Ben Needham 'killed in accident'

Toddler Ben Needham "most likely" died in an accident near to where he disappeared in 1991, police have said.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he disappeared on the Greek island of Kos.

An "item" believed to have been in Ben's possession at the time was found during fresh searches.

South Yorkshire Police said the current line of inquiry, that Ben was killed accidentally, was the most probable cause of the boy's disappearance.

The force said it remained committed to the investigation into Ben's disappearance and stressed the case remained open.

Ben Needham's mother 'would tear up island' in search

Det Insp Jon Cousins, who is leading the inquiry, said: "During the course of the inquiries we have made over the last 19 months, we have closed off a large number of theories about what happened to Ben, many of which have been open for over 20 years.

"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.

"It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse in Iraklis where he was last seen playing."
The information that prompted the fresh searches was revealed to police following television appeals in May.

A friend of a digger driver, who was clearing land with an excavator on the day the toddler went missing, said the man may have been responsible for Ben's death

The driver, Konstantinos Barkas, died of cancer in 2015.

A team of 19 South Yorkshire Police officers, forensic specialists, an archaeologist and search and rescue personnel have spent 21 days digging near the farmhouse and a second site 750m away.

Det Insp Cousins said an item, found on Saturday close to another item dated to 1991, had been shown to the Needham family.

"It is our initial understanding that this item was in Ben's possession around the time he went missing," he said.

"The recovery of this item, and its location, further adds to my belief that material was removed from the farmhouse on or shortly after the day that Ben disappeared."

The Needham family, who have long believed Ben may have been abducted, have been fully informed of the force's findings.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37676268

I think the truth is about to come out... and it's something one or two of the family have known about for a long time...

How do they know it was an accident anyway? Why wait til the man's dead to reveal this, and why, if an accident didn't he go to the police and say, and let the family know.

No I'm not sold on that.

The digger driver accident story is rubbish I think...


The truth is much closer to home...

Tommy Monk wrote:The digger driver accident story is rubbish I think...


The truth is much closer to home...

Oh I didn't think of that Tom, I do hope not. I do think the digger has a story though. Well never know now hes dead.

Mind you, they've only found a miniature car he played with, nothing else, so how do they know he's there? Even being run over and crushed, there would be bones surely?

Maybe they did find more or still will find more when they analyse the earth that has been sent back...


And are just seeing what the family say before revealing it... building up a bit more of a case...

I dont buy it either. Too many years have gone by and this would've come to light before now. It sounds like a convenient story to me.

Read the details of his disappearance and the behaviour of family after and since...


I know what I think...

Tommy Monk wrote:

Read the details of his disappearance and the behaviour of family after and since...


I know what I think...

Are you waiting for me to ask?

I think  its time for the enqiry to close.
He wasn't  kidnapped, is almost certainly no longer alive as SOMEONE would  know. He probably died in an unfortunate  accident under the wheels of a digger and the driver has also died. The evidential chain is pretty well closed, and the police can realistically  do no more.
For the sake of his family, close the case, issue a death certificate , have a memorial service and let them grieve and have closure.

eddie wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:

Read the details of his disappearance and the behaviour of family after and since...


I know what I think...

Are you waiting for me to ask?

No... I'm waiting for people to actually look into the circumstances of the disappearance...

Okay...I am asking you what your opinion is. What do you think happened?

The family know what happened...

Tommy Monk wrote:

eddie wrote:

Are you waiting for me to ask?

No... I'm waiting for people to actually look into the circumstances of the disappearance...

The only living witness to the event is the family tortoise..
Subpoena  the bugger.
I am thrilled Tom KNOWS the family know. Iam sure he has already passed all of his evidence of this to the police.
Of course, it could be just speculation or an assumption on Tom's part.
Won't be the first time.

What are you talking about you twat...?


They all said they didn't see him vanish... although three of them said they were there around the time...

Tommy Monk wrote:The family know what happened...

Wow you sure like to wring as many replies as you can!
You think the mother did it?

Do any of you know anything about the circumstances of his disappearance...?

Tommy Monk wrote:Do any of you know anything about the circumstances of his disappearance...?

Only what I've read in the media and I am suspicious of some of those people.

The story given to the police about what happened is very sketchy to say the least...