Guernsey Press

Mother of missing Ben Needham vows to continue search for son

Ben was staying at his grandparents’ farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos when he vanished.

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The mother of missing Ben Needham says she will keep on searching for her son, 30 years after his disappearance.

Ben went missing on the Greek island of Kos at the age of 21 months and police believe he died on July 24 1991, as a result of an accident involving “heavy machinery”.

He was staying at his grandparents’ farmhouse on the Greek island when he vanished but Kerry Needham believes her son is still alive.

Search for Ben Needham
South Yorkshire Police officers carried out excavations in relation to Ben’s disappearance at a property in Kos in 2016 (Gareth Fuller/PA)

“And while there is no evidence to show me, I have to believe he is still alive.

“There’s not a single thread of evidence to say otherwise.”

A digital portrait of how Ben may have looked in 2012
A digital portrait of how Ben may have looked in 2012 (Tris Rossin/PA)

Detectives from South Yorkshire Police carried out a three-week search of Kos in 2016.

Speaking at the time, then Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: “My team and I know that machinery, including a large digger, was used to clear an area of land on 24 July 1991, behind the farmhouse that was being renovated by the Needhams.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins of South Yorkshire Police in Kos, Greece, as officers from South Yorkshire Police searched for missing toddler Ben Needham
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins of South Yorkshire Police in Kos as officers from South Yorkshire Police searched for missing toddler Ben Needham (Gareth Fuller/PA)

“The events leading up to and following that incident have been explored by my team of experts to great lengths. The fact that we have not had a direct result during this visit to Kos does not preclude the facts that we know to be true.”

He said the investigation would not close and new information would be looked at, adding: “We will not stop in our quest to find further answers for Ben’s family.”

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