The Ben Needham case has remained a heartbreaking mystery for almost 35 years. Ben's loving grandparents, Christine and Eddie, together with their two sons, Stephen and Danny, had decided to make a fresh start on the beautiful Greek island of Kos. The family called it their paradise and fell in love with the place the moment they first laid eyes on it. Their daughter Kerry and her little boy Ben soon moved out from England to live with Christine, Eddie and the boys. Life could not have been better. They were renovating a farmhouse and all the family would do their bit to help make it a proper home. Kerry began working at a hotel and would have Ben stay with her mother whilst she was away.
The island was beautiful and so were the people but the Needham family all still worked in some capacity. As I just mentioned, Kerry was at work on the afternoon that Ben went missing. Ben was just 21 months old and already proving to be a bit of a character. With such an angelic face, you could imagine that his doting mother, father and grandparents had let him get away with all sorts of things.
The island of Kos was beautiful and it was not unknown for Ben to run around and play outside especially when the adults were sometimes indoors talking or having dinner. The Needhams were a close family and they all adored Ben, he was such a happy confident boy at that time. The family were enjoying their new life living on the beautiful island which was a far cry away from the stresses of life back in England. Christine described their earlier time in Greece as paradise and a dream come true, which sadly quickly turned into a nightmare in which their lives would never be the same.
That afternoon of the 24th of July 1991 that Ben just vanished without a trace was every parent and grandparent's worst nightmare. They searched high and low for Ben and could find no trace of him anywhere. Authorities were contacted and at first the police focused on the family as they had no leads and no clue as to where Ben had gone. News of the heartbreaking story soon reached the UK and everyone was shocked and praying for some good news but sadly it never came. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and soon it was years! Ben vanished without a trace, 35 years ago and it's so hard to believe. Every day his family have lived with the heartbreak of not knowing if he is still alive or sadly deceased. Was he abducted or did he fall down a shaft or a well somewhere? Nobody knows! The police have a theory that Ben had sadly died as a result of a tragic accident. His family believe that he was abducted by child traffickers or possibly a gypsy family.
The Needham family have never given up their search for Ben and have spent countless years, hours and money trying to find out the truth of what actually happened to him. Despite the family being British the case has never gotten the level of publicity or attention as the Madeleine McCann case (3 year old Madeleine McCann vanished from an apartment in Portugal, whilst her parents were at a nearby bar on the 3rd of May 2007. Both of Madeleine's parents were Doctors. Countless investigations, media coverage and millions of pounds have gone into the ongoing search for Madeleine. Some members of the public believe the attention and financial support the case has gotten, to be unfair to other missing persons cases including in the case of Ben Needham).
So, as I mentioned earlier, there was a mix-up with communication between the police and the Needham family in regards to the case being closed. Thank goodness the police are not closing the case because I'm sure there would be public uproar about it in support of Kerry and her family.
It may have been 35 years and there has been various 'sightings' and tips from the public all over the world but a lot of these pieces of information have come to nothing. Kerry and her family refuse to give up hope.
I have included some links below if you would like to know more about Ben's case or how you can contact his family if you have any information (no matter how small).
- The family requests that you send any information you may have to: helpfindbenneedham@gmail.com
- Help Find Ben Needham | Website
- Help Find Ben Needham | Facebook
- Ben Needham | Missing People
Further Reading & Sources:
- Ben Needham: Article | Sky News
- Ben Needham: Case Discussion | Reddit
- Disappearance of Ben Needham | Wikipedia
- Disappearance of Madeleine McCann | Wikipedia
- Ben Needham: Documentary | Youtube
- Child Trafficking: Greece | BBC News
- Appeal Search | Missing People
Let's keep Ben and his family in our prayers and hope that one day soon there are some answers. I think that it's inspirational and heartwarming how dedicated Ben's mother Kerry and her family are. The family have never given up hope and continue to keep Ben in everyone's thoughts. They truly are an amazing family and I always say that you should never give up hope, no matter how much time has passed.
Thank you for taking the time to read my latest post and I hope you will join me in the next one. In the meantime, I hope to see you elsewhere on my Socials
As always please take care and stay safe until next time x
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