Greece Greece - Ben Needham, 21 mos, Isle of Kos, 24 July 1991

[ChatteringBirds]

Article from 2022:

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-07-24/mother-launches-fresh-appeal-31-years-after-sheffields-ben-needham-disappeared

 

[StillDiggin]

Mum of missing toddler calls on cops to return to Kos and speak to key witness

Kerry Needham wants officers here and on the Greek island of Kos to prove their claim her son Ben, who disappeared in 1991, died in an accident. The mum is still clinging to hopes he is alive

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[ChatteringBirds]

IMO his mother is absolutely right to ask these questions and seek answers. Where's the evidence?

 

[RichardKimble]

Mum of missing toddler calls on cops to return to Kos and speak to key witness

Kerry Needham wants officers here and on the Greek island of Kos to prove their claim her son Ben, who disappeared in 1991, died in an accident. The mum is still clinging to hopes he is alive

www.mirror.co.uk

I hadn't realised the witness never signed any statement.

 

[Officer Dibble]

IMO his mother is absolutely right to ask these questions and seek answers. Where's the evidence?

I agree with you. JMO

 

[StillDiggin]

Video footage, interview with mum

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-07-24/mums-trauma-after-man-claimed-to-be-son-missing-for-32-years?fbclid=IwAR30YY95vnDYZ3rcAuu5oQZSp_4hRDvQ98rkfxvYt8Zw8uHnnLCJL6BhPlg_aem_AQWi9cl-OLMCgZJ4fkNIsqflSQB5RUIjI7Ss112zko6HvQO0DLvGVfcaTM7vvSEfp0M

 

[imstilla.grandma]

An Interpol reconstruction of the boy found in the River Danube (Image: Interpol)
The mother of Ben Needham, the British toddler who disappeared from a Greekisland more than 30 years ago, has urged UK police to launch an investigation after a boy’s body was found in a German river.

Kerry Needham, who has never accepted her son is dead, has contacted South Yorkshire Police after seeing an Interpol appeal aimed at identifying the child, whose body was apparently dumped in the River Danube.

Ben, aged 21 months, went missing on Kos in 1991 - and while the boy found in Bavaria in 2022 is thought to be between five and six, Ms Needham, 51, still thinks UK officers need to contact German counterparts.

She told The Mirror: “I am hoping our British police will check this out and contact the German officers about this.

“We need to rule it out. I’ve always said all along that I don’t believe he’s died.”

Missing Ben Needham's mother seeks answers after boy's body found in river

The boy's body was wrapped in foil and weighed down with a flagstone in the German river.

www.express.co.uk

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Confusing...but the boy found in Germany couldn't be him. I am so sorry for her, though. She deserves to know what happened to her son.

 

[StillDiggin]

Police investigating if body of boy found in river could be missing Ben Needham

Ben Needham’s mum Kerry has been searching for her 21-month son ever since he vanished from the Greek island Kos in 1991, and says she has alerted South Yorkshire Police to a fresh Interpol appeal

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Now Interpol DNA tracking experts have been called in and do not believe the boy is German.

Still desperate for answers, the mum has been researching child trafficking and says it was "rife" at the time of Ben's disappearance. She claims her family was told by a stranger that Ben "had been sold" but says the Greek police at the time never investigated it.

Interpol published details of the case in hopes of finding the boy's name and determining "the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death". He was around 3ft 6ins tall and weighed around two stone four lbs with brown hair and type O blood.

Interpol said the boy was found wrapped in foil in the River Danube, weighed down with a flagstone slab
Referring to the discovery in Germany, Kerry added: “Tying a concrete slab to that child’s chest is one way of disposing of a child who has been used and abused for as long as these people possibly can. We got sent an email with the link about this body being found in Germany.

"Since then we’ve had lots of comments about it too with other people saying the same - the reconstruction has a look of Ben. It’s only a model and it sounds really strange but there are kind of similarities but there are lots of little boys four or five who resemble Ben.

Body of toddler found weighed down in river could be missing Brit, cops believe

Ben Needham’s mum Kerry has been searching for her 21-month son ever since he vanished from the Greek island Kos in 1991, and says she has alerted South Yorkshire Police to a fresh Interpol appeal

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[Officer Dibble]

Now Interpol DNA tracking experts have been called in and do not believe the boy is German.

Still desperate for answers, the mum has been researching child trafficking and says it was "rife" at the time of Ben's disappearance. She claims her family was told by a stranger that Ben "had been sold" but says the Greek police at the time never investigated it.

Interpol published details of the case in hopes of finding the boy's name and determining "the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death". He was around 3ft 6ins tall and weighed around two stone four lbs with brown hair and type O blood.

Interpol said the boy was found wrapped in foil in the River Danube, weighed down with a flagstone slab
Referring to the discovery in Germany, Kerry added: “Tying a concrete slab to that child’s chest is one way of disposing of a child who has been used and abused for as long as these people possibly can. We got sent an email with the link about this body being found in Germany.

"Since then we’ve had lots of comments about it too with other people saying the same - the reconstruction has a look of Ben. It’s only a model and it sounds really strange but there are kind of similarities but there are lots of little boys four or five who resemble Ben.

Body of toddler found weighed down in river could be missing Brit, cops believe

Ben Needham’s mum Kerry has been searching for her 21-month son ever since he vanished from the Greek island Kos in 1991, and says she has alerted South Yorkshire Police to a fresh Interpol appeal

www.mirror.co.uk

Well he is somebody's child that is for sure. Poor lad!! RIP whoever he was. He does have a look of Ben about him so fingers crossed for Kerry. But whatever happens I hope this raises awareness of child trafficking.

 

[StillDiggin]

Exclusive interview here with Kerry

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-09-07/ben-needham-police-look-into-boys-body-found-in-german-river?fbclid=IwAR3jOzcw4E86lWASJdoeYNgOvGPizV7h1vtYZkTNNFUAL2_JEEJK0O_TaV4_aem_AbiJLN6kp0yRQOdgAPpBzYjThigmjVUB5AwqQS_TIRpGkDHCiH7KrSPtv8r5rV8Hf04

 

[Officer Dibble]

Confusing...but the boy found in Germany couldn't be him. I am so sorry for her, though. She deserves to know what happened to her son.

Why not? He could potentially have been in a freezer for many years and now put in the water. Or other situations. JMO Whoever he is, he is someone's child. MOO

 

[RichardKimble]

One thing with the articles is that it's said the body was likely to have been blue eyed, how the devil did they determine that, must have been analysis from the DNA build up.
I'm thinking a DNA profile has been made and possibly waiting for one from Kerry to look for a match, is Ben's dad on the scene is it known?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Why not? He could potentially have been in a freezer for many years and now put in the water. Or other situations. JMO Whoever he is, he is someone's child. MOO

I rule out the boy found in Germany having been frozen for many years before being dumped into the river, because I believe that would have been obvious during the autopsy.
However that is just my very NON- professional opinion.

 

[Smccat]

Ben Needham: Remains of boy found in river are not German, DNA says

 

[RichardKimble]

Ben Needham: Remains of boy found in river are not German, DNA says

That's a brave call, his ancestry might not be German but to say an unidentified corpse is not from a specific country is pushing it surely.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

With respect, that article says "probably not German."

"Interpol DNA Database Manager Francois-Xavier [L.] said: 'We have received 33 hints from the public.

'We can now assume that this boy was probably not German.' "

Ben Needham: Remains of boy found in river are not German, DNA says

Remains of a boy found dead in a river in Germany - who Ben Needham's mother believes could be her missing son - are not from that country, DNA testing has confirmed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

ETA: IMO the article is ignoring what the quote actually said. They have no way to "confirm" this for sure.

 

[Smccat]

Isn’t dna just that like on 23 and me. Can immediately say where in the world you are likely from at the source. African / Caribbean / Gaelic ?

 

[StillDiggin]

Ben Needham's mother on 'German connection' during body investigation

British police last week said they are investigating whether a body found in the River Danube is Ben Needham, who went missing more than 30 years ago on the Greek island of Kos.

www.dailymail.co.uk