Everything we know about toddler who vanished from Greece 33 years ago as man comes forward claiming to be him
A man has come forward claiming to be a toddler who vanished from Greece 33 years ago.
The 21-month-old British child, Ben Needham, disappeared on holiday on the island of Kos back in 1991.
Despite an extensive search and countless police interviews, however, investigating authorities had no leads on the fate that befell the child - until this week.
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But, before we get into the latest update, let's rewind and go through the timeline of events starting from the tot's disappearance to present day now that a man living in Denmark has claimed to be the missing toddler all grown-up.
How did Ben Needham disappear?
Ben was staying with his family in a hotel on the 24 July, 1991.
The group had been staying with Ben's grandparents, Eddie and Christine Needham, at their farmhouse in the village of Iraklis near Kos town, at the time.
The day he went missing, the toddler had been left in the care of the duo while his mother, Kerry, went to work at a nearby hotel.
According to his grandparents' claims, the tot had been wandering in and out of the farmhouse repeatedly.
It wasn't until 2.30pm that Eddie and Christie realised he was missing.
What happened in the search for Ben Needham?
Two days after his disappearance (26 July, 1991) eyewitness reports claimed that a child matching Ben's description was found at the local airport on the day he disappeared.
That boy, however, has never been traced.
There have since been over 300 reported sightings of Ben since his disappearance with many theories, speculations and individuals claiming to be the child coming to the surface as the search continued.
Amid all this in 2016, Ben's family were also told to 'prepare for the worst' by leading detectives over the belief that the infant was crushed to death by a digger - the driver of which died in 2015.
In 2012, the driver alleged that he'd accidentally killed the toddler and had buried his remains.
Police were sadly unable to confirm truth in the man's statement, however, and any remains that have since been found on the island do not match those of Ben.
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.
No trace of Ben was ever found despite all the investigations conducted by both British and Greek police.
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."
What would Ben Needham look like now?
In June 2003, the Metropolitan Police shared an image rendering of what Ben might look like as an older boy between 12 to 14 years old.
Then, a decade later in 2013, police released another image of what they believe Ben would look like as a young adult.
A few years after that in 2021, a National Crime Agency-listed forensic artist created an 'incredible' image of what Ben would look like at the time using his childhood photographs and photos from the whole family.
Could Ben Needham still be alive?
Yesterday (24 July) marked the 33rd year since the disappearance of Ben.
A man living in Denmark has come forward claiming to be the missing child and, according to South Yorkshire police, the unnamed man's DNA has now been tested, and is being compared to a sample of Ben's DNA, maintained by the force 'to provide Ben's family with a definitive answer'.
What's the response from Ben Needham's family?
Following the development, Ben's mother Kerry is now imploring with police to re-interview any suspects they believed could have had a part to play in his disappearance.
Speaking to The Mirror after the Danish man came forward, she explained: "I’m going to be spending the day [the anniversary] trying not to relive the horror of it all. Every day is hard but this is always a devastating day to face.
"I really want them to reinterview a number of witnesses who lied and those who refused to talk to us properly.
"There are people who know where Ben is on that island. I cannot understand how they can live with themselves knowing they could end our torture. They can't go to prison because the statute of limitations is 20 years, so they have nothing to lose."
Will the search for Ben Needham continue?
Yorkshire Police are hoping that this latest update will assist in tracking down witnesses that prompted the accidental death theory.
A spokesperson for the British authorities also declared a wish to rekindle with the Greek police once again in the hope of getting to the bottom of the matter.
"Whilst 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," the representative said.
"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."
Topics: News, UK News, World News, Ben Needham
Rhiannon Ingle