35 Years On, a Mother Speaks: What Kerry Needham Now Believes Happened to Her Son After He Vanished on a Greek Holiday Island

Ben Needham vanished from the island of Kos at just 21 months old on July 24, 1991, after he was last seen playing outside his grandparents’ run-down farmhouse

The mother of a British toddler who disappeared without a trace on a Greek holiday island more than three decades ago has revealed what she now believes may have happened to her missing son — as a fresh DNA test is prepared following a new lead.

Ben’s mother Kerry Needham, 53, believes her son may have been abducted by a gypsy trafficking ring and sold on for illegal adoption

Ben Needham vanished from the island of Kos on July 24, 1991, when he was just 21 months old. He was last seen playing outside his grandparents’ run-down farmhouse while the family was living on the island.

South Yorkshire Police officers investigate an olive grove near the scene where Ben went missing in Kos, Greece, in September 2016 after a theory suggested he may have been accidentally crushed and killed by a digger

For 35 years, the mystery surrounding Ben’s disappearance has remained unsolved.

In 2012, a disturbing theory emerged suggesting Ben may have been accidentally crushed and killed by a digger working in an olive grove behind the farmhouse. Three years later, an anonymous tip claimed digger driver Konstantinos ‘Dino’ Barkas had allegedly confessed on his deathbed and buried the child’s body.

An age progression facial depiction of what Ben Needham may look like as an adult. He would now be 36

But Ben’s mother, Kerry Needham, now 53, has firmly rejected that explanation — and admits she finds it deeply frustrating that so many people still believe it.

Instead, she says she believes her son may have been abducted by a gypsy trafficking gang and sold for illegal adoption — a theory that has resurfaced after a woman recently contacted her claiming her boyfriend believes he could be Ben.

Kerry Needham, mother of missing Ben Needham, holding up a newspaper showing a photo of her missing son in 1991

Speaking from her home in Antalya, Turkey, where she relocated around two years ago, Ms Needham revealed she received an email last week from a woman convinced there are “too many coincidences” in her partner’s past to ignore.

The woman claimed “a lot of things don’t add up” about his history — prompting police to consider a DNA test.

Despite the emotional weight of the message, Ms Needham said she did not “jump for joy,” explaining she has not yet seen a photograph of the man and currently has very limited information.

Police at the scene in Kos, Greece, as officers from South Yorkshire Police began excavations in relation to the missing toddler Ben Needham in September 2016

She has passed the details she does have to South Yorkshire Police, which has led the British side of the investigation alongside Greek authorities. Officers now plan to conduct DNA testing to determine whether there is a match.

In the summer of 1991, Ms Needham (pictured), who was just 19 at the time, moved herself and Ben from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to the village of Iraklis, near Kos town, to begin a new life with her parents who were already living there

Ms Needham said that once Ben’s case gained wider publicity over the years, people began coming forward with information — including a chilling conversation her father once had with a Greek man who urged him to look into gypsies operating on the island.

Ms Needham also voiced frustrations over the stark difference in public funding and attention Ben’s case got compared to the extensive support given to the McCann’s since their three-year-old daughter Madeleine (pictured) went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007

The man allegedly told Ben’s grandfather that there was a gang involved in selling children for illegal adoption, adding that Ben’s blonde hair and blue eyes meant he would “fetch more money”.

At first, Ms Needham said the suggestion sounded impossible. But it prompted her to begin researching trafficking networks more closely.

Comparing the authority’s efforts in both cases, she said a lot of mistakes were made by the British Embassy in Athens and the British Government after Ben went missing, whereas the McCanns (pictured) received ‘all the help and resources’

She praised South Yorkshire Police for remaining open-minded about the possibility of trafficking, but said she never felt Greek authorities seriously pursued the theory. She later learned that two former Kos police officers had allegedly told journalists they believed Ben had been taken off the island via a port shortly after he vanished — a claim she says was never properly investigated.

Over the years, Ms Needham immersed herself in researching human trafficking and its links to Greece. While she found no proof that other children were taken from Kos specifically, she said child trafficking was “absolutely rife throughout Greece” between the 1950s and 1990s.

She tracked down an elderly man who claims he himself was trafficked as a baby from Greece to New York — a city she now believes was a major hub for illegal adoption.

“This is how children disappear without a trace,” she said, describing the gangs as highly organised.

Ms Needham was just 19 when she moved with Ben from Sheffield to the village of Iraklis near Kos town in the summer of 1991 to join her parents, Eddie and Christine.

On July 24, she left Ben with his grandparents while she completed a shift at the hotel where she worked. At around 2.30pm, the family realised he was missing.

After searching for two hours, they initially assumed Ben had gone with his teenage uncle Stephen, who had been helping with renovations before riding home on his moped. Panic set in when Stephen was found alone and Ben was nowhere to be seen.

Greek police were called, and later that night Ms Needham was told her son had vanished.

She has since recalled that, at the time, the family never believed for a moment that Ben had been abducted or killed.

“We thought someone must have found him, given him water, and would bring him to a police station or hospital,” she said, explaining how logical explanations initially outweighed darker possibilities.

It was only when no one came forward that the idea of abduction was seriously considered — though even then, the motive was unclear.

The digger theory was thoroughly investigated in 2016, with extensive excavations carried out at sites where the driver had dumped rubble. Despite digging deep enough to uncover an ancient burial ground, nothing linked to Ben was found.

Ms Needham also points out that the digger driver visited her parents’ farmhouse later on the day Ben went missing — a fact she believes undermines the theory entirely.

“If my child had died, I would stop putting myself through this heartbreak,” she said. “But something keeps pushing me to keep going.”

Despite the toll on her mental health, she says a mother’s instinct tells her there is still more to uncover.

She has since set up a website dedicated to finding her son and is fundraising to increase the £7,500 reward for information.

This is not the first time someone has claimed to be Ben. Last year, Ms Needham revealed she was harassed for two years by a man convinced he was her son. A DNA test later proved negative.

She has also spoken of her frustration over the stark contrast between the support Ben’s case received and the resources devoted to the McCann investigation following Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in 2007.

“I was never given the same level of help,” she said, while stressing she does not begrudge the McCanns the support they received.

Her current priority is gaining access to the full police files held in Greece — documents she believes may hold unanswered questions and overlooked leads.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson confirmed:
“We recently received a report of a woman who believes her partner to be missing person Ben Needham. Enquiries are ongoing, and Ben’s family are aware.”

“We will continue to support them in their endeavour to discover the truth of what happened on 24 July 1991.”