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The mother of missing Ben Needham is awaiting DNA test results after a man came forward claiming he could be her son.
Ben, from Sheffield, disappeared on the Greek island of Kos 34 years ago, at the age of 21 months.
Despite one of the longest missing person investigations in British history – including two excavations at the farmhouse where he was last seen – his whereabouts remain unknown.
A number of people have since made unfounded claims that they could be Ben.
On Thursday Ben’s mother, Kerry Needham, told ITV Calendar she is awaiting DNA test results after the social media page devoted to finding Ben was contacted by the girlfriend of a man allegedly bearing similarities to images of Ben.
Ben Needham went missing from the Greek island of Kos almost 25 years ago
Mrs Needham said: “It’s quite an anxious time for us all. We have been in this situation many times before. We just try to find a way to keep busy, keep our emotions under control, you don’t want your hopes to run away with you.
“After all these years, it’s kind of become, without sounding too awful, an elimination process. We can’t ignore these people that come forward – we try to get enough information as possible.
“If we can rule them out without a DNA test, then that’s all well and good. But if it comes down to having a DNA test to put his mind at rest and our mind at rest, then that’s the road we have to go down.”
She said the man who had come forward appears similar to age-progression photographs of Ben.
“He knows that he was adopted, and there are lots of things that his adopted parents have told him that just don’t add up, and he is just deeply suspicious about his upbringing and where he came from,” she said.
Ben vanished on 24 July 1991, while he was playing outside a remote farmhouse which was being renovated by his grandfather Eddie.
His family, including Kerry’s parents and two brothers, had moved to Kos earlier in the year to start a new life.
There has been no sign of the toddler since. Two excavations around the farmhouse in 2012 and 2016 found no definitive proof of what happened.
The site of the excavations in the search for Ben Needham Credit: ITV News
Asked after all these years what kept her going, she said: “The truth and the love for my son. I can’t allow anyone to get away with this.
“We’re not 100% sure what happened to Ben, but that’s what keeps me going every day. I need to find him or find out the truth as to what happened to him, and if I don’t keep doing this, then no one else is.”
She added: “I appreciate the theory about what South Yorkshire Police said after their extensive excavation, but there is still no physical, no forensic evidence to back that up, and until I get that, Ben is still a missing person and I will do whatever it takes to try to find him or at least the answers of what happened to him.
“You’re living in torment every day the not knowing. That’s the most difficult thing. You know, if a family member is no longer alive, you can go through the grieving process and eventually rebuild your life. But this – it’s ongoing agony. It is like living in a constant nightmare you can’t wake up from.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not trying to keep the campaign going, keep up the publicity for Ben. It’s the first thing I think about in the morning when I wake up and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep at night: What else can I do? Where do I go from here?”
Discussing the potential results of the DNA test she said she felt “apprehensive” and “anxious”.
She said: “I’m trying my best to keep my emotions under control. I just keep busy. It is there in the forefront of my mind, but I have to do other things. I have to keep the search going, keep the campaign going. If this turns out to be negative, then what’s the next step from here?”
“There are people, whether it be one person or multiple people on the island of Kos, who know exactly what’s happened to Ben, and I urge them to come forward. Nothing can happen; no one can be arrested; nobody can go to prison because of the statute of limitations over there.
“I just want that person who knows exactly what happened to Ben to come forward and tell me. And then I can go away; I can leave their life alone; I can leave their island alone. I won’t keep going back there once I know the truth.”
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