It's NOT Ben: DNA test proves young Roma man can't be missing British boy

  • Relatives spent 24th birthday of Ben, from Sheffield, waiting for the results
  • Tests were on young man in video shot in Cyprus that emerged this week
  • Post on Facebook confirmed DNA comparison analysis hadn't found match
  • Family: We remain 'strong and resolute' and we are looking at other leads

By Tara Brady and Mark Duell

PUBLISHED: 03:48 EST, 29 October 2013 | UPDATED: 13:08 EST, 29 October 2013


Probe: The man who handed himself in to authorities in Cyprus has facial similarities with reconstructions of how Ben may now look, the family said

Probe: The man who handed himself in to authorities in Cyprus has facial similarities with reconstructions of how Ben may now look, the family said

The family of missing Ben Needham today insisted they remained ‘strong and resolute’ as they continued their search for him after a DNA test on a young man on Cyprus proved negative.

Ben's mother, Kerry Needham, and her family spent Ben's 24th birthday today waiting for results of tests on a young man featured in video footage shot in Cyprus that emerged this week.

But a post on the official Help Find Ben Needham Facebook page confirmed the DNA comparison analysis had not found a match.

The post said: ‘The Needham family have, in the last few minutes......had confirmation that the DNA results on the man in Cyprus have came back as negative.

'This, again, is more disappointment for Kerry and her family. However, they remain strong and resolute in their search for Ben, and there are other leads currently being looked into which keeps their hopes alive.’

Ben, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, went missing on the Greek island of Kos 22 years ago, when he was a toddler.

The man who handed himself in to authorities in Cyprus this week has facial similarities with reconstructions of how Ben may now look, the family said.

He came forward after a video emerged of him at a church in Limassol, on the island.

Ben vanished on July 24, 1991 after travelling to Kos with his mother and grandparents, Eddie and Christine, who were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise.

Over the years there have been a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to him.

Last year a major new police operation focused on a mound of earth and rubble close to where Ben was last seen but no trace of him was found.

Still missing: Ben has never been found after he disappeared, aged 2, while being looked after by his grandparents in Kos in 1991.
Artist's impression: This is how Ben is believed to look as a young man, with light brown hair and blue eyes

Investigation: Ben, left, has never been found but new images and a video show a Roma man with light brown hair and blue eyes, as in the artist's impression above, right. Police have now carried out DNA tests on him

Police in Cyprus had cast doubts over whether the young Roma man was actually the missing British boy after revealing his birthmarks did not match up.

A spokeswoman for South Yorkshire Police said: 'South Yorkshire Police have released the DNA of Ben Needham to the Cypriot authorities at their request.

'The case of Ben Needham continues to be investigated by the Greek authorities and South Yorkshire Police continues to support his family.'

 

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She said the family wanted to be left alone today, as they marked Ben's birthday.

Ben vanished on July 24, 1991 after travelling to Kos with his mother and grandparents, Eddie and Christine, who were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise.

Over the years there have been a number of possible sightings and a range of theories about what happened to him.

Last year a major new police operation focused on a mound of earth and rubble close to where Ben was last seen but no trace of him was found.

Hope: Ben Needham's mother Kerry, right, pictured on Kos with her mother Christine

Hope: Ben Needham's mother Kerry, right, pictured on Kos with her mother Christine

According to TV reports, the man was co-operative with police but he is believed to have told officers he is Romanian and was visiting his girlfriend in Cyprus.

Ben's mother Kerry has seen an image of the tall, blue-eyed man they had been testing, with light brown hair, wearing a blue and white striped rugby top.

She said her 'head was all over the place' and that the photo did bear a resemblance to Ben. There is also a video of the 22-year-old man, which has been viewed by authorities.

He has been living in Cyprus since February, and his parents live abroad, he said.

He told police that he recognised himself in the video and photos after they were shown on Cypriot television news but was afraid to come forward because he didn't know why they were looking for him.

The man came to the attention of the Greek police when he fled the mainland with his family a few years ago to avoid compulsory military service.

After seeing the image, Mrs Needham, 41, told the Sunday Mirror that she believed the man in the photograph could be Ben, who would now be aged 23.

She said: 'I’ve seen the picture and believe he bears a resemblance to how Ben might now look.

'As a family we’re greatly lifted by this and we will be in close contact with the Greek authorities to make sure we are kept fully aware of any progress.

'We’ve never given up hope of finding Ben and we are encouraged that the police in Greece are continuing to investigate.'

The image came to light after an unnamed tipster approached the Lawyers Association in Kos.

Disappearance: Ben's family were on a trip to Kos, above, in 1991 when the toddler went missing

Disappearance: Ben's family were on a trip to Kos, above, in 1991 when the toddler went missing

Panayiotis Avrithis, the president the association, realised the potentially explosive nature of the images and handed them to Alexandra Moussoura, the area's District Attorney.

The video clip shows a man Greek sources say is between 20 and 25, with four other men from the Roma community, attending a church service in Limassol, Cyprus.

It was published with the photograph on Greek news site Zougla.

Despite a move by Greek police to excavate land in Kos in a bid to uncover Ben's body, his mother has refused to believe that her son died after being taken.

Last year, officers from South Yorkshire police travelled to the island to conduct their own land search, but no major new leads emerged.

The case bears strong links to the tale of little 'Maria', the four-year-old blonde girl who was found living with Romas Greece this month, after allegedly being 'trafficked'.

Search goes on: South Yorkshire Police Officers travelled to Kos last year to conduct their own search for missing Ben

Search goes on: South Yorkshire Police Officers, above, travelled to Kos last year to conduct their own search for missing Ben

It has since emerged that she is the daughter of a Bulgarian woman called Sasha Ruseva after DNA tests proved biological link.

Mrs Ruseva, 35, claimed she handed her daughter over to a Roma family after she gave birth in Greece and could not afford to register the new born.

But she and her husband Atanas, 37, could now now face prosecution after allegations that she sold Maria for profit.

Regardless of the conclusion, the evidence of Romas having acquired children who are not their own lends support to the theory that more missing children could have ended up in the impoverished communities.

Maria's story sent shockwaves all round the world with parents of missing youngsters given fresh hope by her discovery.

Pictured: The case has echoes of the story of young 'Maria', above, who was found to be living with a Roma family last week. Her biological mother has now been discovered in Bulgaria

Pictured: The case has echoes of the story of young 'Maria', above, who was found to be living with a Roma family last week. Her biological mother has now been discovered in Bulgaria

Gerry and Kate McCann were alerted to the case after Police in Portugal agreed to reopen their investigation into missing Maddie.

Authorities in Ireland too, seized two children from a Roma family to two test if they were living with their biological parents.

In both cases, police suspected that the children, a seven-year-old girl from Dublin and two-year-old Iancu Munteau from Athlone, might be victims of abduction because they were blond haired and blue eyed unlike the rest of their immediate family.

Tests have since shown that both children were living with their real parents.

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So who`s boy is he?

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Such a shame. But never give up!

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It's completely wrong to inform them that their child MIGHT have been found. Do the DNA tests and if it's not him they won't get their hopes up, only to be so cruelly dashed.

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So very sad for his family, yet another knock back unless like many others they didn't see any resemblence to Ben. It seems entirely wrong this lad's face has been shown worldwide before the test results were known - a huge invasion of his right to privacy.

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Never give up. He could still be found. Who is this young man?

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So sorry to hear that.

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What a shame

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What a shame. Really hoped it was Ben.

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I feel so sorry for the Needham family, the possibility of this man being Ben should have been kept quiet until the DNA results were complete. This has got the Needham family's hopes up and have now been dashed.

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This will just have reopened every single wound for Ben's poor mum. God bless her and I hope one day she finds her precious son. I said it before and I'll say it again, this kind of discovery should be kept completely quiet until there is some good news, for the sake of the family.

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