Police to dig up mound in search for Ben Needham

Police investigating the disappearance of Ben Needham are to search a mound of earth close to where he went missing as a toddler.

Ben vanished in July 1991 on the Island of Kos when he was just 21 months old, his mother and grandparents had moved to the area from Sheffield.

Officers from South Yorkshire Police, who work closely with the Needham family, have travelled to Greece with a group of specialist search advisers to assist local authorities.

Hopefully they won’t find Ben in that rubble and it closes down another line of inquiry Labour MP Angela Smith

Ben’s mother Kerry Needham has spent two decades looking for her son and believes he was abducted and is still alive but says the excavation will be “one of the most important things to happen in 21 years”.

The case made headlines for a number of years and there have been over 300 reported sightings of Ben. Despite numerous theories about what happened to the child no trace has ever been found.

The new search is focussed on a large mound of grassed over rubble near a farmhouse next to the one Ben’s grandparents were renovating in 1991.

Mrs Needham has said she believes the mound was already there when Ben went missing but one theory suggests the child was accidentally buried beneath it.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman explained their team includes a forensic archaeologist and search dogs to help examine the mound.

“Greek police are pursuing a line of inquiry centred on the grounds of the property from which Ben disappeared in 1991 aged 21 months,” a spokeswoman stated.

“Work will begin to examine the ground, including using geophysical ground examination equipment, to determine whether any area should be dug.”

South Yorkshire Police confirmed that they have obtained a sample of Ben’s DNA from Sheffield Children’s Hospital for the search.

Labour MP Angela Smith, who has supported the Needham family, said she believed the search was important to rule out another line of inquiry.

“I know that she (Mrs Needham) will be very keen for this work to be undertaken and rock solid confident, I’m sure, that they won’t find Ben there.”

“Hopefully they won’t find Ben in that rubble and it closes down another line of inquiry and narrows down the possibilities.”