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AIBU?

to think this a major 'breakthrough' in the Ben Needham case?

185 replies

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 18/10/2013 23:19

A 4 year old girl living in a Roma Camp has been found not related to the camp and parents.
Ben Needham's family apparently had a line of enquiry years back about being linked back to Larissa,
Which is where the area this girl was found.
If there's so many children out there with a chance of maybe being Ben or other stolen, shouldn't we be checking this out?
It's a possibility and a plausible one at that.
Girl found with no DNA matching to parents
www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.home&id=1553
Lots of other children out there in those camps.No idea whether they're biologically related or not.
Is it not worth the enquiry? For the peace of mind?
It hasn't been investigated. It should be. Just to make SURE.
Especially as this little girl has been discovered in the exact same place as Ben was purpoted to have been.

OP posts:

Report

Millenniumbug1 · 21/10/2013 13:38

Have a look at helpfindben.co.uk for full details of what his family want to happen & are hoping for, in the light of this little girl being found.

DeWe · 21/10/2013 10:33

OP, what actually do you think the police should/could be doing?
Because, frustrating as it seems, I'm not sure, after all this time, what, other than someone coming forward to give a statement would be able to be done.

He's an adult now. If he was kept in the camp, and now isn't there, I don't think there's going to be any evidence left. And the community there seems to have rallied round the couple, so I wouldn't hold too much hope of them coming forward and telling.

If he's still there, well, he probably thinks he belongs there. He was too young to have any memory of before that time. If he's always been told he's their child, he may have no reason to doubt it. And even if he did, he may feel it is disloyal to voice it. if you look at these cases where a child has been abducted to adulthood, it isn't an easy decision to come forward.(Stockholm syndrome etc.)
It would be a very difficult decision for an adult Ben to come forward. Because if he came forward, and wasn't Ben, he'd be at risk of being rejected by the group.
They can't force the entire lot to come forward and have a DNA test unless they are accused of a crime.

If the police announce they're going to look into it, then it gives them chance to get rid of any evidence. Might actually risk Ben's life if he is there. For all we know, the police could be asking the media to keep that side down so they have the chance to investigate before the group prepare.

Unfortunately, I think the idea she's Ben's daughter is very unlikely. If he's not with the camp, then it's unlikely he's given his daughter back to them.
If he is with the camp, then it's likely the mother is too. Then the couple would have said "that's the mother, we're looking after her because she can't" and it would have ended there.

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 21/10/2013 09:51

I know how the news works, thanks. I would have thought an actual connection to the area made before would have been the angle to go with from the start, not to not mention it at all and just focus on another well known case with no links to that area previously (if there was previously documented links to her from that camp, then apologies.)

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Nancy66 · 21/10/2013 09:46

Because the girl was the bigger story. That's how the news work - she was new...therefore 'news'

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 21/10/2013 09:42

Alia, I have no idea what you're reading or watching on TV but I have seen endless mentions of Ben.

Yes, there is NOW, that's the whole point! There wasn't when I started this thread, and wasn't Saturday morning either - some are still slow on the uptake.

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Nancy66 · 21/10/2013 09:15

Alia, I have no idea what you're reading or watching on TV but I have seen endless mentions of Ben.

You don't know that there was an 'actual sighting' of Ben - because we don't even know if he's alive. There was a man who said he saw a kid who looked like him. Do you have any idea how many people say they've seen missing children? Look at all the places Madeleine has been seen: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey....

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 23:47

I worked for the met for some time, many occasions I worked on misper cases. It's not as black and white as you seem to think it is

I'm not disputing the fact you worked for the Met. If you say you did, then fair enough.
What I AM querying though, is why certain tabloids in the media aren't picking up on the link? They didn't get the connection AT ALL until afternoon yesterday (Saturday) when I posted late Friday night with it.
Some STILL aren't picking up on it even after this discovery in the same camp and choosing to ignore it.
Why?
If you read the link I posted last, the police are saying they're not bothering to investigate further. Why on earth is that when there was an actual sighting, and someone actually came out and said way back in 1996 that he was living in the same area "with the gypsies? To come out and say you're not bothering to investigate that lead after the light of the finding of an unidentified little girl is disgraceful.

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Spirulina · 20/10/2013 23:34

Lol you don't know they aren't/haven't/won't.... You have no clue and neither do these tabloids you are linking to

I worked for the met for some time, many occasions I worked on misper cases. It's not as black and white as you seem to think it is

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 23:26

How do you know it's investigation worthy? How do you know it's not being investigated in another way? Or by other forces
Because of reports like this.
www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/south-yorkshire-police-sees-no-correlation-between-ben-needham-and-gypsy-girl-1-6166690
Reports that are saying it's not worth looking into. When Kerry herself says she was given a tip off years ago that Ben was "living with the gypsies in Larissa."
Why is THAT not being investigated? Why are they refusing to get involved when she had a blatant tip off to that area and who had taken him years ago?
It keeps getting brushed under the carpet, which I could understand with no links, but when there's a definite one you have to ask WHY.
You'd think they would want to check and rule it out. Why are they not?

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Spirulina · 20/10/2013 23:18

How do you know it's investigation worthy? How do you know it's not being investigated in another way? Or by other forces

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 23:07

Oh come on! The police won't be investigating this because they will have far more knowledge and facts than we have! Do you honestly believe they looked at it and said 'nah, let's not bother'!?

Why is it not getting the same amount of coverage as other people then with NO known link of anything happening, and adding a tenuous spin onto the headlines, but this one is shunted backwards and not given the same exposure?
Especially given the recent developments of an unidentified little girl found in the exact same area Ben was purpoted to have been "with the gypsies?"
Why would they have said that back in 1996 if it wasn't true? Isn't it worth an investigation just to be on the safe side?

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Spirulina · 20/10/2013 23:02

Oh come on! The police won't be investigating this because they will have far more knowledge and facts than we have! Do you honestly believe they looked at it and said 'nah, let's not bother'!?

Remember..... We are at the bottom of the chain when it comes to receiving info. The police will be privy to a lot more than can be released

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 22:56

I think the problem is when Ben went missing we did not have the same media flurry and 24 hour news and social media.

That's a good point, as in 1991 (I think that's the year he went missing) that there was no such thing as the internet. No such thing as instant news via Twitter, or chat board discussion rooms with journalists a part of them.
News never stops nowadays. Back then, you'll have had no way of contacting the media and at the same time alerting the public simultaneously, which you do now.
I've got an extremely active and well over 2,000 Twitter following of fellow parents, and have been tweeting the link to the petition all day. The petition seems to be gaining momentum over the past 24 hours.
It sees an (albeit) small spike in signatures just after every time I post the link.
If we all do that they might start doing something.

OP posts:

moldingsunbeams · 20/10/2013 22:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 22:06

Wonder why the Sun seem to be the only paper that refuses to pick up on the link as a main lead?

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AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 21:10

My guess is Ben is a 24 yo Man and no longer a child. I too feel so bad for his family.

That's just it, he will be in his twenties and a fully grown man. If he has been taken by this gypsy camp at some point though, which is a likely possibility given the discovery of the little girl and the fact somebody had said YEARS ago that he had been taken by them, then it's possible he's one of the adults there.
With no clue of who he really is, and the heartbroken family looking for him.
They need to look at the camp, seriously.
His mum (and family) deserve to know if he's there or not. I have boys. I can't imagine what she must be going through not knowing, it must be absolute torture.
She needs it investigating and the fact nobody is bothering to look is outrageous.
If (IF) they did take him, why the hell are they allowed to get away with it?
It's criminal.

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deepfriedsage · 20/10/2013 20:56

My guess is Ben is a 24 yo Man and no longer a child. I too feel so bad for his family.

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 20:17

Why are the links to Ben still not being investigated? I'm gutted for his family, I truly am.

Me too. I just don't understand why, when a little girl has been found in the same camp he was said to have been with, that they STILL won't pull their finger out and investigate it thoroughly. They need to get in and get searching officially.
I know somebody's now going to come along and say "it's not as easy as that" but it SHOULD be.
I'm also really pissed off that some papers (yes, especially you The Sun) is STILL going on about Maddie today.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for her to be found, but this story has BEN written all over it, and the front cover blatantly ignores that fact.

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Millenniumbug1 · 20/10/2013 19:56

Why are the links to Ben still not being investigated? I'm gutted for his family, I truly am.

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 18:09

Apparently Bens sister has asked for the childs dna to be checked against her own, I hope they get answers.

Same here, and they urgently need to DNA test just in case. It could be a relative. No one will know.

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moldingsunbeams · 20/10/2013 17:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 17:14

Sky have just read a statement from South Yorkshire police who will not be investigating the links with this case and Ben Needham but will continue to support the family.

That's awful, When there's a definite link, why the hell won't they investigate?

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cranberryorange · 20/10/2013 17:00

Sky have just read a statement from South Yorkshire police who will not be investigating the links with this case and Ben Needham but will continue to support the family.

I dont understand why the police help the Mccanns but nobody else. It must be devastating for Kerry and her family.

JustThisOnceOrTwiceOrThrice · 20/10/2013 14:20

Poor little mite. She looks so worried

AliaTheEvilLeaper · 20/10/2013 14:18

Just checked Sky website again, and the link IS now mentioned, halfway through the article.
That definitely wasn't there earlier this morning, so they must have just updated it.

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