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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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An item belonging to missing Ben Needham has been found by detectives searching for clues in Kos.
South Yorkshire Police now firmly believe that Ben died in an accident at a farmhouse on the Greek island on July 24, 1991.
At an earth-shattering press conference at midday today, police said that they were in no doubt - after checking with his family - that the item belonged to the 21-month-old little boy who vanished 25 years ago.
The item - discovered on Saturday, the penultimate day of the search - is believed to have been in Ben's possession at the time of his disappearance.
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, leading the investigation, would not be drawn on what the item is - but said it had been located at "Site 2" during the 21-day search which drew to a close on the Greek island yesterday.
South Yorkshire Police are working on the theory that someone moved the item there from "Site 1" - near the farmhouse where Ben was last seen playing.
While 93 items have been uncovered by search teams working at both sites, this one is said to be of "greater significance".
DI Cousins added that when he showed the item to Ben's family "the reaction I got from them leads me to believe it was taken on or around the day) he disappeared)".
He said that the Needham family were "devastated, distraught, upset..." and that "it was a very emotional moment".
DI Cousins added: "In my professional opinion I believe an accident took place involving heavy machinery on the day Ben disappeared."
Ben's family are now understood to have accepted that he died on the day he disappeared - in a "farming accident".
A Greek digger driver called "Dino" is now widely believed - not least by the police - to have taken secrets of Ben's death to his grave when he died of cancer last year.
Detectives are understood to be working on the theory he ran over the toddler by accident while working near the farmhouse and "panicked" - disposing of evidence at the landfill site known as "Site 2".
Ben's mum Kerry said last night she hoped he was "burning in hell" for failing to come forward with information when he was alive.
A large digger is known to have been being used to clear an area of land on 24 July 1991 - behind the farmhouse that was being renovated.
Earlier at the press conference DI Cousins wouldn't be drawn on who had discovered the item - or what it was - only to say that it had been found on the penultimate day of searching at Site 2, one of the targeted areas which had been searched "based on information received".
An appeal for new information in May led someone to come forward in June regarding a local digger driver who had been working near a farmhouse on the day Ben vanished - the area known as "Site 1".
He added that Ben's family have been informed of the discovery - that they were in no doubt that the item was linked to the lad when he went missing - and that discussions needed to be had with Greek authorities as to "what further work would be done in the future".
In a later inter_iew with Sky News, DI Cousins said he believed "material had been moved from (the farmhouse) on or around the day Ben disappeared" to Site 2.
He also appealed again for anyone with any further information to come forward.
DI Cousins earlier said at the press conference: "It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse here ... where he was last seen playing.
"Ben's family have been provided with a full and thorough account of the events which we know to have taken place and also the speculations that we have been able to discount.
"Our thoughts are with the family as they are given time to digest this and they have our full and continued support."
Operation Ben has involved 3,600 hours of work physically digging and 1,200 tonnes of material sifted, police said.
In a complex investigation - still being led by Greek authorities - the UK team will now return "along with some of the items recovered during the search", police said.
The Needham family had long clung on to hope that Ben would one day be found alive.
There have been more than 300 reported sightings of boys matching Ben's description over the years - in Greece and further afield - but each one drew a blank when investigated.
Last night Kerry, 43, was seen clinging on to her mother at the site on Kos where her son vanished 25 years ago.
Kerry said: “I’d tear up the whole island to find him. I can’t say goodbye until I know where he is.”
Detectives are thought to believe the 21-month-old was killed under the tracks of a mechanical digger operated by driver Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas, who died last year.
They believe Ben's body was then removed from the farmhouse in Iraklis and taken to a fly-tipping site - the area known as "Site 2".
After Kerry left Kos, she said she would not return to the island unless her son is found.
But she was given fresh hope when the new information about Dino surfaced.
Kerry, of Sheffield, had said: “People who live in the area have been coming day by day and have confirmed that the number two area was where Dino was always bringing things from Iraklis just after Ben went missing.
“It can’t have been from another job because he was only working on that site.
“One man has taken a secret to his grave. Police believe that.
“They know enough information to know that happened. Someone else has come forward who was a teenager working for Dino.
“He learnt about Ben and asked Dino a few times and he kept saying, ‘No not possible’ but then in 2012 this person asked Dino about it again and he admitted to him in 2012: ‘I don’t know for sure but yes it’s possible.’
"Dino knew. Of course he knew. I hope he’s burning in hell.”
Clutching her parents Christine and Eddie Needham, Kerry had also pleaded with anyone who knew anything about her son’s disappearance to come forward.
After arriving to thank South Yorkshire Police for trying to find the boy with their painstaking search, she said: “They know he’s dead but just can’t find him.
“Police said it’s time we ended our 25-year search. They are right but I can’t say goodbye knowing he’s still on that island somewhere. I feel physically sick. I can’t feel any worse than I do.
“He didn’t leave Kos, he didn’t walk away...somebody didn’t take him, so he’s here somewhere.
"They believe he is there but they can’t dig in everyone’s gardens or homes that have been built over the years. I want to tear up the whole island to find him.
"Someone knows where he is. For God’s sake help me find him. We know he’s dead but we need to find him. When someone dies you find a special place.
“He’s not where I left him. Somebody knows where he is.
“Somebody knows where he is. Somebody else put him there and I can’t say goodbye until I know exactly where he is.
"Please let me say goodbye to my son. I can’t leave him there on that island. I need to find him.
"I need to take him somewhere he can be at peace and I can be at peace and grieve for him and somewhere I can remember him.
“I will find a special place, somewhere private where I can go and remember him. I’m still in limbo.
"But I know in my heart and talking to the police. If they believe it, I have to believe it. They have enough information.”
As Kerry visited the farmhouse where Ben was last seen alive, dad Eddie also broke down sobbing.
The 68-year-old said: “I hate this place. I can’t take any more.”
He turned to his daughter and declared: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Eddie is haunted by guilt as he and his wife were looking after Ben when he disappeared in the summer of 1991.
But Kerry said: “I just held dad and told him it was not his fault.”
Christine, 64, was also overcome with emotion on the visit to the property.
She begged: “Get me away from here, get me away from here.”
The trio had to hold on to each other for support as they crossed the police lines to the site of the dig.
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