Author Topic: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?  (Read 6188 times)

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Offline misty

Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« on: September 16, 2016, 01:07:36 AM »
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/15/missing-toddler-ben-needham-could-have-been-crushed-by-a-digger/?

By Sophie Jamieson
16 SEPTEMBER 2016 • 12:23AM
The mother of a toddler who went missing in Greece 25 years ago has said police now fear her son could have been crushed by a digger in a fatal accident.

Kerry Needham, whose son Ben vanished in 1991, said police had visited her and told her to "prepare for the worst" as they plan a new search for the boy's body.

Mrs Needham has always believed her son is still alive and refused to give up hope of finding him.


The 21-month-old disappeared on 24 July 1991. His mother had taken him to the island of Kos, where his grandparents were renovating a farmhouse.

Land near the farmhouse was excavated in 2012, but no trace was found of the child.

Now a new witness is said to have claimed a JCB driver working in the area called ­Konstantinos Barkas, known as Dino, may have been responsible for Ben's death. Mr Barkas died last year from stomach cancer.

The claims, reported in the Daily Mirror, come after an appeal on Greek TV. Mrs Needham told the paper that officers from South Yorkshire Police came to her home and appeared "apprehensive and really concerned for us".

"They said a new witness had come forward and told them there were two areas of land that building waste had been dumped at by Dino which had not been searched," she said.

“Their faces said it all and that’s when I said, ‘And you’re going to search it aren’t you?’

"Matt [the detective] put his head down and nodded. It was the worst news any detective can put to a mother.

“They had to tell me they thought my son could be dead when they wanted to be the ones who found him alive.

"To bring me that happy ending. I just started crying. The tears fell silently and we were holding hands.

“I was absolutely shellshocked and just sat there numb. The last dig found nothing so we were convinced Ben was still out there somewhere."

A number of people have contacted the police over the years believing that they could be Ben - who would now be 26-years-old - but they have been ruled out after DNA tests.

There have been several possible sightings and various theories about Ben's whereabouts since he disappeared, but none have been proved true.

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This is just so sad for the family. I hope it's not true.


Offline Myster

It's one of them cases, in'it... one of them f*ckin' cases.

Alfie

  • Guest
Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2016, 10:00:18 AM »
It's cases like this where sniffer dogs could prove invaluable in locating the little mite's remains, if they are indeed buried where the police want to search.   

Offline misty

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2016, 01:49:31 AM »
http://www.aol.co.uk/news/2016/09/25/ben-needham-police-to-begin-new-dig-on-kos/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D-697169952_uk

By PA  Sep 25, 2016
Updated: Sep 25th 2016 04:00 PM

Police investigating the disappearance of missing toddler Ben Needham will begin excavation work on the Greek island of Kos on Monday in the search for possible remains.
Ben's mother Kerry Needham, from Sheffield, has been told to "prepare for the worst" by South Yorkshire Police who suspect he may have died in an accident 25 years ago.
The new line of inquiry suggests the 21-month-old may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991.
Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder has reportedly told police.
The driver reportedly died of stomach cancer last year, months before detectives from South Yorkshire Police arrived on the island for a renewed investigation.
But Mr Barkas's widow Varvara strongly dismissed any suggestions her late husband had killed Ben in an accident.
A variety of theories on his fate and reported sightings have arisen since his disappearance and Ms Needham had been holding out hope that she would one day be reunited with her son.

South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that its team, led by Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick, will begin searching a specific site on Kos, starting on Monday. But they warned progress could be painstaking, with the first dig expected to last up to 12 days.
Detectives are said to have carried out initial inquiries at the site, with experts testing soil and surveying the area with drones.
Last week, Mr Fenwick said: "There will be planned operational activity at two locations on the island that have been identified as areas of interest to the investigation.
"We continue to keep an open mind and have updated Ben's family about certain lines of inquiry we're currently exploring."
Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police received extra funding from the Home Office to help in the search for Ben.
Ms Needham has been forthright in her support of Mr Fenwick's investigation.
In May, she jumped to the defence of the investigation team when they were pictured on the front page of a national newspaper drinking in the sunshine during a visit to Kos.
Mr Fenwick was called back from the island but a lawyer for Ms Needham wrote to the chief constable saying: "Ms Needham trusts the officers involved, believes they are working to the highest standards operationally and professionally and wishes there to be no disruption."
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Offline sadie

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2016, 10:22:01 PM »
Fabric found in in Kos search for missing child Ben Needham

Police searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the holiday island of Kos have found information of "slight interest" - including fabric - following an initial excavation of a site close to where he was last seen.

A 19-strong team of South Yorkshire Police officers, forensic specialists and an archaeologist have been scouring an arid stretch of farmland where 21-month-old Ben was playing a quarter of a century ago.

Digger teams were brought in on Monday afternoon to break up the clay-like ground.




http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/fabric-found-in-kos-search-for-missing-ben-needham/ar-BBwG5kV?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=UE13DHP

Offline John

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2016, 01:33:59 AM »
Why wasn't the driver of the digger interviewed years ago about his activity near the farmhouse the day Ben disappeared?

A photo in The Sun taken days after Ben Needham went missing could hold the key to the 25-year mystery.

Police analysing the snap noticed a fig tree near where he vanished was not there in 1991.



1991: Sun pic taken after Ben vanished.




2016: Forensics digging by new fig tree.

Forensic experts yesterday excavated around the tree on the Greek island of Kos.

Information suggests Ben, from Sheffield, was accidentally bulldozed by a builder who then buried him.

There was speculation today the tree grew over his body.

Det Insp Jon Cousins said: "The Sun's photo is the only record we have of the time that Ben disappeared in 1991.

"It was taken ten to 14 days after he went missing.

"We have analysed the layout of the land and we've identified a fig tree that wasn't there 25 years ago.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1873844/could-sun-picture-from-25-years-ago-hold-key-to-ben-needham-mystery/
« Last Edit: September 29, 2016, 01:41:32 AM by John »
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline John

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2016, 01:47:11 AM »
It's cases like this where sniffer dogs could prove invaluable in locating the little mite's remains, if they are indeed buried where the police want to search.

A bit of a mystery why they haven't been deployed.  Maybe funds are tight?
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.

Offline Angelo222

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2016, 11:59:27 AM »
Seems police are bringing in forensic experts who were in Praia da Luz a few years ago searching for Maddie. Could be those 'highly unreliable' dogs are on the way too.
De troothe has the annoying habit of coming to the surface just when you least expect it!!

Je ne regrette rien!!

Offline sadie

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2016, 12:23:04 AM »
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/715927/Ben-Needham-police-search-missing-toddler-Kos-Roman-burial-site

Police searching for Ben Needham find FIVE bodies...but they're NOT the missing toddler's

BRITISH police searching for missing toddler Ben Needham have found five bodies after stumbling on a 1,500-year-old burial site near the Greek farmhouse where he vanished.

By NICK GUTTERIDGE
PUBLISHED: Thu, Sep 29, 2016
   


Police searching the ground around the farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos.


Police were tipped off that a digger driver may have run over tiny Ben
Investigators announced the historical find as they confirmed there is still no sign of the youngster, who disappeared on the island of Kos 25 years ago.

Detectives had initially been hopeful about the site of the dig, announcing they had found an area of “decomposition” which could be Ben’s body.

But instead the patch of ground next to a cesspit contained a series of “undisturbed” tombs, containing up to five adults who lived during the final years of the Roman Empire.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: “It is a historical burial ground and it is not connected in any way to this investigation.”



Detectives are scouring the Kos farmhouse where the youngster vanished 25 years ago.



Police searching for missing Ben Needham have found an ancient burial site.

However, he added that police were keeping an “open mind” about whether some more recently decomposed matter found alongside the tombs could be related to Ben’s disappearance, saying they were trying to “rule in or rule out” its relevance to the case.

Officers from South Yorkshire Police are digging around the farmhouse where tiny Ben went missing after receiving a tip-off that he could have been crushed by a digger from a neighbouring building site.

Earlier today DI Cousins revealed that the remains of a dog and a bat have been discovered along with other unidentified matter at the Kos site.

He added that scientists are now carrying out “groundbreaking” tests on the soil samples, originally taken in April 2015, which were found near the underground cesspit.

Ben Needham



Ben vanished during a family holiday on the Greek island.



The remote farmhouse has been deserted ever since.

The detective told reporters: “There were signs of some decomposition,' DI Cousins told reporters on day four of the renewed search.

“One area of decomposition has not been ruled out yet and that is what we are working on.

“There are nutrients in the soil that are consistent with the decomposition of something. The scientists have been unable to determine what it is.

“It is groundbreaking work, we are able to narrow down the decomposed matter to specific animals.

“One of the samples have been revealed to be canine remains and another is a specific species of bat.”

The cesspit, which is buried underground, is not believed to have existed on the site 25 years ago when the toddler went missing.

Detectives are also focussing on a fig tree near the farmhouse after photographs reveal that it too dates to after Ben’s disappearance.

Officers have renewed their search for the toddler after a witness came forward claiming that he may have been run over by a digger and buried by driver Konstantinos Barkas, who was working at the farmhouse.

Barkas died last year aged 62 and his family have denied he had anything to do with the 12-month-old’s death.

Alfie

  • Guest
Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2016, 07:14:12 PM »
The owner of the land has demanded that the police stop searching.   ?8)@)-)

Offline sadie

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2016, 10:40:38 PM »
The owner of the land has demanded that the police stop searching.   ?8)@)-)
They are back searching again  8((()*/

Offline John

Re: Was Ben Needham run over by a JCB?
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2016, 07:06:44 PM »
They are back searching again  8((()*/

Appears they aren't having much luck Sadie?
A malicious prosecution for a crime which never existed. An exposé of egregious malfeasance by public officials.
Indeed, the truth never changes with the passage of time.