Ben In Daily Mirror today

I have allways felt that Bens case was that of a tragic accident. It was a remote place, not exactly the M1

Shame on the Greek authorities for not putting an effort from the word go to check out anything local that might explain things.

Guess Greek politicians back then is akin to our politicians today here in UK, a bunch of care in the community cases.

What I do not understand is why the grandparents and their friends din not take it upon themselves to check out the immediate vacinity when they discovered the child missing.

Ribisl wrote:I thought Ben was always supposed to have been abducted. So why this sudden shifting of focus, I wonder?.

There has not been a 'sudden shifting' of focus.

There is evidence that the Greek Police's main line of enquiry was that Ben's 17-year-old uncle, Stephen, had ridden off with Ben on a motorbike, Ben had either fallen off, or there had been an accident, and Stephen disposed of the body. What is certainly conceded is that earlier that day, Ben had been playing on Stephen's motorbike. It also appears that the last person to see Ben alive was Stephen. It is also conceded that Ben disappeared at the very moment that Stephen rode off on his bicycle.

These three articles shed further light on the Greek Police's hypothesis:

++++++++++++++++++++++

1. TV Documentary 2001

Revisits the case of Ben Needham, who disappeared ten years ago when he was twenty one months old whilst the family were staying on the Greek island of Kos. No trace of him has ever been found, although there have been several reported sightings and false trails. Ben's uncle Stephen Needham undergoes hypnosis to see if he can revive any memories of the day that may prove useful. He has disquieting images of killing Ben in a motorbike accident and burying him, but since police suggested this to him on several occassions during past interogations this may not signify anything.

2. Kerry Needham – on the Ben Needham website

Our family, my Dad Eddie then 42, my Mum Christine 38, my two younger brothers Stephen 17 and Danny only 11 years old at the time, myself - I was 19 - and my little son Ben, originally from SHEFFIELD England, UK, had decided to move to the island of KOS in Greece.

Unfortunately, our then newly adopted country had other plans for us.

On July 24, 1991, our family was destroyed by a mindless act.

Our beloved Ben (3 months short of his 2nd birthday), was abducted, by a criminal.

It was just a normal day for our family.

July 24, 1991

My Dad and my brother Stephen had gone to work, they were restoring an old farmhouse in the remote village on the island, called Heracles.

I had also gone to work, at the "Palm Beach" Hotel, situated near the beach, where I worked as a waitress.

Ben was at home with my Mum, as she was always looking after him during my long working hours.

Around lunchtime, my mum with Ben and Danny, went to the farmhouse where my Dad and Stephen were working, to have their lunch.

Nothing unusual about this, they had done so, many a time.

The table was set indoors, Ben was playing with his toys, just outside the doorway and he kept running in and out of the house, getting water and pouring it over himself. It was a scorcher of a day, at 42°C or about 105ºF.

It was about 14:30 when my Dad told Stephen he can have the rest of the day off, because some building material had not arrived, so there was nothing else to do there.

As Stephen was leaving the farmhouse, on his moped/motorbike, Ben was playing quite happily. Ben looked up at Stephen - he wanted to go with him - but Stephen told him to "Go inside to grandpa".

A few minutes later - no more than 5 minutes - My mum had noticed that Ben was quiet, and she went outside to check.

BEN WAS NOT THERE!

My Dad went around to the back of the house and my mum walked the driveway, looked down the lane, but could not see Ben anywhere...


3. Guardian article – Melanie MacFadyean, 2009

Stephen was the last of the family to see Ben. "He said: 'Bike, bike,' and I said, 'No chance, go to Grandad.'" Then Stephen got on his bike and didn't look back.

Because of this, when he was questioned by the police he was singled out. They said that his moped looked as if it had been involved in an accident. Stephen told them about a minor crash a few days before, when he'd swerved to avoid some tourists on quad bikes, which explained the lack of indicators and a smashed fairing. But they weren't satisfied. "You fall off, kill the child, bury him?" the policeman said. The questioning had gone on like this for days. "They tried to break him," was how Eddie had put it, "but there was nothing to break."

When the family returned from Kos, though, Stephen got back into a normal pace of life much sooner than his sister and parents did. Within two years he was living with a girlfriend and by the time he was 23, he had two daughters. He was working on a building site, had passed his driving test and was enjoying life. But his relationship with the girls' mother started to break down, and eventually he left. "I know nobody would understand someone walking away from their kids," he said. "It killed me. If I'd stayed I wouldn't have been able to carry on. I'd have given up. I was already going through emotional stress: it was either leave and get away from it or go down with the sinking ship. But I was bonded with my children and that's what nearly killed me."

Ever since the police questioned Stephen, their idea that he might have had a hand in Ben's disappearance has haunted him. "Did I take him, did I pick him up and put him on my bike, did I drive down that lane? I was questioning my own sanity. It was always there. How could a child disappear, how could he just vanish? Did I forget him somewhere or have an accident? Did I run over him or fall off my bike? I've asked myself that again and again."

In 2001, when another TV documentary was made, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Ben's disappearance, Stephen was asked if he would be interviewed and whether he would undergo a form of hypnotherapy on camera. He agreed because he'd heard it might help to retrieve hidden memories. In the film he had to revisit the last moment he saw Ben and confront the doubt created by the police interrogation. It was traumatic but, when the filming was over, Stephen walked away sure that any suspicion that he or anyone else might have harboured that he could have accidentally killed Ben would be dispelled once and for all. Despite this, and although the film exonerates him, Stephen's fears were justified.

A year ago, he was out having a drink with his brother Danny and Kerry's husband, Craig. "One of my mates was half asleep, drunk on a sofa and a group of lads were threatening him, so I went over and said, 'Give up, he's drunk,' and one of them went, 'Oh, aren't you that uncle of that Ben that disappeared?' I said yes. 'You took him on your bike, didn't you?'..."

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2003/06/17/missing-boy-s-uncle-in-police-inquiry-55578-13078041/

Letterwriter wrote:http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2003/06/17/missing-boy-s-uncle-in-police-inquiry-55578-13078041/

Goodness, have never read that before

A long article from 3 years ago.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/29/missing-child-ben-needham

I'm not sure if I'd heard before about the contacts with Team McCann.

Ben Needham's mother dismisses report he was buried




Kerry Needham's family were renovating a farmhouse on Kos when Ben vanished

The mother of a boy who went missing in Greece 21 years ago has dismissed a report that the toddler died at the time in a building site accident.

Ben Needham, of Sheffield, went missing during a family visit to the island of Kos in 1991 when he was 21 months old.

A Daily Mirror report says Greek police believe he may have been buried under rubble near his family's farmhouse.

Kerry Needham said: "I was horrified when I saw that. I know my son is alive and well and out there somewhere."

The newspaper said Greek police wanted to excavate the now-overgrown mound of earth and rubble on a property neighbouring the farmhouse which Mrs Needham's father was renovating at the time of her son's disappearance.

However, Mrs Needham told BBC Radio Sheffield: "That mound of rubble was already there when Ben was still there.

"I find it very, very unlikely that Ben is there, unless he buried himself.

"Once it is proved that Ben is not dead... then maybe the Greek police will continue in their efforts to try and find him”
- Kerry Needham Ben's mother

"It was a shock to my system when I saw the newspaper report this morning. It is obviously an awful thought for myself and my family to have to deal with."

Police support

She said South Yorkshire Police, who have been supporting her during her search for Ben, could not confirm the report that Greek investigators now think a full excavation should be carried out.

"If that is what the Greek police want to do, then fine. Once it is proved that Ben is not dead, as I know, then maybe the Greek police will continue in their efforts to try and find him," she said.

Mrs Needham said she was continuing to receive support "24 hours a day, seven days a week".

A South Yorkshire Police statement said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Ben Needham remains with the Greek authorities.

"Should they request any help or support from South Yorkshire Police we will look to support them where we can and within our resources.

"The force's role is primarily to provide ongoing support to Ben's family, in particular his mum Kerry.

"South Yorkshire Police continues to undertake a review of material gathered locally during the past 20 years with officers also working with other agencies to examine any material held by them that might further the review."

candyfloss wrote:

Letterwriter wrote:http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2003/06/17/missing-boy-s-uncle-in-police-inquiry-55578-13078041/

Goodness, have never read that before

It's all here, on this forum, a couple of years back:

Ben Needham's mother begs for help


Mother of Ben Needham begs British holidaymakers for help in finding ... Jarvis
claimed she was grabbed and bundled towards a car in Wrexham. Also arrested
was Pierce Mount, the partner of Ben's mum, Kerry Needham.
https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t1535-ben-needham-s-mother-begs-for-help

You know, there are way to many Ben's out there, tragic stories of children who disappeared mysteriously for no good reason.

Looking at this case there is no reason for this child to have suddenly gone of the rador, i.e. remote country location, Mum gone to work grandparents took Ben to visit a neighbour, they were eating and Ben was playing outside, it was early in the day, Ben being so young would have had the natural curiousity that kids of that age have, and would have reacted to any exitement going on outdoors, that curiousity would not have led him to stray far from those who he saw as his comfort zone. I really do feel for Ben's Mum and her extended family, we know that the family fully co-operated with the authorities from the off, and if there had been a scent of doubt back then that this family had anything to do with Bens disappearance we would be looking at a miscarriage of justice scenario.

Why did it take all these years to discover that there were excavation works going on close to where Ben was visiting that day? why wern't the family given the help they needed from the UK's home office of the day to ensure that the Greek authorities did the basics, and why did Kerry and her parents not realise that Ben's curiosity led him to strayed to far and his remains being found could have saved them all the nightmare they have lived with all these years.

The cynic in me tells me that the only reason that Ben Needham's case is being dragged up by the media all of a sudden is because there is a a scandal brewing within Whitehall, that scandal I can only presume relates to Murdoch's reign as UK leader supreme past 15 years and the fact that the Uk Public could suddenly grow a conscience and demand ARRESTS ACROSS THE BOARD (never mind the fact that new graduates out there might just decide to connect to politics)....... well I can live in hope lol

If the uncle rode off on his motorcycle after telling the toddler to stay put, the child might well have tried to follow him and come to grief. I wonder too why this idea of his being accidentally buried under rubble was not pursued at the time.
How can the authorities in Greece prove he is not dead?

By all means try for the original reward, but as it's no longer available still give up the info.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156261/Putting-price-sons-life-Mother-toddler-Ben-Needham-missing-20-years-claims-mystery-man-demanded-500k-reveal-whereabouts.html

..... "Many hours passed before the Police were notified"

Paedos/abcuctors hanging out in white cars stalking the country cottage.

I'm sure I heard this mentioned somewhere else.

don't think I have said this before to you.............so...........Welcome to the forum One

TY Candyfloss,

The Needhams felt felt "so safe" that Christine "got off to make the tea" instead of searching for Ben.
The interviews were translated into Greek with no interpreter there except for a shopkeeper of the police's choosing and the Greek police did nothing to help.
Ben was sighted at an airport and in a taxi and taken by the gypsies.
The family had to return to the UK 2 months after Ben's disappearance.

It's uncanny.

just on Sky newspaper preview
after an investigation by the Mirror newspaper it looks as though British police are in touch with police on Kos to arrange to dig an area of land where it is feared the little boy could have been accidentally buried under a pile of rubble where building work was in progress. Kerry Needham is said to have found the development depressing.

russiandoll wrote: just on Sky newspaper preview
after an investigation by the Mirror newspaper it looks as though British police are in touch with police on Kos to arrange to dig an area of land where it is feared the little boy could have been accidentally buried under a pile of rubble where building work was in progress. Kerry Needham is said to have found the development depressing.

Thank you russiandoll.

Let us dig for Ben': British police in bid to check site where toddler went missing 21 years ago

The dramatic development comes after the Mirror revealed Ben Needham could have been accidentally buried under rubble


Ben Needham


For 21 years Kerry Needham has clung to the hope that her missing son Ben was still alive – but now the mum faces fears that police could be close to finding his body.
British
officers are in talks with their Greek counterparts about digging up a
site on the island of Kos where the little boy vanished in 1991 aged 21
months.
The dramatic development comes after the Mirror revealed Ben could have been accidentally buried under rubble dumped by a digger driver who was excavating earth near where he vanished.
Officers
are believed to have discussed the use of 3D ground scanning equipment –
similar to that used in the Fred West murder inquiry – to check for
bones beneath the surface.
A cold case review team have flown over to meet Greek police in recent weeks to hammer out the plan.
They visited a site where locals believe Ben was killed after wandering off from the home he was visiting.
South Yorkshire Police last night confirmed talks over a dig are underway.
A statement said: “Discussions are ongoing as to a further search in the area where Ben went missing.”
But
while Kerry accepts a search has to be carried out, knowing the remains
of her son may be found, she says it could help prove he’s still alive
if nothing is found.



Search: The mound which could be dug up

North Downs Picture Agency
The 40-year-old, of Sheffield, said: “It has been really
depressing and it’s a ­horrendous thought they would be digging up the
ground looking for a dead body.
“It will be heart wrenching but I try to keep a positive mind and think only good can come of this.
“I would not want to be there for it but I feel as if I should be.
"It
is going to be soul destroying but once they have done it and not found
Ben, the Greek police and everyone else in the world will know my son’s
alive.
"Then we can have a big manhunt.
“It will lay to
rest a lot of island gossip, that it was an accident, that the family
had something to do with it, that there’s no smoke without fire.
"It will put the minds of those small and narrow minded people to rest.
"This has been like living a ­nightmare. It can send you to the brink of insanity and has done.
“I think these ­suspicions have hindered the investigation from the start. It’s horrible.”
Desperate Kerry urged the Home Office to step in and help fund the search.
She added: “If the resources are provided to dig this area, we can then move on and start a real search for Ben.
"I would politely ask for the Home Office to help.
“The officers are reviewing the inquiry and assisting by advising the Greek police what things need doing again.



21 year nightmare: Kerry believes missing Ben is alive

“I think all the funding will have to come from Britain if that is what the Greek police want to do.
“They need to take up the help and support of South Yorkshire Police. It can then be done as humanely as possible.
“South Yorkshire Police have reopened the case and going back to day one. They have started from scratch.
"They have gone through everything the Greek police did not do in the first place.
"I am confident they will get to the bottom of this. They are bloody good officers.”
Ben
vanished while being looked after by his expat grandparents, Eddie and
Christine Needham, at a small house on a hill above Kos Town.
It is one of the longest-running missing persons cases in British history.
Kerry blames local police for failings in the search which only began in ­darkness, many hours after he vanished.
A
Mirror investigation subsequently revealed the burial theory, which
Greek officers regard as the most credible explanation for Ben’s
disappearance.
We tracked down digger driver Konstantinos Barkas, who confirmed he was excavating earth near to the property.
On
the day Ben vanished, Konstantinos was dumping loads from his JCB on
the edge of the field where the tot played, forming a mound now covered
over with grass.
Eddie and Christine were inside when they ­realised the child had gone quiet.
The
couple claim they spent three hours searching around the house owned by
their Greek friend Michaelis Kypreos, and found nothing.
It was only then they contacted police and informed Kerry, who was working at a nearby hotel.
The cold case team, led by Detective Inspector Matt Fenwick, made their latest trip to Kos last month.
They first travelled to the island in September 2011 when they brought back case files for translation.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ben-needham-2012-south-yorkshire-1273074

Here's the Carol Sarler article about Ben Needham: This limbo that lasts a lifetime