Ben Needham: DNA tests rule out match to body of boy found in German river

Police say DNA tests carried out on the body of a boy found in a river in Germany have ruled out a match with the missing toddler Ben Needham.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he vanished on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

South Yorkshire Police sent DNA samples to German investigators after international police organisation Interpol appealed for help identify the remains of a boy found in the River Danube in May last year.

But the force confirmed the result had come back negative.

A spokesperson said: "South Yorkshire Police, supported by Interpol, has received confirmation that a DNA sample of the body found in the River Danube in Germany does not match that of Ben Needham.

"Ben’s family has been informed and are being supported.

"Our thoughts remain with the young boy who is yet to be identified and, of course, the Needham family who continue in their search for answers."

Ben went missing while playing outside a farmhouse his grandfather was helping to renovate on Kos in July 1991.

It led to one of the biggest missing person investigations in the history of South Yorkshire Police

Speaking before the latest update on investigations in Germany Ben’s mother Kerry, 51, said she was "keeping an open mind" about whether the boy found in the River Danube could be Ben.

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