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Ben Needham: police to excavate land on Kos where toddler went missing Ben Needham: police to excavate land on Kos where toddler went missing
(about 3 hours later)
A team of British police search experts are to begin digging for the possible remains of Ben Needham, the toddler who disappeared on the Greek island of Kos more than 20 years ago, according to reports. A team of officers will on Friday begin a search on the Greek island of Kos for the remains of the British toddler Ben Needham who disappeared more than 20 years ago.
Specialists from a series of police forces plan to excavate a mound of rubble near the home where the family lived when Ben, then aged 21 months, vanished in July 1991, the Mirror said. The specialist officers from police forces in the UK, led by South Yorkshire police, will excavate a mound of rubble close to the home where Ben's mother, Kerry, and grandparents lived in July 1991, when he went missing aged 21 months.
The search is being led by South Yorkshire police, which has been supporting Ben's mother, Kerry Needham, in her quest to discover what happened to her son. They are investigating the possibility that Ben was accidentally buried by a digger driver dumping rubble in a field adjoining his grandparents' home. The South Yorkshire force said it was supporting Ben's mother in her quest to discover what happened. One line of inquiry is that Ben was accidentally buried by a digger driver dumping rubble in a field adjoining his grandparents' home.
Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick from the South Yorkshire force told the Mirror: "One of the lines of inquiry is that we want to clear the ground from where Ben originally went missing to, if you like, finalise that as a line of inquiry. The officers are leading a group of specialist search advisers who will be supporting the Greek authorities as they decide whether to excavate the ground, South Yorkshire police said.
"I'm taking over some search experts with expertise in looking at ground work, to establish the possibility that some remains could be there. From the Greek authority perspective, they're also providing a level of expertise and they will be working very closely with us and providing a large number of staff who can assist in the search. Ben vanished in Kos after his mother and grandparents moved there from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Despite a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to him, no trace of the youngster has ever been found.
"There are multiple lines of inquiry at the moment that are certainly possibilities as to what's happened to Ben, but this is just one line of inquiry that, by the work that we propose, should finalise that, to the best we can." His mother has spent two decades looking for her son and has consistently maintained that he was abducted and is still alive.
Ben's disappearance made headlines for a number of years, much like the later case of Madeleine McCann, who vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007. He was being cared for by his grandparents at their farmhouse in Kos while his mother worked at a nearby hotel. He disappeared after being out of view for only a few minutes. On Thursday a South Yorkshire police spokeswoman said: "South Yorkshire police is leading a team of specialist search advisers who have travelled to the Greek island of Kos to support the Greek authorities as they search for missing Sheffield toddler Ben Needham. Greek police are pursuing a line of inquiry centred on the grounds of the property from which Ben disappeared in 1991 aged 21 months.
It was long theorised that Ben might have been kidnapped, and there was a spate of subsequent sightings of blond children of about his age around Greece, all of which turned out to be false leads. "Beginning tomorrow, work will begin to examine the ground, including using geophysical ground examination equipment, to determine whether any area should be dug."
Kerry Needham told the Mirror she remains convinced her son is alive, saying: "This is an elimination process, and that's how I'm dealing with it. It's one of the most important things to happen in 21 years." The spokeswoman said other specialist resources had been deployed including a forensic archaeologist and search dogs. She said the operation was expected to last a week to 10 days and followed a Greek police request for specialist support.
The search will involve dogs trained to sniff out human remains, sonar and 3D imaging equipment. According to the Mirror, Greek authorities have allowed the British police to seal off the land and treat it as a potential crime scene. "During the past 18 months, South Yorkshire police has also reviewed all material held by the Greek police in relation to Ben's disappearance in order to support the Greek inquiry. South Yorkshire police has also obtained Ben's DNA from Sheffield children's hospital. SYP has for a number of years supported Ben's mum Kerry and other members of the family."
Ben's mother told the Daily Mirror: "This is an elimination process and that's how I'm dealing with it. It's one of the most important things to happen in 21 years."
The new search is centred on a large mound which is now grassed over. It is close to a farmhouse next to the one Ben's grandparents were renovating when he vanished. One line of inquiry is he could have accidentally been buried beneath it. But Kerry Needham has maintained in previous interviews that she believes the large mound was already there when Ben went missing.
Earlier this year, she said: "I find it very, very unlikely that Ben is there, unless he buried himself."
MP Angela Smith, who has supported the family, said she believed the search was important as it ruled out another line of inquiry. Smith, who is Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, told BBC Radio Sheffield: "Hopefully they won't find Ben in that rubble and it closes down another line of inquiry and narrows down the possibilities."
She said: "I know that she (Kerry Needham) will be very keen for this work to be undertaken and has rock solid confident, I'm sure, that they won't find Ben there."
Ben's disappearance made headlines for a number of years, similar to the case of Madeleine McCann, who vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007.