Missing Ben Needham’s mother says ‘someone knows what happened to my son’ after DNA blow

Ben Needham vanished from the Greek Island of Kos in 1991

Ben Needham (R) and a reconstruction of how he might look today (L) (PA)

The mother of Ben Needham has begged for more men in their 30s to come forward if they don’t know their parents after a Norwegian claiming to be the missing toddler was not a match.

Ben was 21 months old when he went missing on the Greek island of Kos, where he was staying in a farmhouse with his grandparents. Police believe the boy from Sheffield died on 24 July 1991, as a result of an accident involving heavy machinery.

But his mother Kerry Needham, who was working at a hotel on Kos at the time of his disappearance, insists he is still alive and believes someone on the holiday hotspot “knows exactly what happened to her son”.

Ben’s mother Kerry Needham and his grandmother Christine (L) are seen outside the police station on the island of Kos, in Greece (AFP)

She told The Independent that she never thought a Norwegian man was actually Ben.

“He contacted us through Ben’s Instagram page but he had already been in contact with South Yorkshire Police before asking for a DNA test,” she said. “He claims he was told by his grandmother that he was taken from Greece and travelled through Italy and eventually ended up in Norway where his parents brought him up.

“He has no photos of himself as a young child or a baby and his childhood wasn’t very nice. He had been hidden away all the time.”

The 52 year-old mother urged other people to come forward and see if they were also a match for her missing son.

Ms Needham said: “We are asking anyone who is around 30 years old to come forward if they believe something is wrong with their upbringing.

“If they have no childhood photos or birth certificate. If they don’t look like their siblings or parents- anything that seems odd in their life.”

Pieces of fabric found in search operation of 'slight interest' (PA)

Now, after decades of searching Ben’s mother has moved to Turkey to be nearer the island where her son disappeared.

On her gruelling 33-year search for answers, she added: “I find my strength to carry on because I’m determined to find the truth to what happened to Ben. It’s extremely difficult at times but I will never give up.

“We are constantly receiving information from the public regarding Ben or people they think are Ben and we follow up this info using social media or physically go and find the person in question, unfortunately due to lack of financial resources this is getting more difficult to do.

“I believe there are lines of inquiries that can be followed up on Kos as that’s where the answer lies. I believe someone on that island knows exactly what happened.”

To contact the family follow their official Instagram page.