New information may soon come to light regarding the disappearance of little Ben Needham, as the door appears to be opening to the release of classified case files that have remained sealed to this day.

His mother, Kerry Needham, has taken a significant step toward recovering the forgotten documents, which she believes contain critical information dating back to her son’s disappearance nearly 35 years ago. As she puts it, this is most likely her “last chance” to find out what happened to her child, whom she fears was taken by a child trafficking ring and subsequently placed in an illegal adoption.

Ben was just 21 months old when he disappeared on the island of Kos in July 1991. The family had moved there from Britain for a fresh start, near Kerry’s parents and brother who already lived on the island.

Kerry, 53, from Sheffield, said that South Yorkshire Police, which has coordinated the investigation from the beginning, recently informed her that it was scaling back its involvement in the case. However, following a meeting she had on Wednesday with senior officials from the force, she was told it had been a “misunderstanding” and that the police’s position had not changed. She has also begun talks with a private investigation firm based in Greece.

The firm, she explains, reached out to her unexpectedly and assured her it can gain access to files held by the local Kos police — documents Kerry has been trying to obtain since 2016.

Speaking to British newspaper The Sun, she said: “They told me there would be no problem. They can start from scratch, look at the Greek police files and review everything that has been done — something that has never happened before.”

She noted that the two senior South Yorkshire Police officers she met assured her that copies of “all the documents in their possession” had been sent to the Greek authorities as well. Even so, she says she cannot understand why she herself has been denied access to them.

“Since 2016 I have been asking for those files,” she said. “I have never received a clear answer. Perhaps because the case is still open, there are protocols that prevent their disclosure.”

She continued: “I never asked the Greek police for them — I assumed they would be in Greek anyway, so I wouldn’t be able to read them, and they would need to be translated, which is something the private detectives can help with.”

She understands the records will include statements given by several key witnesses, as well as notes and investigative directions recorded by local detectives immediately after Ben’s disappearance.

Kerry also said she wants to see “exactly what happened during the operation, which witnesses came forward, and what they said.” As she points out, “for years I have been told I should have access to the files, but I still haven’t seen them.”

She believes certain witness statements need to be retaken due to “inconsistencies,” and she also wants to locate former officers who were involved in the 1990s investigations — officers she says the Greek authorities no longer allow British police to approach.

“These people are getting older, they are in their 70s now,” she said. “If they pass away, whatever they know will be lost with them. We have to act before it’s too late.”

Kerry hopes the private investigator team, which estimates it will need around 20,000 euros for the inquiry — a sum she is trying to raise via GoFundMe — will be able to locate and speak with key individuals connected to the case.

“It’s the one thing I have never done,” she said. “Private detectives don’t have more authority than the police, but they aren’t bound by the same protocols and bureaucracy. They can go straight to the source.”

Kerry, who is awaiting the results of a DNA test on a man adopted in the United States whom she believes may be Ben, is convinced her son was taken by a child trafficking network. She says there is “no evidence” that he was killed in an accident or murdered.

“Based on everything I have learned over 35 years, abduction is the more likely explanation,” she said. “In the 1990s, and even earlier, there were many illegal adoptions from Greece to New York. Thousands of children were adopted illegally.”

She also recounted that her father, Eddie Needham, had heard from locals that Ben “was almost certainly abducted,” given that “his blond hair and blue eyes would have fetched at least 50,000 euros.”

Kerry draws hope from recent cases of missing children found alive after decades, such as those of Christina Marie Plant and Audrey Backenberg. “These things happen,” she said. “It’s terrifying, but it’s the reality.”

“If these witnesses are gone, the truths and the lies will go with them,” she added. “This case has consumed my life. Since I was 19 years old I have lived with this, and I am not going to stop or give up.”