British police are reportedly following up evidence uncoved by the Daily Mirror which could solve the mystery of British toddler Ben Needham who went missing on the Greek island of Kos 21 years ago.
According to the Mirror, British police are in talks with Greek officials about digging up a site on the island where the boy could be buried.
Ben Needham went missing aged 21-months-old in 1991while being looked after by his grandparents, in what has become one of the longest-running missing persons cases in British history.
It was initially believed the child may have been abducted, but in May a Mirror investigation by Tom Parry revealed he could have been buried under rubble by a JCB driver working on a nearby building site.
The paper tracked down driver Konstantinos Barkas, who confirmed he was excavating earth for a new property to be built 50 yards away from the home where Ben missing and near a field where he played.
According to today’s report: ‘Officers are believed to have discussed the use of 3D ground scanning equipment – similar to that used in the Fred West murder inquiry – to check for bones beneath the surface.
‘A cold case review team have flown over to meet Greek police in recent weeks to hammer out the plan.
‘They visited a site where locals believe Ben was killed after wandering off from the home he was visiting.
‘South Yorkshire Police last night confirmed talks over a dig are underway.”
Despite the new development, Ben’s mother Kerry believes her son is still alive. She told the paper: ‘It will be heart wrenching but I try to keep a positive mind and think only good can come of this.
‘I would not want to be there for it but I feel as if I should be.
“It is going to be soul destroying but once they have done it and not found Ben, the Greek police and everyone else in the world will know my son’s alive.
“Then we can have a big manhunt. It will lay to rest a lot of island gossip, that it was an accident, that the family had something to do with it, that there’s no smoke without fire.
“It will put the minds of those small and narrow minded people to rest.
“This has been like living a nightmare. It can send you to the brink of insanity and has done.
‘I think these suspicions have hindered the investigation from the start. It’s horrible.”
She urged the Home Office to provide support to South Yorkshire Police and help fund the search.
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