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Greek police hunting missing Ben Needham are probing eight theories about what happened to the British toddler
Toddler Ben Needham went missing 24 years ago on Greek island of Kos
His mother Kerry, from Sheffield, has always maintained he was abducted
Documents reveal Greek investigators are probing eight different theories
Lack of clarity 'damaging to the credibility' of the Greek investigation, new papers have claimed
By JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 06:01 EST, 9 August 2015 | UPDATED: 06:29 EST, 9 August 2015
Greek police hunting missing Ben Needham are probing eight different theories about what happened to the British toddler, it has emerged.
Ben was just 21 months old when he went missing while on a family holiday on the Greek island of Kos in July, 1991.
Now it has been claimed that Greek detectives examining the disappearance are looking at possible explanations ranging from 'serious crime to accidental death'.
But the lack of clarity has been 'damaging to the credibility' of the investigation in Greece, according to documents obtained by the Sunday People.
Specific details of the hypotheses have been blacked out in the papers, Jonathan Corke reports.
News of the theories emerged after a Freedom of Information request following a British review which took place earlier this year.
Ben's family have always said they believe he was abducted after he disappeared from outside a farmhouse they were helping to renovate.
Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police was granted £700,000 in Home Office funding to support the Greek authorities in continuing inquiries to find Ben.
A review was launched in February by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to see how South Yorkshire officers would use the cash.
Papers from the review said enquiries had been made 'across the world from Germany to Australia'.
According to the Sunday People, the report adds: 'The fact that after more than 20 years we are no clearer about the reasons for Ben’s disappearance is... damaging to the credibility of the Greek police investigation and indirectly South Yorkshire Police.
'The Special Grant Funding will enable SYP to identify and address outstanding investigative opportunities, possibly resolve the case and if not at least give the Needham family some reassurance that all reasonable lines of enquiry have been pursued.'
Last month, it emerged that officers from South Yorkshire Police had questioned a Roma gipsy family in connection with the toddler's abduction.
The Mirror reported how Ben's mother Kerry, 43, from Sheffield, who has campaigned for years to find her son and believes he is still alive, was 'relieved they have finally been challenged'.
The paper reported how Ms Needham begged police to visit the 'strange little town' where the gipsies lived for years after being told of numerous sightings of a child matching Ben's description with the family.
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said this was 'significant' to the investigation.
In May Ms Needham travelled to Athens with South Yorkshire Police to appear on a missing persons programme and appeal for information.
There was excitement soon after when a man called the show saying he was Ben. But detectives ruled him out after discovering the caller had been DNA-tested several years ago and found not to be the missing boy from Sheffield.
Police were also given the name of another man who had been previously ruled out, but said in May they were analysing a photograph sent to them of a third man. They were also chasing seven new leads at the time.
Detectives from South Yorkshire Police received 30 calls during the three-hour programme, as Ben’s heartbroken mother vowed to ‘never, ever stop looking for him’.
After the broadcast, she said: ‘I believe he is out there and I don’t think it’s going to be long. It’s just a feeling I have inside myself.
'It feels like he is saying, “Come on, I’m here just come and get me.”
'That keeps me going. I want him to know that I love him just as much today as when he was born.’
A spokesman for the Foreign Office previously said: 'We have the deepest sympathies with Ben Needham's family and continue to offer them consular support.
'We are following this case closely and will fully assist South Yorkshire Police wherever possible.'
Ben vanished after travelling to Kos with his mother and grandparents, who were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise.
In 2013, a DNA test carried out on a man in Cyprus proved he was not Ben.