Greek local who came forward claiming to be missing Ben Needham is DNA tested by Brit detectives

A LOCAL Greek man who thought he could be Ben Needham has returned a negative
DNA test, detectives have revealed.

South Yorkshire cops received nearly 300 pieces of information since they
landed on the Greek island to carry out further enquiries into Ben’s
disappearance more than 25 years ago.

The young man who believed he could be Ben contacted police but tests revealed
he was not.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “One man’s DNA was taken by the
team in Kos following information received via the Help Find Ben page which
suggested he could be Ben.

“Tests have confirmed that the man in question is not Ben Needham.

“The Operation Ben team will remain in Kos for another week exploring
various lines of enquiry.”

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A
top police officer involved in the probe on Kos was last week ordered back
to the UK after members of the team reportedly went on an eight-hour
drinking session.

South Yorkshire Police are investigating our exclusive report that officers
spent a long evening boozing, starting just hours after they launched a new
appeal.

Detectives are sifting through information provided in 114 phone calls after
an appearance on a popular missing persons Greek TV show.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, leading the search team, said the response
had been “great” and residents on the island felt “comfortable”
speaking to officers.

He said: “There has been a great response, not only in the studio but I
am aware of 114 calls to the telephones we are utilising with the officers
who are out here in Greece.

“There has been some information which is of interest and it is something
 we are going to work on over the next few days.

“The show has done extremely well, it does reach out to the right people
and I believe we will get some answers from this.”

The Sun

Dan Charity

Officers made an appeal for information on the disappearance of Ben on the
Light at the End of the Tunnel show on Friday night.The show, broadcast from
Athens, is watched by six million viewers.

Ben, from Sheffield, went missing in 1991 while he was playing outside a
remote farmhouse his grandfather was renovating.

A £10,000 reward has been made available for information leading to the
discovery of Ben.

The appeal also had a huge impact in the UK, with around 75 calls made to the
team’s base in Sheffield, as well as messages via social media.

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