![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/Little-boy-found-in-a-German-river-declared-not-to-be-missing-British-toddler-Ben-Needham-4957617.jpg?r=1694609315480\")
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Ben Needham’s family have been told that DNA testing on the body discovered in the Danube River is not that of the missing toddler.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben went missing more than 30 years ago on the Greek island of Kos. <\/p>\n
This news comes on the heels of Interpol’s announcement that the bones discovered in May 2022 most likely belonged to a child from outside the country, providing renewed hope in the search for answers.<\/p>\n
However, Ben’s family was devastated to learn that the child’s DNA did not match his own, which had been sent for comparison.<\/p>\n
This is especially heartbreaking for Ben’s mother, Kerry, who has been searching for her son since he went missing in July 1991 while playing at his grandparents’ farmhouse.<\/p>\n
In a statement, police said: “South Yorkshire Police, supported by Europol, has received confirmation that a DNA sample of the body found in the River Danube in Germany does not match that of Ben Needham.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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