Ben Needham MEGATHREAD

[aliceBB]

I've been following this story quite carefully and unless I have missed something (or unless the police are witholding something), what I find baffling is this.

 

They say the recent excavations have 'convinced' them that Ben died in an accident (rather than being abducted). They seem to be basing their 'conviction' on the discovery of a toy which Ben owned, which was found in the site 750m away (from his grandparents' property where he was last seen alive), to which site earth from the Needham property was removed by a digger driver.

 

Yet there is no mention of any human remains/DNA being discovered at either site.

 

How can they rule out the possibility that the child was indeed snatched, the toy was left behind and inadvertently moved, along with a load of earth, to the further site? Surely the discovery of the toy is not proof that the child was killed, is it?

 

Or have I missed something?

[geared]

Do the public have the right to know the intimate details of the case?

 

Their enquiry must have been fairly large, it involved many officers so there must have been plenty of information to sift through.

They seem confident that they've closed off all open lines of enquiry and the current evidence available points to a final conclusion.

[Stranza]

Do the public have the right to know the intimate details of the case?

 

Their enquiry must have been fairly large, it involved many officers so there must have been plenty of information to sift through.

They seem confident that they've closed off all open lines of enquiry and the current evidence available points to a final conclusion.

 

I made the mistake of starting a bereavement thread in error after reading those reports.

 

I was under the impression that Ben's family had accepted and we're satisfied with the police version.

 

Not so according to some sources and an interview with Leanne, it's heartwrenching to see them still suffering.

[LeMaquis]

a freshly dug grave, on a building site ?. there speaks a person who has never been on a building site in their life .

 

It wasn't a building site. A digger was being used to clear land.

[geared]

I was under the impression that Ben's family had accepted and we're satisfied with the police version.

 

Not so according to some sources and an interview with Leanne, it's heartwrenching to see them still suffering.

 

They've been saying they want to tear the island apart, I assumed they'd accepted the police story but now more than ever want his remains returned for a proper burial.

 

In some respects it's worse, they feel closer than ever to finding him but just can't discover the exact site.

[phawley]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before as I haven't read through all this thread, but I can't understand how there does not appear to have been any use of sniffer dogs in the search, surely a dog could have done in hours what it has taken officers weeks to achieve.

[geared]

Can they find a body thats been buried for over 20 years?

[chocki]

Can they find a body thats been buried for over 20 years?

 

I would think so. They can find bones that are 100s of years old so why not in this situation.

 

I don't understand how they can say he met his death accidentally when, allegedly, all they have found is a car. Why no bones? With technology today surely something could be done.

 

My heart goes out to Kerry and her family, 25 years of torture, not knowing, the pain must be unbearable

[phawley]

I would think so.

From this website http://aboutforensics.co.uk/detection-dogs/

 

 

"Some dogs are specifically trained to detect dead bodies underwater, with the canine situated on a shoreline or boat. A newer concept is that of historical human remains detection dogs, which are trained to locate historical or archaeological graves."

[*_ash_*]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before as I haven't read through all this thread, but I can't understand how there does not appear to have been any use of sniffer dogs in the search, surely a dog could have done in hours what it has taken officers weeks to achieve.

 

If it was that simple, don't you think it would/will have been tried?

 

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I would think so. They can find bones that are 100s of years old so why not in this situation.

 

I don't understand how they can say he met his death accidentally when, allegedly, all they have found is a car. Why no bones? With technology today surely something could be done.

 

My heart goes out to Kerry and her family, 25 years of torture, not knowing, the pain must be unbearable

 

I think people overestimate things these days too. There probably isn't an app yet that discovers bodies.

 

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I did see a programme on BBC4 the other day (though I can't recollect its name) that showed new technology that can [vaguely] read where bodies are in the ground, because the breaking down of the body in the soil alters something that can be traced using water testing the soil. (sorry to be vague)