The mother of a toddler who went missing more than 30 years ago is anxiously awaiting the results of a DNA test from a man claiming to be her long-lost son.
Ben Needham was just 21 months old when he went missing on the Greek island of Kos in 1991. The toddler was last seen playing outside a derelict farmhouse on the island.
His parents have searched the globe looking for their boy. With the 33rd anniversary of Ben’s disappearance approaching on Wednesday (July 24), his mum Kerry is waiting to see if a stranger could be her son – for the third time this year.
READ MORE: Tragedy of beloved foster dad facing eviction over bedroom tax
A man from Denmark has claimed his grandparents have told him he was taken from Kos, and is insisting his parents have refused to deny these claims. The man says he was hidden for years and remembers 25 years ago going to a market and someone shouting “Ben” at him. He claims he was then kept in a caravan, reports the Mirror.
But Kerry, 51, from Sheffield, says she can never get her hopes up, having been in this position multiple times. She said: “This man is looking for his real family and he has given Danish police a sample of his DNA, which South Yorkshire Police are trying to get hold of via Interpol to do a comparison with Ben’s.”
The stranger’s DNA samples will be compared with a blood sample taken from when Ben was born at Boston Hospital in Lincolnshire, for the routine Guthrie heel-prick test.
The mother also said she feels the pain of Jay Slater’s family and warns trolls of the further damage they are causing. The 19-year-old was found dead in Tenerife earlier this week after a month-long search for him. After watching on as they followed in her footsteps, Kerry told how her “heart is completely with them”. She added: “All I can say to give them a little comfort is that it’s better to know because living year by year, not knowing is torture. I feel their pain.”
Hitting back at the trolls who taunted Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, she said: “People have been so cruel. You have no idea of the heartbreak and pain it causes. The trolling has to stop.” But she said at least the £66,000 raised for the family shows there are still kind-hearted people.
And speaking about the ‘sightings’ of her son, she said: “In 33 years we’ve had hundreds of alleged sightings, the majority of them we have followed up ourselves in the earlier years.
“We’ve had DNA taken from people in Greece, Turkey, Germany and one in Florida and Australia. But at least South Yorkshire Police are trying to get me answers and I can’t praise them enough.” The force’s theory is that Ben may have died in a digger accident, after a witness came forward. But blood discovered at the scene in 2016 was found not to belong to Ben, and the witness is refusing to talk to police again.
Kerry said: “You can’t end an investigation with nothing to go on and a man’s claim who now won’t talk.” She added: “I can’t believe it’s been 33 years and in October he will be 35. My mum is 72 and dad is 76. I don’t want something to happen to my parents without them knowing.”
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel