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The missing children we don’t talk about who have never been found

Some missing persons cases, like that of Madeleine McCann, were so extensively covered by the media that the story became almost impossible to avoid. However, not all missing persons cases were seen as such great fodder for stories, for a myriad of reasons, and subsequently never hit the press in a significant way or for a significant duration of time. Below are some of the missing people whose stories bear at least some resemblance to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann but received nowhere near as much media attention. As with Maddie, none of these children have been found.

Ben Needham, 21 months old

In 1992, 21-month-old Ben Needham went missing on the Greek Island of Kos while on holiday with his family. Despite his case possessing parallels to the vanishing of Madeleine McCann, Needham’s time in the news cycle was markedly shorter and it’s unclear exactly why. Guardian journalist, Esther Addley, said: “There was a lot of publicity about Ben Needham at the time but not to the same extent as Maddie and none of us really know why, beyond the fact the McCann story simply got more traction.”

Needham’s whereabouts remain unknown, but as recently as 2018, South Yorkshire Police have been following a line of inquiry which suggests Needham was accidentally killed and subsequently buried on the island. Despite extensive excavation by British and Greek Police, no conclusive evidence has been found to prove the theory.

Lingran and Lingshan Lin, 11 and 15

Chinese sisters Lingran and Lingshan Lin arrived in the UK for the first time in July of 2006 for a two-week visit with a language tour group. The day following their arrival, Brighton police where contacted by the girls’ host family in Hove reporting them missing.

After failing to return to their host family, the girls sent several text messages to their parents in the Fujian region of China saying they were “with friends”. The language tour party returned home without them and neither child has been found. The Fujian region in China and the girl’s family said in a shared statement that the pair is not missing but “with friends”.

Media coverage of this case was limited to the local area and the pair’s time in the news cycle was short despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding their disappearance.

Aamina Ruqayyah Khan, 6

In 2011, six-year-old Aamina Khan was abducted by her Mother and taken to Pakistan. Aamina’s father, Dr Safraz Khan, had gained sole custody of Aamina after his marriage had broken down three years before she was taken. Neither Amina nor her mother have been seen since the abduction, but it is assumed the pair is living more or less safely somewhere in Pakistan. With Aamina seemingly in no immediate danger, this case was covered by very few media outlets and remains relatively unknown.

Lillian Lyustiger, 2

In 2005, two-year-old Lillian Lyustiger’s mother, Natalija, gave the toddler to her estranged father Nikolai for the day and she never returned home. Last seen by her mother in Belsize Park, north-west London, police believe Lillian was likely taken to the US or Russia by her father.

As with the case of Aamina, little media attention was given to Lillian’s disappearance because she was believed to not be in any immediate danger, but almost 18 years later, her and her father’s whereabouts remains unknown.

Others

The following is a list of names and ages of some children who went missing in the UK when they were less than ten-years-old. In each case, media coverage was so scarce that specific details surrounding the cases are unable to be found.

  • Muzamil Hussain, 4, last seen in Birmingham
  • Ashia Jabbi, 1, last seen in Lewisham
  • Megan Scott, 6, last seen in Newcastle
  • Guilia Paulet, 9, last seen in UK