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Missing Ben
Needham |
A BLOOD sample taken from British toddler Ben Needham before he
disappeared on holiday 20 years ago could help police solve the mystery.
The High Court has ruled that British police can match his DNA with any
samples provided by Greek authorities.
Ben was 21 months old when he vanished outside a farmhouse his
grandparents were renovating on the Greek island of Kos in 1991
His family believe he was snatched and there have since been dozens of
false sightings.
After the court ruling, Ben’s mother Kerry Grist, 39, of Sheffield,
said: “It’s a huge breakthrough. It’s been a long process, over about
six or seven months, but the end result is obviously, it’s amazing.
“I think probably this is the first time any mother would wish that
their child has committed an offence in whichever country that he’s in.”
Ben was given the Guthrieheel-prick blood test when he was born at
Boston Hospital, in Lincolnshire, and the DNA has been stored by the NHS
ever since.
South Yorkshire police confirmed it had Ben’s DNA and it could
match it with any other profiles.
Ben’s is one of the longest-running missing persons cases in British
history but has never received the same level of publicity as Madeleine
McCann’s 2007 disappearance.
He was snatched as he played outside a farmhouse his expat grandparents
Eddie and Christine Needham were renovating while Kerry was at work at a
local hotel.
A number of images have been produced through the years showing how Ben
would look at age 10, 13, 18 and now his current age of 21. |
