British mum receives DNA test result after man claimed to be son who vanished from Greece 33 years ago
The mother of missing toddler Ben Needham has revealed the results of a recent DNA test carried out on a Danish man who came forward claiming to be him.
The British tot was just 21-months-old when he disappeared in 1991 while he and mum Kerry were staying with family on the Greek island of Kos.
The pair had been holidaying with Ben's grandparents, Eddie and Christine Needham, at their farmhouse in the village of Iraklis near Kos town, at the time.
At around 2.30pm on 24 July - whilst his mother was working at a nearby hotel - Ben disappeared.
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According to his grandparents' claims, the tot had been wandering in and out of the farmhouse repeatedly in the hours prior.
It wasn't until 2.30pm that Eddie and Christie realised he was missing.
Despite an extensive search and countless police interviews, however, investigating authorities had no leads on the fate that befell the child.
That was, until earlier this year, when a man living in Denmark came forward claiming to be the Ben, who hailed from Lincolnshire.
South Yorkshire police told press back in July that the unnamed man's DNA had been tested and compared with the missing toddler's, and they were awaiting results.
A representative of the authorities told press at the time: "Whist South Yorkshire Police has no jurisdiction in Greece, we are keen to support Greek authorities and Ben’s family in any way we can and a senior investigating officer remains in contact with Greek counterparts.
"Our thoughts are with Ben’s family who have never given up hope of discovering the truth of what happened on 24 July 1991 and we will continue to support them in that endeavour."
Tragically, however, after mass anticipation, a spokesperson for Ben's family have since confirmed that the DNA sample was not a match for the missing toddler.
Since then, Ben's mother, Kerry, 51, has issued a statement, insisting she'll remain persistent in the search for her little boy.
She told The Mirror this week: "I will never give up for as long as I live."
The latest incident followers years of both British and Greek police returning to the case after several potential leads proved to be dead ends.
Back in 2012, authorities believed they were one step closer to finding the youngster when a deathbed confession from a digger driver alleged that he'd accidentally killed the toddler and before burying his remains.
Tragically, however, his admission couldn't be confirmed by police, and any remains that have since been found on the island have been ruled as not being Ben's.
Nikolaos Dakouras, the island's chief of police, told press at the time: "We now believe we have searched every possible part of that area, and the boy is not there.
"It leaves us with a great mystery. We have no theories. We have no solutions."
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, who was previously in charge of the inquiry, also previously stated he believed the toddler had died in an accident near the farmhouse.
Rhianna Benson