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

[Alyce]

I think it's possible Ben ran after Stephen, trying to catch up, and lost his way.

Yes, I read up on that evidence last night - Pols post on previous page, re the lady in the house opposite who said she saw Ben playing as Stephen drove away. We know that Ben was asking to go on the bike , so makes sense he might have tried to follow Stephen. Dino's evidence said that there was vegetation ? of some kind in the fields that was several feet high, so if Ben stumbled in there and the digger dropped rubble in that area, then he could have been killed without anyone even realising it.

Only thing I keep coming back to is the shorts, that doesnt fit with the above.

 

[Alyce]

Duncan Wood ‏@duncanwooditv 2h2 hours ago

Part demolition of farmhouse where #BenNeedham was last seen to take place on #Kos later today. Family who own property are upset but agree


- see pics below, extension marked

I wonder if the fig tree was planted before the extension ? would explain why it was planted so close to the farmhouse if so.
If it was planted later, seems odd.
Although could have been self seeding I suppose ?

 

[Alyce]

Better pic of extension

 

[Alyce]

That was quick







Duncan Wood ‏@duncanwooditv 30m30 minutes ago

Police have demolished an extension to the farmhouse where #BenNeedham was last seen as part of search



just edited to add the pic

 

[Elainera]

Quick indeed!

So now they're gonna dig below it?

 

[Alyce]

Yes, I would think the foundations area is the place they want to search - looking at the pic, that also shoudn't take very long


Just watched a clip on line of the digger destroying the extension...apparently it took 15 minutes

 

[Alyce]

Hope this links ok


Another very good video, about 7 minutes, shows the extension before it was knocked down and the distance between it and the fig tree



https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1346306478735183&id=106174219415088

 

[Alyce]

There have been reports that the searchers have found marks which they believe were from the digger bucket that Dino was using, 25 years ago. Quite where these marks are, in relation to the farmhouse, has not been made clear.

My understanding was that the dig that Dino was doing was being done a ways down the road from the farmhouse - so am not clear why they are mentioning this now, as they are no longer searching down the road, but only by the farmhouse.

 

[JerricaBenton]

Where are you reading this Alyce?

 

[Alyce]

Mark Witty ‏@markwittyitv 9m9 minutes ago

Det Insp Jon Cousins says tomorrow is "important day" as team excavate earth underneath demolished Kos farmhouse extension

 

[Alyce]

Where are you reading this Alyce?

Am picking up the info from the Ben Needham twitter page

https://twitter.com/FindBenNeedham

 

[Alyce]

Ben Needham ‏@FindBenNeedham 24m24 minutes ago

Live interview with DI Cousins on @itvcalendar Floor in the demolished part of the farmhouse confirmed as 1991 "very important day tomorrow"

 

[Alyce]

ITV News Calendar ‏@itvcalendar 48m48 minutes ago

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1346563898709441


this is a very good link - Duncan Wood giving live updates - ITV Calendar.

DI Cousins has just said that they have taken up the floor in the extension and the ground underneath that floor is how the area would have been in 1991 when Ben went missing.
So tomorrow they will be sifting through the ground/earth in very fine detail

 

[Elainera]

Thank you Alyce for the updates!

So just to clarify once more, the ground they will be digging through tomorrow (under the knocked down extension) is right next to where the family was sitting in an adjacent room at the table. Like, feet away. Correct?

If they find anything there a family member (or all of them) would be involved, there would be no other explanation, right?

I don't know what to think anymore. Let's wait if they find anything. Actually I don't think they will.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Did Dino have anything to do with building that extension I wonder? Perhaps he prepped the ground or laid foundations. Seems drastic to tear a building down without some kind of strong inkling. Don't they have ground penetrating radar these days that can see through concrete floors?

I'm finding this all very ominous, and while I'm not sure they'll find him I kinda hope they do.

 

[Alyce]

If they do find him there then surely it is going to point the finger somewhere and it could get nasty.

The other part I am confused by - now- is the actual spot where Dino was digging up the land on that day.

Last week, Duncan ( the reporter with ITV ) did a video ( link is still on here somewhere ) where he walked downhill - away from the farmhouse and came to a spot where police were digging. He said ( or so I thought ) that this was the place that Dino had been working with the digger.

However, today, when it was reported that the police believe they have found the tracks/marks from Dino's digger, from 25 years ago, the reporter ( same guy ) said that these marks had been found by the breeze block building. The breeze block building is to the immediate left of the farmhouse - looking at the farmhouse from the lane. So this would be going uphill slightly.
If that was indeed where Dino was digging then it is extremely feasible to see how Ben could have walked over there and had an accident, because that building is only a matter of yards away from the patio area of the farmhouse. Also, from that spot, anyone working with Dino would easily be able to see the tree and the shorts.

 

[Alyce]

Did Dino have anything to do with building that extension I wonder? Perhaps he prepped the ground or laid foundations. Seems drastic to tear a building down without some kind of strong inkling. Don't they have ground penetrating radar these days that can see through concrete floors?

I'm finding this all very ominous, and while I'm not sure they'll find him I kinda hope they do.

I am fairly sure they said they used radar last time they searched ( in 2012 ) so again, it must be a very strong lead that they have been given, now, for them to go to the effort of knocking down the extension.
On the video clip, one of the questions asked was why the police had not taken the new witness up to the site, so that he or she could point out the exact spot that they were talking about.
The inspector said that anonymity had been granted to anyone who supplied information, so on that basis he could hardly take the person to the site.
However, he then also said that he had actually been on site with the witness. Presumably they gave the witness some kind of cover story, to allow him to be there incognito.

 

[gregjrichards]

"Ben Needham's grandad is set to return to the Greek island of Kos as he fears he may have accidentally laid building foundations over the site where his grandson is believed to have been crushed to death and buried.

Guilt-stricken Eddie Needham, 68, will assist investigators as they probe whether the toddler was killed by a digger in an accident at the building site 25 years ago.

Eddie's need to support his family meant he went back to work two weeks after Ben vanished."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-building-foundations-laid.html#ixzz4MCF6na6W

 

[Alyce]

Just watched the latest video on ITV Calendar, showing Eddie arriving at the site. Very emotional for him.

During the video, the reporter ( Duncan Wood ) was saying that, on that day, the digger was driving up and down the lane. Makes an accident even more possible.

The shorts have also been mentioned a few times in the video and on line, but still no explanation given for their disappearance.

 

[Alyce]

Eddie Needham made a short statement before he left the site. Also reports that, following Eddie's information, the police have now dug up the fig tree and are working round that area, as well as the foundations area.

http://www.itv.com/news/calendar/20...dfather-we-dont-know-if-we-will-ever-recover/