the routine Guthrie heel-prick test. She said: “In 33 years we’ve had hundreds of alleged sightings, the majority of them we have followed up ourselves in the earlier years.
“We’ve had DNA taken from people in
Greece, Turkey, Germany and one in Florida and
Australia. But at least South Yorkshire Police are trying to get me answers and I can’t praise them enough.” The force’s theory is that Ben may have died in a digger accident, after a witness came forward. But blood discovered at the scene in 2016 was found not to belong to Ben, and the witness is refusing to talk to police again.
Kerry said: “You can’t end an investigation with nothing to go on and a man’s claim who now won’t talk.” She added: “I can’t believe it’s been 33 years and in October he will be 35. My mum is 72 and dad is 76. I don’t want something to happen to my parents without them knowing.”
The mother also said she feels the pain of
Jay Slater’s family and warns trolls of the further damage they are causing. The 19-year-old was found dead in Tenerife earlier this week after a month-long search for him. After watching on as they followed in her footsteps, Kerry told how her “heart is completely with them”. She added: “All I can say to give them a little comfort is that it’s better to know because living year by year, not knowing is torture. I feel their pain.”
