Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Please keep looking for my son Ben..like you are for Maddie
Funding plea for Needham hunt
MISSING 13YRS Madeleine vanished in Portugal aged three
THE anguished mother of missing Ben Needham has implored police to keep searching for him like they are for Madeleine Mccann.
Ben was 21 months old when he vanished while playing near the family’s house on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.
South Yorkshire Police have not requested any cash to pursue the case since 2016 and in total have had just over £1million for the investigation.
Ben’s mum Kerry was angry to learn the Met team probing Maddie’s 2007 disappearance just got another £350,000, taking its total case funds to £12million.
She said: “I feel like Ben has been forgotten. I am pleased for the Mccann family that their loss is taken seriously. But I feel hurt they don’t think my son is worth hunting for.” Kerry, 48, wants a forensic search of a compound that used to belong to island builder Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas, who police believe killed Ben in a digger accident.
The Met’s latest Maddie cash comes despite German police now having suspect Christian Brueckner, who they believe killed her.
THE DIGGER DRIVER
Greek builder Dino and digger machines that formerly belonged to him
Kerry said: “Police tell us Ben was killed in an accident and it feels as if that’s the end of it. But it can’t be.
“The German police think Madeleine has died but more funding has been given. How can that be fair?”
Police think Ben’s body was hidden and maybe moved twice. The Mirror can reveal that in the last search in 2016, locals told of possible dumping sites. But
officers never traced the digger or searched the compound where Dino, who died in 2015, kept his gear.
In 2016, the Mirror found the site, now owned by his son. One worker said of Ben’s fate: “It could have been an accident, to be honest they do happen.”
Kerry, of Sheffield, South Yorks, said: “There are locations that need to be ruled out. My child is buried somewhere and without finances we’ll never find him. That’s unfair and heartbreaking.”
Ben vanished outside the house grandad Eddie was renovating after the family moved to Greece earlier in 1991.
South Yorkshire Police confirmed “no new funding requests” have been made since 2016. The force reiterated its belief Ben died in accident, adding: “Should any new lines come to light, we may explore the need to apply for funding.”
I feel Ben has been forgotten... I feel hurt that they don’t think my son is worth hunting for KERRY NEEDHAM , ON LACK OF RESOURCES FOR SEARCH