Sheffield mum of missing Ben Needham asks cops to ‘prove’ son is dead

The mum of Ben Needham, who vanished on the Greek island of Kos when he was a toddler, is calling for detectives who investigated his disappeareance to ‘prove’ he is dead.

Ben was 21 months old when he vanished on July 24, 1991. His body has never been discovered and although police believe he died that day in a tragic accident involving a digger, his mum, Kerry Needham, has never given up believing he may one day be found alive.

Ben was playing outside a farmhouse his grandfather was renovating when he vanished.

His mum Kerry had taken the toddler to the sunshine island, where her parents were living at the time, for a summer holiday. She was also considering moving out there too to begin a new life away from her home city of Sheffield.

Speaking to The Daily Mirror to mark the 32nd anniversary of the disappearance, Ben’s mum, Kerry, said: “They think Ben died in an accident but they have to prove that. Prove to me that Ben died.”

No remains of a body have ever been found, giving Kerry hope that the police may have got it wrong.

She said she would like to see South Yorkshire Police back in Greece to see if any more enquiries can be made to move the case forward.

“It is 32 years of not knowing, ­frustration and anger. It doesn’t get easier as the years go on, it gets harder. Someone knows where Ben is and what happened to him,” Kerry told The Daily Mirror.

South Yorkshire Police said: “We continue to hold the view that Ben died as a result of a tragic accident on the day of his disappearance, however should any new viable line of inquiry come to light, we would seek to work with the Greek authorities to support them in their investigations.”