Ben Needham: Agonising anniversary approaches for Sheffield family desperate for answers

Ben Needham was 21 months old when he vanished on the Greek island of Kos 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.

With the summer holidays approching, a Facebook page set up to share information about Ben’s disappearance has posted a plea for those travelling to Greece or any of the Greek islands to take posters with them from the page. They how what Ben looked like when he vanished and what he may look like now.

The posters, written in Greek, also advertise a £7,500 reward available for information which helps the family find Ben.

The Facebook post reads: “He's out there somewhere and someone knows the truth.

“The summer holidays are approaching and you just never know if he could be around the next corner.

“If you are travelling to Greece/Kos/Corfu or any Greek Island please print off a poster below. Thanks to you all for your continued support.”

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 as also considering moving out there too to begin a new life away from her home city of Sheffield.

But that dream turned to a nightmare when Ben disappeared.

There have been many theories investigated by detectives over the years, including a suggestion that Ben had been abducted.

Large scale land excavation work was carried out around the farmhouse where Ben was last seen alive and despite the lack of human remains, South Yorkshire Police announced in October 2016 that detectives believed Ben had died as a result of an accident near to where he was last seen alive.

The force said it was the belief of detectives that Ben had been killed as a result of a digger clearing land close to where the toddler vanished.

Police believe a man, who has since died, was operating a digger to clear a building plot at the time Ben vanished.

Det Insp Jon Cousins said at the time: “During the course of the inquiries we have made over the last 19 months, we have closed off a large number of theories about what happened to Ben, many of which have been open for over 20 years.

“My team and I know that machinery, including a large digger, was used to clear an area of land on 24 July 1991, behind the farmhouse that was being renovated by the Needhams.

“It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse in Iraklis where he was last seen playing.”

For more information about the disappearance, visit: www.facebook.com/helpfindben.