1991

July 24th, at around 2.30pm, Ben vanished from outside the farmhouse at Iraklis, a small mountain village on the Greek Island of Kos.  A full search of the area was made but no trace of Ben was found.

Ben's details were given at the Police Station and a photo was provided.  Police suggested that vehicles leaving the island by ferry to Athens should be checked.  Arrangements were made to meet police at the docks at 3am.  No police officer came to help.

25th July, 1991
Builders working on another property give statements to the police stating that they had witnessed a white car parked in the lane around 2.30pm the day Ben vanished. They believed the car to have been a Suzuki Alto or similar model. He further stated that the car contained 3 occupants - one woman in the rear of the car, and two men in the front.

Statements were also taken from all family members and Hotel staff using a local shop keeper named Xanthippi Aggrelli ( known as Sissy).

26th July, 1991
Police finally inform the Airport of Ben's disappearance!!!!!

A woman who worked in a kiosk within the airport reports remembering seeing a child fitting Ben's description in the airport on the same day he disappeared. This boy has never been traced.
The British Embassy was informed and was asked to help.  However no support was offered due to us not being under arrest for any crime and the Embassy's feeling that the local police had better knowledge and so it should be best to leave it to them.
More statements were taken from family members.  All statements were hand written in Greek with no official translator, only the local shopkeeper at the Kos police' request.
Days and weeks were spent looking around the island and visiting the police station for updates on the investigation, but there was never any news or further leads.

July 30th, 1991
British Press, The Sun and The Mail on Sunday and The Mail on Sunday, then a couple of days later followed by the Daily Mail.

A interview was also done with ITV Calendar News which can be seen on the videos page of this website.

7th September 1991 

Due to Ill Health and Mental breakdowns the Family had decided to return to the Uk. With no help or assistance from the British authorities and no finances to support ourselves it was the only option. Contact again was made to the British embassy in Athens to ask if they could help in getting us back to the Uk , only to be told that family members residing in the Uk would have to be means tested first before they would consider helping us with repatriation. Once again let down by the British authorities we sold everything we owned, caravan , Land Rover , bikes , motorcycle and even jewelry including wedding rings.  

13th September 1991 

We visited the Kos police for an update on the white car before we left but unfortunately there wasn’t any , Chief Bafounis told us they had a contact at South Yorkshire Police if any information came to light. Myself and Stephen left first as there wasn’t enough money for us all to leave together, we traveled by ferry to Athens and make our way to the airport to find the next available and affordable flight. We were told no seats were available to England that day or the next few days, we asked to be put on a standby list and found a hostel to stay for the night.  

14th September 1991 

We traveled back to the airport only to be told tge same thing, we couldn’t afford to keep going backwards and forwards from the airport to the hostel so we decided to just stay and sleep outside the airport until a flight was available.  15th September 1991 My parents and Danny finally arrived at athens airport and we could all travel together on a flight to Manchester via Yugoslavia. 

September 1991

A letter was sent requesting assistance to Sir Peter Tapsel MP. 

October 1991 

A Family Liaison Officer was appointed from South Yorkshire Police to assist the family.

1992

The family began fundraising by collecting donations outside major concerts, including Genesis at Knebworth and Michael Jackson’s shows at Roundhay Park and Wembley Stadium. Approximately £2,000 was raised from all three events.

That same year, two alleged sightings of Ben with gypsies were reported — one in Kefalonia and another in Patras. Both were personally followed up by family members but could not be confirmed.

A letter was sent to PM John Major requesting assistance.

In October 1992, a letter was sent to Her Majesty the Queen requesting assistance.

In December 1992, another letter was sent to the Prime Minister John Major. requesting assistance. 

1993 

A visit to Kos was made with a British TV crew. The family visited the local police station for an update, but no new information was available. The white car seen on the day of Ben’s disappearance had still not been traced. 

1994

South Yorkshire Police received 17 separate calls about a child matching Ben’s description in Corfu. The Daily Mirror funded the investigation of this lead, but it was confirmed not to be Ben.

That same week, a photograph surfaced of a boy resembling Ben, taken in a marketplace in Izmir, Turkey. The family, assisted by Turkish police, investigated, but the child was located and confirmed not to be Ben.

Later that year, a Sheffield businessman contacted The Sun newspaper, claiming that while on holiday in Kos he had been offered the chance to buy a child for £3,000. In May 1994, Chris and Eddie Needham were in Kos following up a sighting when the same businessman contacted them again, claiming Ben had been on the island for the past three summers and that he could arrange his return the next day. No further contact was made. Chris confronted the man at his hotel — it was all lies.

A letter was sent to MP, Helen Jackson requesting assistance.

Another letter was sent to John Major in May, 1994. 

1995

A reconstruction using Ben’s sister Leighanna (aged 21 months) was filmed in the area where Ben disappeared. The piece was produced by ITV Calendar News.

In December 1995 a video appeared on Greek tv of a child resembling Ben , it was taken by a private investigator in verioa. Chris and Eddie traveled to meet him and look at the video in more detail. The verioa police were informed and the boy was brought to the police station. This boys head was shaven making it difficult to determine if it was the same boy as in the video as this one definitely wasn’t Ben, an investigation was done by the verioa police and determined the boy in the video was not Ben. 

1996

A Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary was made about the case. The family continued fundraising through car boot sales and collectors’ fairs.

In June, an anonymous businessman offered a £500,000 reward for Ben’s return.

Later that year, Ben’s grandparents, Christine and Eddie Needham, met with prisoner Andonis Bedzios, serving time in Larissa Prison. Bedzios named individuals he claimed were involved in holding Ben and alleged that Ben was in the “care” of the Kerimi family in Veria — a well-known gypsy family. He claimed he had seen Ben there after escaping from prison in 1991, and that the Kerimis said they had “got him from Kos.” 

1997

In June, Eddie travelled to Germany to follow up new information from Bedzios. Later that year, Christine returned to Larissa with journalist Melanie McFadyen for The Big Story in The Observer.

Bedzios and another witness claimed to have seen Ben playing with Bedzios’ son among the gypsies. A taxi driver also reported seeing Ben in his cab with a member of the Kerimi family. Although he later withdrew cooperation, he confirmed from a photo that it was the same child.

A video released to the Greek press — allegedly provided by a police officer — showed Bedzios’ son Rambo, apparently to discredit the witnesses.

On 4 September 1997, Gordon Bernard from the British Embassy in Athens followed Bedzios’ directions to a Mercedes in Larissa, but Ben was not found. Bedzios later provided sworn statements naming an individual involved, but this person was never questioned.

That year, Kerry Needham wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who replied that cooperation between the British Embassy and Greek police was “good” and that Greek authorities were aware of the case’s importance.

In October 1997, a letter was sent to UKCA (home office for organized and international crime directorate) requesting assistance. 

1998

In January, Bedzios offered to lead undercover armed police to Ben, but the Kos public prosecutor refused to authorize it.

Kerry wrote again to the Prime Minister. His Private Secretary expressed sympathy but offered no practical help.

Later that month, Christine and Melanie again visited Bedzios in jail. He presented postal order receipts showing payments from people he claimed were paying him “hush money.” One of these names matched a prior police statement, but this was never investigated.

Greek police officer Dimitris Deyermetzoglou dismissed Bedzios as unreliable. When Embassy official Gordon Bernard requested written accounts, Greek police eventually confirmed the matter had been referred to the public prosecutor.

At the time, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis publicly described his police force as “incompetent and ill-educated,” with 10% allegedly involved in corruption.

November 1998
A man named John Cookson reported seeing a blond boy, about ten years old, playing on a beach on Rhodes Island. Known locally as “the blonde kid,” the boy stood out among the dark-haired Greek children. DNA tests on a hair sample Cookson collected confirmed he was not Ben Needham, and his family later provided childhood photos verifying his identity. 

1999

In January, another letter was sent to Tony Blair requesting assistance.

Over the past eight years, the Needham family made countless trips to Greece to follow up on potential sightings and tips that might lead to Ben. 

2000

During a visit back to Kos, Greece, we visited the police to receive an update on the investigation.  Chief Baffoonis told us that they had traced the owner of the white car seen in the area that day.  They said it had belonged to Xanthippi, who was our translator.  This conversation was witnessed by myself, my dad and Mariana Faithful who recorded the conversation.  Chief Baffoonis was asked why Xanthippi was there, and he said that she had been visiting our family.  This was not true!  The police were therefore asked to investigate her claims again.

Upon leaving the police station, we then headed straight to visit Xanthipp (Sissy), where she denied what the police had just told us and threatened legal action against them. (This was also recorded) She stated that, at the time of Ben’s disappearance she did not have the white car as she had given it up for subsidy (similar to the UK’s scrappage scheme)

Upon visiting the Transport Department, we proved her claim to be incorrect, they had recorded that she had not given the car until November 1991. This was also confirmed by South Yorkshire Police on a visit to Kos in 2011.

The Kos police were asked yet again to investigate her as we had proved her claims to have been false.

2001

The family travelled to Thessaloniki for a court case between private detective Mr. Bakitzis and Mr. Kerimi (head of the gypsy family), concerning harassment linked to Ben’s case. Kerimi lost and admitted in court that there were two children in his camp, as Bedzios had claimed. He was never asked to identify the second child.

No further investigation was made into the Kerimi family.

2003

The charity Missing People and the Metropolitan Police released an age-progressed image of Ben at 12–14 years old, with press conferences in both England and Greece.

2005

The family requested that South Yorkshire Police send a formal memo to Kos Police regarding Xanthippi (Sissy) and the white car, as no updates had been received. They continued following reported sightings across Europe.

Another age progression image of Ben as a 16-year-old was released to mark what would have been his 16th birthday.

2006

The family again requested updates on the white car investigation that was owned by the shopkeeper Xanthippi ( Sissy) — no information was sent by Kos Police.

2007

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in Portugal brought renewed media attention to Ben’s case. Kerry gave 27 interviews in one day.

Another appeal was launched for Ben’s 18th birthday with a new age progression photo. A promising lead in Paphos, Cyprus turned out negative — the young man was Russian, age 21, and not Ben.

In May a letter was sent to Gordon Brown requesting assistance.

2008

Seeing the extensive government support for the McCann family, Kerry AGAIN wrote to Prime Minister Gordon Brown requesting help reopening Ben’s case. She cited key evidence, including the white car and the prisoner testimony.

Three months later, she received a standard reply summarizing past efforts but offering no new assistance.

The family travelled to Kos with ITN News to investigate again. Kos Police refused interviews or access to Ben’s file. Retired Chief Baffoonis admitted he believed Ben was abducted but said no outside support had been requested.

A confrontation occurred at Xanthippi’s (Sissy's) supermarket, where her daughter reacted aggressively toward Kerry and Leighanna, raising questions about long-standing hostility.

A letter was wrote to MP David Blunkett requesting assistance.

2009

Kerry contacted Edward McMillan-Scott, who visited her home and agreed to help. She compiled a dossier sent to the Greek ministry. McMillan-Scott described the evidence as “compelling.”

Despite intervention from David Blunkett, the case remained unopened.

That year, Lorraine Kelly featured Ben’s story in a documentary, and a new age progression (aged 20–21) was released. Several potential leads were investigated but yielded no results.

2010

South Yorkshire Police continued to support the family. Another public appeal was made for Ben’s 21st birthday, with a darker-haired age progression image.

Scott Morrison from Peterhead, Scotland, created a new official website, campaign posters in 19 languages, and a Facebook group. He also wrote to British and Greek leaders and media outlets to push the campaign forward.

Kerry expressed gratitude to the public for their continued support.

5th November 2010 Help find Ben Needham Facebook page was created and is ran by the family and close friends. Appeals to the public were made for anyone with information to come forward directly to the page. 

November 2010 we appealed for public to write to their MP’s 

December we asked people to write to the PM 

2011

Letters were sent to Her Majesty the Queen, Prime Minister David Cameron, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and the Prime Minister of Greece. The responses were circular — each authority deflecting responsibility.

Later, David Cameron personally wrote to Kerry in what she described as “the most sympathetic letter ever received,” promising government support for South Yorkshire Police and pressure on the Greek authorities.

South Yorkshire Police travel to Kos to request Bens case files.

In January 2011 the Official Help Find Ben Needham Twitter account was launched.

In May 2011, Kerry wrote again to the Prime Minister after learning he had authorized the MET to assist in the McCann case, despite previously claiming he could not intervene in Ben’s.

Operation Ben is launched by South Yorkshire Police, finally after 20 years of begging British Police are allowed to investigate and opened a cold case.

South Yorkshire Police contacted Boston Hospital, Lincolnshire and requested Bens Guthrie test, it was refused by the hospital on the grounds Ben was now over 18 and we would need his permission. South Yorkshire Police went to the High Court and won the case. Bens DNA was uploaded onto a database.

From June to December 2011, campaigning intensified via Facebook and Twitter, including two global “Balloons for Ben” events. Ben’s DNA, collected at birth via the Guthrie test, was finally released to South Yorkshire Police — allowing for international database comparison.

On the 20th anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, a retired doctor in Larissa came forward claiming to have met a blonde “tourist boy” in 1992 who said, “My name is Ben.”

Kerry met with Foreign Office Minister David Lidington; in September, Greek police officially reopened the case. Kerry met face-to-face with the island’s prosecutor. 

In October, ITV’s Tonight presented by Julie Etchingham aired a feature on Ben’s case.

2012

South Yorkshire Police travel to Kos with specialist equipment to search the area. A total of 80 personnel also assisted.

Kerry Christine Eddie and Danny traveled to kos to assist South Yorkshire Police in any way they could and also held a press conference.  The family also visited the farmhouse to personally thank the whole team for their efforts in the search   The search lasted 1 week and nothing of any significance was found. 

2013 

January

A team from South Yorkshire Police travelled to Kos to excavate mounds near the site of Ben’s disappearance to rule out accidental death. No remains were found.

The Greek TV show Light in the Tunnel revisited the case, leading to investigation of a boy in a red shirt seen in 1995 — later ruled out. 

February

Kerry visited Greece to pursue three new leads; none led closer to finding Ben.

That month, an “Evening for Ben” event in Sheffield raised £4,800, covered by ITV Calendar and BBC Look North.

Kerry’s emotional memoir, Ben, was released.

later that year a man from Cyprus, thought to be Ben was DNA tested. The results were a negative match to Ben. 

2014

In May 2014 the Official Help Find Ben Needham Page was launched on Instagram. 

October 29th,Ben’s 25th birthday was marked by thousands changing their social media profile pictures to raise awareness, with strong celebrity support

2 November 2014

Five-year-old Calleigh completed a ten-mile sponsored bike ride from Howdon to Whitley Bay, raising £600 for the campaign. 

December 1st 2014

Barrister Ian Brownhill began legal proceedings against the Home Office for delays in funding South Yorkshire Police’s renewed investigation. ITV’s Calendar News aired an exclusive interview.

The Press Association published a statement by Dave Higgens, reporting the family’s frustration with the government’s slow response. Brownhill indicated he might seek a High Court order to compel a decision.

Kerry Needham expressed:

“We have seen what is available for one family of a missing child, and we have had nothing like that, nothing at all… At the time of Ben’s disappearance we were abandoned.”
Her daughter Leighanna, then 20, added:

“It seems like a never-ending game. We’ve not had any help in 23 years.”
Policing Minister Mike Penning confirmed that the Home Office had previously granted funding in 2012 and that a further request was under consideration.

On the 11th December a friend organized another “Evening for Ben” event in Nottinghamshire with medium Paul Johnson, raffles, and tombola — raising £400. 

2015

March–April 2015

The family received information about a young man living with a powerful gypsy family in Veria, bearing a striking resemblance to Ben’s age progression photo. He claimed to have no photos or birth certificate and no family resemblance.

Kerry, Christine, and Leighanna travelled to Thessaloniki for DNA testing. The results were negative, as were follow-up UK tests. The family maintained contact with him.

13 May 2015 – Press Release: Operation Ben Launch
Kerry arrived in Athens with her family and South Yorkshire Police detectives to meet the British Ambassador — their first meeting in 23 years. They appeared on the Greek missing persons programme Light in the Tunnel (with Nikolouli) and held a press conference for Greek and British media.

Kerry stated:

“We sincerely hope this will lead to more people coming forward with new information and will help the British and Greek police investigate into the whereabouts of Ben.”
 

5 June 2015
South Yorkshire Police issued a statement after investigating long-standing claims against a particular family in northern Greece. No evidence linked them to Ben’s disappearance. The investigation continued, with the family being kept updated.

13 November 2015
Ben’s grandmother, Christine Needham, recalled seeing a woman filming Ben by the pool at the Palm Beach Hotel in June or July 1991 — before his disappearance. The woman, described as 30–45 years old, with long blonde hair and a Scandinavian accent, has never been traced.

The family appealed for anyone who might possess that footage to come forward, as no video of Ben exists — only photographs. 

2016

A letter was sent to Theresa May requesting assistance.

A DNA test was performed on a young man from Canada who was thought to possibly be Ben. This DNA test proved negative 

May 2016

South Yorkshire Police arrived on Kos, appealing for witnesses to come forward.

On the 26th September to the 16th October the excavation of 2 sites in and around the farmhouse took place. They sifted through over 1200 tonnes of soil and building waste

For further details, see the page “Digger Driver Theory” or visit: https://findbenneedham.com/digger-driver-theory

Kerry requests to have/see the case files held by South Yorkshire Police.

In October 2016 The family of the digger driver threatens legal action against Kerry. 

23rd October 2016 Ian Brownhill the family barrister issued a statement 

Following recent reports that legal proceedings have commenced against Kerry Ann Needham, I can confirm that to date no papers have been served on Kerry. Ms Needham has received no pre-action protocol correspondence with regard to any claim or action.

Ms Needham and her family are at present in a period of reflection but will continue to seek the truth surrounding Ben's disappearance. Those of us assisting the Needham family will continue to do so fearlessly, the overarching aim always being to reunite this family and protect the rights of a mother and her child. 

The overwhelmingly strong support of the British public will no doubt mean that such work will continue as is necessary to uncover the truth as to Ben's disappearance. And, may I take this opportunity to thank the British public on behalf of the Needham family and the Find Ben Needham campaign team.

Ian Brownhill
Barrister
No5 Chambers (London)

Oct 2016 after the dig was finished Lucy, a journalist from the Daily Mirror, stayed 1 week on Kos ( British police warned her to be careful) 

She spoke to 2 former kos police officers who at first were reluctant to talk as they believed their life would be in danger , another meeting was arranged in secret and the officer stated the police knew Ben had been taken off the island in a car with foreign number plates but covered it up for fear of repercussions for not doing their job properly in the first place. Also when asked about Dino and an accident the officer laughed and said that never happened.

28th October 2016 A photo of the toy car is released to the press.

1st November 2016 Help find Ben page sets up a just giving page to raise money to support the Hellenic search and rescue team who were involved in the excavation on Kos.

December 2016-January 2017 fresh appeals were made in the UK and Greece for any information  

2017

Members of the digger drivers family speak with Uk and Greek press stating he was not involved in an accident 

2018

South Yorkshire Police obtain the results from forensic experts in relation to items found during the excavation.  The DNA was not a match to Ben or any member of the Needham family. 

2018-2019 Many more appeals were made via the media and Helpfindbenneedham Facebook page .

2019

6th November. Helpfindbenneedham Facebook urges people to write to the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

2020

A letter was wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson requesting assistance in the search for Ben.

In July 2020 Kerry is interviewed by 60 mins Australia 

29th October 2020 A new senior investigation officer is assigned to Bens case. 

29th October 2020 A just giving page is set up to raise funds to offer a new reward. 

In November 2020 An evening for Ben organized by Bens Uncle as Elvis to raise funds. 

New SIO Scott Harrison was appointed.

November 2020

Information was received regarding a child seen in Corfu in the summer of 1991 matching Bens description. According to the 3 witnesses a woman named as Maria found the child with gypsies , she brought the child to a campsite where she worked as it was possible he was lost.

It was said that after she was unable to locate his parents she would take him to the police.

According to one witness this didnt happen and the woman kept the child.

Team Ben worked for months trying to track down Maria and gather more information about this child.

Eventually we traced Maria and she was questioned by family members, she stated she did not remember this happening.

A full account of everything we learnt was sent to South Yorkshire Police with a request this was forward to the Greek police in Corfu.

To this day this has not been concluded.

2021

27th February 2021 A total of £5863 was raised for a new reward. 

In April 2021 a new SIO Lee Townley was appointed.

May 2021

More fundraising events took place to obtain a higher reward.

July 2021 a journalist from the Daily Mirror, Lucy Thornton tracked down Maria on Corfu and interviewed her regarding the child she found on a beach. Maria replied saying she "doesnt recall" this happening. With lockdown imminent  Lucy left the Island prematurely unsatisfied with her answers.

July 2021 the new age progression was done by a Tim Widden and paid for by the Daily Mirror.

November 2021 

The reward stands at £7500

2022

Many more appeals are made via the Facebook page and UKmedia.

Messages and emails are received regularly and all followed up to the best of our ability.

In July 2022 new SIO Becky Hodgman was appointed.

In November new SIO Matt Bolger was appointed.

2023

In May a message was received by a man claiming to be Ben, long conversations took place with him gathering information to support his claims. South Yorkshire police obtained his DNA and the result was not a match to Ben. The man refused to accept this result and continued to harass the family for more than 2 years. On the 18th July The Official Help Find Ben Needham TikTok account was launched.

The Family upload their DNA to Ancestry.com and other DNA databases.

2024

Results of DNA taken from a man in Denmark claiming to be Ben came back not a match.

7th November 2024

An anonymous email was received claiming he/she had seen Ben in 1991 or 1992 in an area of New York USA, a name and a specific place was given.

Team Ben began to research the information.

10th November 2024

Another e-mail was received with another same and a little more information. Despite numerous attempts to contact this person no other reply was ever received.

We continued to research the name , area and places given and managed to get a link to a person of interest on kos island who was in the area the day Ben disappeared.

11th November 2024

The emails were forwarded to South Yorkshire Police along with all the information we had.

11th November 2024 

DI Matt Bolger the SIO of Ben’s case at South Yorkshire police contacted the American  desk at the foreign office and made a formal request to make enquirers in New York by the police.

November-December 2024

Team Ben continued to find more information which was passed to South Yorkshire Police step by step.

We are still to this day waiting on an update on the investigation carried out by a specialist missing person unit in New York.

2025

4th February 2025 Police in USA trace the email address and arrange for the sender to be interviewed, no details of this person were given to the Family.

18th February We request an update from SYP in relation to the investigation in the US 

25th February DI Matt Bolger requests an update via the foreign office and is waiting on a reply   

10th March  An update was requested to SYP as no other information has been received since 4th February.   

2nd April A telephone conversation took place with SYP in relation to the US investigation, a special missing persons unit was assigned to the investigation and held a 3 hour interview with the email sender, no other details were given. 

28th April A message from SYP was received stating a full transcript of the interview had been requested from the US   20th may 2025  Requests were made again via SYP for an update into the US investigation, DI Matt Bolger had previously emailed but no update was sent   

6th June Still no update despite emails sent from SYP  

26th June SYP received a small transcript from the US police but only detailing what we already knew.  We were told that investigations are ongoing   

23rd September 2025 Another request to SYP was sent asking for an update from the US police but nothing has been received 

We continue to appeal for any information about Ben and we still receive messages and emails with alleged sightings and information about Ben.

We do whatever we can to follow everything that is possible to do.