21 years ago, British toddler Ben Needham disappeared on the Greek island of Kos. His family has been devastated ever since, and demanded to find out what happened to give their child a proper burial. The British detectives who are on the case decided to come to Kos to examine tons of earth piled up yards from where the 21-month-old vanished in 1991.
Greek authorities are trying to get British police to provide hi-tech 3D scanners capable of detecting human bones buried beneath rubble, as they are convinced that his body lies somewhere on the island.
JCB driver Konstantinos Barkas – who was excavating for a new house yards away during the hours that Ben went missing – has also been tracked down by the British investigation team.
61-one-year-old Barkas said, “Yes, I was the man with the JCB that day. Loads of earth was being taken to clear the ground for the new house down the road. I think people were misled in thinking the child was abducted.”
There are three theories regarding the missing child: 1.Ben was accidentally buried after wandering off; 2. Ben was the victim of a fatal accident which someone wanted to hide by placing him in a shallow grave, knowing it would be further covered by tons of earth; 3. Ben was murdered and buried at the site in the east of the island to conceal the crime.
He went missing on July 24, 1991, when his mom Kerry, only 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine while she went to work in a hotel. His grandparents took Ben to a farmhouse owned by their Greek friend Michaelis Kypreos.
The couple were eating lunch when suddenly they realized Ben had gone quiet while playing outside. They couldn’t find him and police were eventually contacted.
Greek police are increasingly convinced the most likely explanation is that Ben, who would be 23 this year, died on the day he vanished.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Fenwick, of South Yorkshire Police, visited the island last year with a colleague when the case was re-launched. A Greek source said “This idea is a lot more plausible than Ben being abducted.”
“The officers sent to Kos from Athens to head up the new team last year think Ben could have been covered over with soil and stones when the truck driver emptied a load of earth.”
On the day Ben went missing, a handful of officers arrived in the dark at the house in tiny Iraklis. The patch of land now covered by the mound was thick with rubble and rubbish from building work. Today, it forms a steep bank two-feet deep in grass and weeds, which have grown over soil and lumps of concrete.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed the force are “undertaking a review” of the Greeks’ latest findings.
There have been more than 300 false sightings of Ben in Greece and across Europe.
Kerry’s theory is that Ben was snatched from the property by someone driving a white car.
Kos Police Colonel Sentonas St. Stergos said, “More than anything we want to help bring this nightmare to an end for Ben’s parents. They have to know what happened.”
Source: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk
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