New developments have emerged in the case of Kerry Needham, who has spent three decades searching for answers about the disappearance of her son, Ben Needham, on the Greek island of Kos.
Ben was just a toddler when he went missing in 1991, shortly after his family had relocated to the island. Despite extensive searches over the years, no trace of him has ever been found.
Recently, Kerry’s hopes were rekindled when an American man came forward suggesting he might be her long-lost son. However, as she revealed in a post to the “Help Find Ben Needham” Facebook group, the DNA test conducted in the United States came back negative.
“Today we received confirmation that the most recent DNA test conducted in the United States returned a negative result. While it is disappointing to rule out yet another potential lead, we remain committed to our search for Ben and will continue to pursue every credible possibility available to us,” wrote the 51-year-old mother.
Kerry Needham Speaks Out: “I Will Write to PM Mitsotakis”
Kerry Needham spoke to Ta Nea/Vima following the DNA results that ruled out the possibility of an American man being her missing son, Ben. Despite yet another painful setback, she insists her resolve remains unshaken as she continues a search now stretching 35 years.
Thirty-five years after Ben Needham vanished on Kos, another lead has hit a dead end. Yet Kerry Needham is just as determined as ever.
Her message to anyone who may know the truth remains unchanged: speak up, come forward, and help bring closure to one of the longest-running child disappearance cases in modern British history.
For several months, hope had quietly been rekindled. A man in the United States, who had doubts about his adoption history and believed he might be Ben Needham, underwent DNA testing. This week, British police informed Kerry that the results were negative.
In an exclusive interview, Ben’s mother speaks openly about the emotional impact of this latest development, her firm belief that people on Kos know what happened to her son, and her call for closer cooperation between British and Greek authorities.
“It’s truly heartbreaking, but it’s a rule-out”
Can you describe the moment you received the call from South Yorkshire Police?
It was the British detective who handles Ben’s case here in the UK. He called me yesterday. He had just received the news from America, that the DNA did not match Ben’s.
How did you feel when you heard the news?
It’s truly heartbreaking. It’s disappointing. But on the other hand, it’s a rule-out. I know he isn’t Ben. And he knows he isn’t Ben. That’s why I always try to think about the other person, not just myself. He can now move forward with his life and perhaps find some kind of resolution about where he really comes from.
It’s always hard, because there’s a person on the other side of the world who is almost as disappointed as I am. But I have to move on. I need to go to the next stage of the investigation, follow new leads, new information, and think about what I can do to keep the search going and push the case forward.
I’m hoping that if I can raise enough money, I’ll be able to hire that private investigator. I’m in discussions with British police and trying to build some kind of working relationship with the Greek police. I’d really like British police to come back to Greece and build a closer partnership with the Kos police force, so we can find the answer, 100%.
It’s sad, but I have to get past it. I don’t sit here for days and days crying. I’ve been in this situation many, many times. It’s just a matter of saying: okay, that was negative. We move on. Next.
When the adopted man from the US first contacted you in January, what made you take that possibility seriously? And do you know how long he had believed he might be Ben?
He first made contact in January. Actually, it was his partner who reached out to me. She told me they had been talking and that there were a lot of things about his past and childhood that just didn’t add up.
He knew he was adopted. And he had come across information about an adoption agency that had been involved in problems with illegal adoptions. So he began to question whether his own adoption was legitimate or not.
From what I understand, he started looking, or they started looking together as a couple, into missing children cases to see whether he might have been a missing child himself. And that’s when he came across the age-progressed image of what Ben might look like today.
Which actually bore some resemblance to the man?
There was a slight resemblance. He has a beard now, which changes his appearance quite a bit. But his partner sent me photos of him from six or seven years ago, when he didn’t have a beard. There were similarities. I can’t deny that.
Did you believe at the time that this person might be Ben, your son?
I try not to build up hope. Because if I go through the process of believing someone is Ben and they turn out not to be, the disappointment is even more painful. I really do have to keep an open mind. There have been many DNA tests in the past where I had a lot of communication with the specific person.
How many tests have there been over all these years?
Not more than twenty. It may be more than ten. Because DNA tests and forensic analysis of this kind were not very common when Ben disappeared. It’s only in recent years that forensic science has advanced and the process has become easier. I don’t know whether Greek police have ever conducted DNA tests. I don’t have that knowledge. I’ve never been informed whether anything like that has been done on the Greek side.
But I believe British police have conducted approximately ten, or maybe a little more than ten, tests.
You’ve described waiting for these DNA results as agonizing. How have you coped emotionally? And after more than 35 years of searching, where do you find the strength to keep following every possible lead?
I find the strength because I love my son and I need answers. It’s not an obsession. It consumes me. I can’t move forward in life without knowing. I can’t live a normal life without knowing. Every morning I wake up, I have to face the situation I’m in. And I’ve been doing this for 35 years and I will continue to do so.
I don’t know where this strength comes from. It’s just there. Every day I fight for my son. I fight for justice for what happened to me, to him, and to my family. And I believe that whatever happened, someone knows. They cannot be allowed to take it to their grave without being held accountable. I think it’s the anger that keeps me going. Anger gives me strength.
In a previous interview you said you genuinely believe there is someone on Kos who has information about Ben’s disappearance. Do you still believe that?
Absolutely. I do believe that. There is someone. Maybe one person, maybe two, maybe more. But there are definitely people on the island of Kos who know exactly what happened to Ben.
And I need them to come forward. Nothing will happen to them. They won’t be prosecuted. They won’t go to prison. In Greece there is a statute of limitations, which is 20 years. That period has passed.
Whoever holds that information on Kos has nothing to fear. Nothing can happen to them. They simply need to come forward and tell me what happened, because I say it again and again in every interview: I am not going to stop.
For the rest of my life I will fight for this. And, God forbid, if something were to happen to me, I have a daughter and I have a brother. This does not end with me. The sooner someone comes forward and tells me exactly what happened, or tells the Greek police or British police, then I will stop. But until then, no.
Do DNA results like this strengthen your belief that Ben may have been a victim of trafficking and illegal adoption? And you’ve said that every ruled-out lead reinforces the need for ongoing international investigations. What more would you like authorities to do now?
I would like the British authorities, and I’m already in discussions with some of them, to work very closely with the Greek authorities. Let’s put real weight behind this investigation and give both police forces, the Kos police and British police, whatever resources, funding, and support they need to work together and find the answers I’m looking for.
I think a little more pressure needs to be applied to the Greek government and the Kos police force. After 35 years, there are still serving officers. There must be capable and intelligent detectives working on Kos today.
Surely someone wants to solve this case. And then everyone can move on with their lives, can’t they? No one will need to talk about Ben Needham on Kos anymore once I find the answers to what happened to him or where he is.
“I Will Write to the Greek Prime Minister”
Do you plan to send a letter to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to push for greater pressure on the Greek police to continue their investigation?
Yes, I do intend to. Right now I’m hoping that my own Prime Minister will reach out to the Greek Prime Minister. But I will also personally send, I hope within the next week, a letter to the Greek Prime Minister, asking him, not demanding, simply explaining who I am, what this case means to me, and how much I have suffered over the last 35 years.
And asking him to help me. To work with the British authorities, to work with British police. British police here want to solve this case. Now I need Greek police to want the same thing and to work with me as a team so that we can find the answers together.
The anniversary of Ben’s disappearance is approaching next month. What feelings does that milestone bring up for you today?
Anniversaries are always very difficult, because they bring his disappearance back to the forefront and it feels like reliving that day all over again. And, you know, I punish myself. Why did I go to work that day? What if I had done something different that day? What if my mother had done something different that day? There is a lot of guilt around the question: if we hadn’t done what we did that day, would Ben still be here?
His birthdays are also very difficult days. But every day is hard, you know, trying to keep this fight going, trying to make people listen after so many years. As I’ve said, I cope with it as best I can. I have good days and I have really, really bad days. Sometimes I don’t even want to get out of bed. But I have to. Because if I don’t keep this fight going, no one else is going to do it. That’s why I have to show my strength to the police, to the authorities.
A message to anyone who may be holding a key piece of information. What would you say to people around the world who may have doubts about their identity or adoption history and believe they might be able to help your search?
Please, come forward. If you have any information, however small, we will do everything we can to investigate it together with British police. If you have any doubts about who you are, reach out to me, reach out to British police.
You can remain anonymous. You don’t need to tell me your name. I only need a little information about your background and why you think you could be Ben. And I can check everything and arrange a DNA test. It’s very simple. If the authorities cooperate, as American police did very closely with British police, then someone can be ruled out within a few months. It’s not a quick process, obviously, but it can be done. So, anyone who has questions about their identity or their adoption, please get in touch.
If Ben reads this article, what would you want to say to him?
I would say: don’t be afraid. I just want to know that he is safe and that he has been happy. And to reach out to me. I am your mother and I love you. But I wouldn’t intrude on his life if he didn’t want that.
I would show him the respect and give him the privacy he needs in his life and help him come to terms with who he really is, if he is out there. He has obviously been lied to all these years.
I just need to know. My parents are getting older. My father is quite ill and he doesn’t want to die without finding out. He said that to my daughter as well. He is now 78 years old and has been through cancer. He is managing, continuing his treatment, and fighting. But he doesn’t want to leave this life without knowing. So if anyone has a conscience, there is a very elderly man here, Ben’s grandfather, who wants to know the truth before he dies. Let someone give my father his final wish.
