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

[Rayemonde]

Sad to see "gypsies" being used as a scapegoat like this.

Thomas Acton, a renowned Professor of Romani Studies, says that there is no documented case of Roma or Travellers stealing non-Gypsy children anywhere.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/peter-mcguire/roma-gypsies-children_b_4152869.html

 

[KatiUK]

Hi guys www.helpfindben.co.uk new leads in Ben's case. Police is looking to identify a woman spotted filming Ben playing at Palm Beach Hotel in days before his disappearance. New posters in all languages are available on the website helpfindben.co.uk. They have launched Facebook and twitter campaign to identify a mystery holidaymaker believed to be from Scandinavia or Central Europe. Please guys could you spread the word. I know there are websleuthers from many countries in here and any help will be appreciated by Ben's family. I would post photos of them posters but don't know how to do it. Thanks

 

[CoverMeCagney]

This case breaks my heart. The amount of effort the Needhams have put into their website is amazing. I just had a google and came across a photo of Ben asleep with his favourite toy titled "do you remember this cuddly toy?"

 

[KatiUK]

There are Facebook and Twitter accounts in English and Greek and they are doing a wonderful job raising awareness but not enough unfortunately... It breaks my heart too every time I see Ben's photos...

 

[Rayemonde]

“Christine Needham (Ben’s grandmother) noticed a woman taking video footage of Ben as he played by the pool at the Palm Beach Hotel in June or July 1991, before he went missing.

“She was anything from 30 - 45 years old, with long blonde hair tied up.

“From her accent, Christine believes she was Scandinavian.

“This person has not been traced.”

It finished powerfully: “There are only photographs of Ben - no video - so any footage could be vital in the search for Ben.

http://www.closeronline.co.uk/2015/...find-mystery-woman-spotted-filming-ben-in-kos

 

[KatiUK]

just a few of new posters in different languages

 

[Thefacelessman]

The saddest thing about this case is that if the authorities had invested the time/money/man-hours/ etc that they have for the McCann case then finding him may have been solved/closer than it is today.....guess it helps where you stand socially.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

The saddest thing about this case is that if the authorities had invested the time/money/man-hours/ etc that they have for the McCann case then finding him may have been solved/closer than it is today.....guess it helps where you stand socially.

I think the difference is simply the a passage of time. In 1991 when Ben went missing the internet didn't exist (or at least, not as it is today) and so we didn't hear about Ben aside from in the newspapers. DNA technology was also in its infancy, probably more so in rural Greece.

By the time Madeleine vanished in 2007 we all knew about it within hours. Her photo was seen by millions of people. Forensic investigators were in the apartment and DNA taken within hours. Media and public social media pressure meant the police had to act, and then there was the fundraising, the political involvement etc etc.

I would like to think if Ben's disappearance happened today he would get a similar amount of attention as MM did. However, having said all that, it does seem the Greek police failed to act on many tip offs which could have recovered Ben all those years ago.

 

[Rayemonde]

Plus, all the millions that were devoted to MM's case, and they are still no closer to finding MM than they are to finding Ben. Moo.

 

[Rayemonde]

I just found an old video about a reconstruction of the day Ben disappeared, made around 1996.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ka3Pq3dVKc

On the day Ben disappeared, he was playing outside and his grandparents were inside keeping an eye on him. They realised they hadn't seen him for a couple of minutes, ancient outside and looked up and down the lane, but he was not there. The boy's uncle had just left on his moped, so the grandparents assumed that he had taken Ben with him. It wasn't until he returned alone several hours later that they realised Ben was missing and called the police.

In the reconstruction, the toddler was easily out of sight of the house in a couple of minutes. So Ben had several hours to wander, get lost, get into an accident or get picked up by someone.
I wonder if there were any ponds or rivers nearby and if they were thoroughly dredged?

I can't find any verified cases of toddlers ever being abducted for an underground adoption black market, or abducted and sold by "gypsies".

 

[Pisces Cloud]

I always thought the little boy met with some sort of accident rather than an abduction. Even more so when I heard about a case in America in which a little girl fell down a hole and was rescued. So, things like that can happen. I think the terrain around that area was quite rough and more remote than a holiday resort complex.

 

[Rayemonde]

Jan 2016:

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

Police in Canada forced a British man to undergo a DNA test because they believed he was missing Ben Needham – only for the crucial sample to disappear for nine years...

The ‘new’ lead emerged after police were criticised by Ben’s mother Kerry for spending millions on the Madeleine McCann inquiry ‘when other missing children aren’t getting as much attention’.

Her plea helped South Yorkshire police secure £700,000 from the Home Office to continue investigating Ben’s disappearance...

Mr Gleave said he was accused of being Ben by a ‘vindictive’ neighbour. At the time, he lived with his family on Isle Madame, off the southern tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-missing-Ben-Needham-leads-police-Canada.html

 

[Rayemonde]

March 2016:

A police force has secured £450,000 from the Home Office to investigate the disappearance of toddler Ben Needham for another six months...

Dr Alan Billings, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said the search would be reviewed in October.

He said that by October if "all that could be done has been done" then it would be the end of the investigation...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-35814367

 

[JerseyGirl]

British police fly to Greek island of Kos in hunt for new witnesses

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...british-police-fly-to-greek-island-of-kos-in/

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Sad to see "gypsies" being used as a scapegoat like this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/peter-mcguire/roma-gypsies-children_b_4152869.html

Perhaps it's precisely cases such as that mentioned in the article, ie the occasional blonde, blue eyed child appearing in gypsy families, which is the source of the ancient folk beliefs. Before the modern understanding of genetics, people probably could reasonably only think of one explanation for the appearance of a very non-gypsy-looking child amongst half a dozen very gypsy-looking ones.

Today, of course, we know that there are populations with very light skin, blond or light brown hair and blue and green eyes in precisely the areas where the Roma originated, but it's only fairly recently we've come to know this.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I caught some of this on BBC news this morning. I was trying to get the kids ready for school and dry my hair so I missed most of the report but I did hear a bit that the police had received phone calls (in 1993?) and were told Ben's new name was Andreas and his dad is Niko / Nikos. Sketchy details lol, but I'd never heard that before...

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I always thought the little boy met with some sort of accident rather than an abduction. .

I tend to agree with you. His parents and grandparents took him to what was in effect a building site and he disappeared. I very much doubt they "did" anything to him, but I also suspect they are trying to transfer their guilt for what could be seen as their negligence onto the British police and tax payer. This child has almost certainly been dead for decades. How long can the family realistically expect the British police to go on fishing expeditions at taxpayer expense, and how much should the British taxpayer be expected to stump up when there are no credible new leads?

I'm guessing his parents are in their 50s so could live another 30 years and millions more could be spent on a wild goose chase.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I tend to agree with you. His parents and grandparents took him to what was in effect a building site and he disappeared. I very much doubt they "did" anything to him, but I also suspect they are trying to transfer their guilt for what could be seen as their negligence onto the British police and tax payer. This child has almost certainly been dead for decades. How long can the family realistically expect the British police to go on fishing expeditions at taxpayer expense, and how much should the British taxpayer be expected to stump up when there are no credible new leads?

I'm guessing his parents are in their 50s so could live another 30 years and millions more could be spent on a wild goose chase.

I think they were told several times back then, by locals, that gypsies had him. That combined with getting a possible name an other "clues" would give enough hope I reckon. How could you give up knowing there was a chance he could be alive? Yes they took their eye off him, and then thought he'd gone with his uncle and so time passed before the alarm was raised. But this was in Kos, a small island with little crime. Think 1970/80's rural England when we could all do as we pleased without our parents worrying. Be home for tea, they said, and we were.

Having said all that, Ben would be 27 now, I think he would have twigged something with all the social media about the case. There has to be an end point.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I think they were told several times back then, by locals, that gypsies had him.

And yet, search after search for him amongst local gypsies has turned up nothing. Nowt. Just a few rumours based on folklore that is itself based on racism. Apart from anything else, why would local gypsies want Ben, or any other child child that wasn't their own?

How could you give up knowing there was a chance he could be alive?

But how long do you go on searching? As you say, Ben would be 27 today and in theory could live to 100. On that basis, does the search continue for another 70 years? At what cost?

There has to be an end point.

On that we are agreed. But what should that end point be and who decides?

Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that the police (Greek or British) should not follow up very credible leads, but we cannot keep sending British police into a foreign country every time there is a rumour, regardless of how absurd or flimsy it is.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Yep, I mainly agree with you Melmoth, I just think from a parents point of view you'd never ever be able to close that book.

IF Ben is alive he is likely looks different to his mates (I've been to Greece a few times, and everyone I met was olive skinned and dark haired) so IF he's out there he should have wondered by now. To me, it probably needs a social media push more than an expensive legal investigation.