Topics: UK News, News, Crime, True Crime, Parenting
The mother of missing toddler Ben Needham has spoken out today after the long-awaited results of a DNA test carried out on a Danish man claiming to be her son were released.
South Yorkshire police first released information on the unnamed man's claims back in July, revealing that his genetics were being compared to that of the Lincolnshire toddler, who disappeared whilst on a family holiday to the Greek island of Kos back in 1991.
Ben Needham was just 21 months old when he seemingly vanished into thin air 33 years ago, sparking an multi-national police investigation.
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He and mum Kerry had been visiting his grandparents, Eddie and Christine Needham, at their farmhouse in the village of Iraklis.
The day of his disappearance, Kerry had been working at a nearby hotel, leaving the toddler under the care of his grandparents.
At around 2.30pm on 24 July that year, however - after the tot had been wandering in and out of the farmhouse repeatedly - he suddenly vanished.
Tragically, an extensive search of the island - as well as countless police interviews - failed to provide a lead on the child's fate.
Therefore, when a Danish man came forward earlier this year claiming to be the missing youngster, Kerry and her family hoped that DNA testing might provide some clarity on the case.
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.
Sadly, 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.
