Man claiming to be Ben Needham not a DNA match with missing Sheffield toddler, say police

Ben, from Sheffield, went missing on the Greek island of Kos on July 24, 1991, aged 21 months.

His family says there is no proof he is dead, and that "someone out there knows exactly where Ben is".

Kerry Needham, Ben’s mum, has been waiting for months to see whether an unnamed Danish man, who believed he could be Ben, was in fact her son.

In July of this year, Kerry told The Mirror: “In 33 years we’ve had hundreds of alleged sightings, the majority of them we have followed up ourselves in the earlier years.

“But at least South Yorkshire Police are trying to get me answers and I can’t praise them enough.”

The DNA results have now been returned, and it has been confirmed that the unnamed man’s DNA is not a match with Ben’s.

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “The DNA sample taken from a man who believed he may be Ben Needham does not match the DNA we have of Ben, therefore the man in question is not Ben Needham.”

Kerry and the man have been informed of the news.

In 2023, Ben's family fought for DNA tests to be carried out on the body of a little boy who was found in a German River,

Facial reconstructions appeared similar, however police stated there was no match.

The force’s theory is Ben may have died in a digger accident when he was playing outside a farmhouse his grandfather was renovating on Kos at the time.

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October 14, 2023, marked the seventh anniversary since police ended their search for Ben and concluded the 21-month-old had probably died in an accident on the day he disappeared.

Speaking on the anniversary, they family said in a statement: "Since that day (seven years ago), DNA evidence was taken from the items recovered from the search.

"Decomposed blood was found on one of those items. The DNA did not belong to Ben. There is no proof that Ben has died. We will never stop searching.

"Somebody out there knows exactly where Ben is and what happened that day. It's never too late to do the right thing."

Ben's family ask anyone who knows anything to contact South Yorkshire Police, or to get in touch with them directly via the Help Find Ben Needham Facebook page or by emailing [email protected].