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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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:
Mumsyblouse · 19/10/2013 11:29

Zzen _ I agree, there may well be a profit motive although you do find rather odd collective child-swapping practices amongst really poor groups. I'm just saying it is far from clear this child has been abducted from non-Roma white family. It may be that she indeed has been trafficed within their own group/contacts and the parents may indeed not have minded her being taken away- who knows:(

Original poster
AliaTheEvilLeaper · 19/10/2013 11:31

"girl found in Larissa." Which is the exact same area the Needhams said they had a tip off for years ago, but nobody bothered to investigate it properly.
After the light of this case, why is THAT not being picked up on?

I think we should all tweet/email the media with this. Don't get me wrong, I desperately want Madeleine to be found too and reunited, but why is it the main lead on all the newspapers when there is actually a CONNECTION to the tip off for Ben Needham years ago, and that's not mentioned? Confused
Why are the media not picking up on the Larissa area connection to Ben? The Needham's say someone tipped off for that area years ago. It wasn't followed up.
After this, surely the media need to wake up a bit and report that more?

OP posts:
IComeFromALandDownUnder · 19/10/2013 11:34

Yanbu op. It was reported in the paper recently that some Roma gangs do traffic children for begging/stealing. It isn't physically possible that this couple had 11 children in that space of time so there is more. So sad that the Doctor who reported meeting Ben with a Roma couple one year after his disappearance was not properly followed up on.

Millenniumbug1 · 19/10/2013 11:57

Have a look at the petition section, there is an online petition calling for the government to take more action over Ben Needham.
The comparison with Madeleine McCann is a little unfortunate, but the call for the government to take more action to find Ben is worthy all the same.
Do have a look and follow the link

Iamsparklyknickers · 19/10/2013 12:07

I would imagine a variety of reasons could be identified depending on the people involved - trafficking, slavery, or maybe a belief that they can care for a childs basic needs and are willing to do that in the place of a mother who feels she can't as a gesture of humanity and charity. I also would imagine that infertility can strike someone from the Roma community as much as anyone else.

All the same reasons that anyone, anywhere may take someone elses child.

edam · 19/10/2013 12:10

six children born within the space of 10 months? Doesn't sound like charity is the most likely reason...

Nancy66 · 19/10/2013 12:13

The child doesn't exactly look well cared for does she?

TheQueenOfSparta · 19/10/2013 12:13

OP. how do you know that the authorities are not already digging into this? Police in Greece are more secretive than in the Uk, this little girl was not found yesterday but a while back and was only announced yesterday. What is your idea then? That we should start looking for Ben? The police are dealing with this. If their investigations are successful, it will be all over the press. But Ben's family, and so many families, have been through such terrible ordeal, they can't just come out and make announcements.

Original poster
AliaTheEvilLeaper · 19/10/2013 12:29

The police are dealing with this. If their investigations are successful, it will be all over the press.

That's fair enough, and I appreciate that the police will be dealing with it, of course they will be and it'll be in the newspapers if successful.
What I DON'T get, though, is why the newspaper/ media headlines today are not joining the dots and picking up on the glaringly (is that a word?! Grin ) obvious link to Ben Needham's sighting years ago. Where someone said he was living with the gypsies in Larrissa. Which is the area the little girl was found.
That should be what they're leading with. Not tenuous musings on other well known cases (even though I pray the others are found of course.)

OP posts:
ZZZenagain · 19/10/2013 12:30

It will be a very cold trail now. I don't know if the police would be able to still track him. Probably the best chance of solving his case would be if he as an adult saw reports of the disappearance and began to question whether it could have a connection to him and contact a missing children agency to set the ball in motion. So if his case is highlighted now, that would be a very good thing IMO. Has been done before with success.

Apparently these cases are never closed and are checked if anything comes up in the course of an investigation. I suppose the reason a lot of active searches Focus on more recent cases is that the trail is not so cold, so a greater possibility of finding out what happened which hopefully also sheds light on other and older cases.

Does anyone know how many cases of missing children we have in Europe atm?

auntmargaret · 19/10/2013 12:32

I stopped a gang who were about to snatch my daughter. She was 5 at the time, blonde, blue eyed and gorgeous. I just happened to see the woman clock her (she was walking in a holiday resort, maybe 20 feet in front of me, so it looked like she was on her own) She gave the nod to a boy aged about 12, he gave another signal, and suddenly about 8 people came out of the shadows and formed a pincer movement around her. It was utterly terrifying. I shouted my sister, who was about 10 feet in front of my daughter. She shouted "no" and at the same time I stopped, made eye contact with the original woman and told her to "Fuck off" . She gave another sign and the whole lot of them melted into the shadows again. My daughter was totally unaware of it, as were all the other UK holidaymakers in the vicinity. It was totally silent and totally opportunistic and totally planned. Utterly, utterly terrifying. It still chills me to the bone. And they just happened to be gypsies. The police were 10 feet away to the side and didnt notice. And it all lasted less than 30 seconds. My legs have gone shaky now just thinking about it. It does happen.

ZZZenagain · 19/10/2013 12:35

OMG where was this?

filee777 · 19/10/2013 12:36

aunt that is terrifying

auntmargaret · 19/10/2013 12:38

It was in the old town of Albufueira, we were walking away from the square up towards the main road. I have never been back. It was 5 years ago.

cranberryorange · 19/10/2013 12:39

According to the Ben FB page, the media are interviewing Kerry Needham now.

SKY, ITV, the Beeb and Greek media are now linking the 2 cases.

Original poster
AliaTheEvilLeaper · 19/10/2013 12:39

aunt that is utterly chilling. My blood's run cold reading that.

OP posts:
WildThongsHeartString · 19/10/2013 12:47

aunt that's awful! I can't imagine the horror of what might have happened if you hadn't noticed, no wonder you still feel shaky.

Original poster
AliaTheEvilLeaper · 19/10/2013 12:50

SKY, ITV, the Beeb and Greek media are now linking the 2 cases.

Thank goodness, it's about time.

OP posts:
edam · 19/10/2013 12:51

Oh my goodness, Aunt, that's horrifying. Thank heavens you realised.

I wonder what happened to the children rescued in filee's link - whether the police traced their real families?

auntmargaret · 19/10/2013 12:52

I was incredibly lucky. I never slept a wink that night, barricaded all the doors of the villa and just paced the floor all night. My daughter, now 10, still doesn't know it happened. But it did make me believe that there are gypsy gangs that traffic children, and I don't think that makes me racist, just honest and realistic. OP, YASNBU.

filee777 · 19/10/2013 12:54

It's pretty much fact that Roma gangs traffic children, the Paris case, the latest one in the UK

I only hope that this new public interest will lead to an end of it all.

omletta · 19/10/2013 13:15

Presumably aunt you reported this to the police both here and in Portual?

Original poster
AliaTheEvilLeaper · 19/10/2013 13:17

Media starting to pick up on the connection - finally! This has just appeared on Twitter from the Mirror newspaper
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/mystery-blonde-girl-found-same-2468734?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

OP posts:
VoodooHexDoll · 19/10/2013 13:20

Human traficing is the highhest its ever been Sad

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