South Yorkshire Police have been made aware of a disturbing online post featuring a fabricated AI image claiming to show missing Ben Needham reunited with his mother. The fake post displays an age progression photo of Ben as an adult with a child, sitting alongside his mother, Kerry, with the caption ‘Ben Needham, finally we are together’. Another post on the Facebook page ‘Midnight Wire’ from St Andrews, Scotland, alleges a supposed emotional reunion between Ben and his mom after 35 years of disappearance.

Kerry Needham, Ben’s mother, expressed her distress and shock upon encountering the posts, labeling them as lies. She promptly reported the situation to South Yorkshire Police, urging others to report any similar posts to prevent further dissemination. Leighanna Needham, Ben’s sister, emphasized the harmful impact of such misinformation on the investigation, stressing the importance of authentic leads from the public.

Kerry, now residing in Turkey, is anxious for the age progression image to reach the US in hopes of soliciting assistance from the American public. She suspects Ben, who vanished at 21 months old from Kos, Greece, might have been abducted and illegally placed for adoption in the US. The release of the professional age progression image in 2021 was a pivotal moment for Kerry, providing renewed hope in their search efforts.

The age progression image, crafted by forensic artist Tim Widden, was endorsed by Kerry to commemorate 30 years since Ben’s disappearance. Using family photographs, Widden meticulously recreated Ben’s image, submitting a detailed report to South Yorkshire Police for their investigation. Kerry remains optimistic that authentic leads will surface, guiding them towards reuniting with Ben after his mysterious disappearance in 1991.