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Ben Needham: DNA test on Cyprus man negative Ben Needham: DNA test on Cyprus man negative
(35 minutes later)
Police have said a DNA test carried out on a man in Cyprus has proved he is not Ben Needham, who disappeared as a toddler in 1991. Police have said a DNA test carried out on a man in Cyprus has proved he is not Ben Needham, who disappeared in 1991.
Ben, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, vanished when he was 21 months old while on holiday on the Greek island of Kos. Ben, from Sheffield, vanished when he was 21 months old while on holiday on the Greek island of Kos.
A Cypriot police spokesman revealed the negative test to the BBC.
The man had spoken to officers after footage of him looking similar to how Ben might appear now was released.The man had spoken to officers after footage of him looking similar to how Ben might appear now was released.
A tweet from @FindBenNeedham, the twitter account of the campaign to find the missing man, said: "Needham family just had confirmation test is negative. Disappointing but they remain strong and resolute in search." A tweet from @FindBenNeedham, the account of the family's campaign, said it was "disappointing but they remain strong and resolute in search".
His mother Kerry has always maintained her son is alive and was probably abducted. Ben's mother Kerry has always maintained her son is alive and was probably abducted.
'Mound of earth'
She said last week the discovery of a blonde girl called Maria at a Greek Roma camp had given her family "fresh hope and maximum publicity".She said last week the discovery of a blonde girl called Maria at a Greek Roma camp had given her family "fresh hope and maximum publicity".
Ben's family had spent his 24th birthday waiting for results of the DNA test.
He vanished on 24 July, 1991, after travelling to Kos with his mother and grandparents who were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise.
In 2012, a police operation focused on a mound of earth and rubble close to where Ben was last seen, but no trace of him was found.
A team of UK police officers spent a week searching the site close to the farmhouse.
His mother vowed to continue looking for him after the search failed to find anything.