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OFFENSIVE AND REPULSIVE YOU TUBE VIDEOS
YouTube can be quite a good place to look at videos and the like.
However, I have found lots of Repulsive and Offensive videos about Madeleine McCann whilst searching YouTube myself.
I would ask you all, if you come across any such videos to Flag them and please let me know the URL (address of the video) so I can report the content as well.
Some of these videos are so offensive its unreal and I will not go into detail about the contents of them.
What I can not believe is the comments people leave on these videos, they praise them and even add there own offensive comments and this just encourages the makers of these videos to make more and more.
What must not be forgot here is that there is a little girl involved through no fault of her own and this little girl could be there child, what is happening in this world today, why some people (The Minority I must say) can be so evil and disgusting, its just beyond my way of thinking.
Please do not forget to flag them and let me know by E-Mail using the contact me link.
Thank you all for your cooperation regarding this matter.
Kelvin (Site Owner/Admin)
Kate and Gerry have issued a new 2008 Xmas poster.
Please click on the Link below to view this new poster.
Kate and Gerry have issued a new 2008 Xmas poster. Please click on the Link below to view this new poster.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW XMAS 2008 POSTER
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW XMAS 2008 POSTER
Despite the fact that I have had no cooperation from the McCann's website, I have decided For Maddie to update my site again.
I have been here from the Onset, constantly updating the site, but I got angry that all the information I had was from third parties, but so what, I am doing this for a little girl that has gone missing through no fault of her own
so McCann's if you are reading this a little Cooperation from you would be nice.
So here is the latest news that I have had from other source's.....
The McCanns have dismissed a theory that she wandered off. They are convinced she was abducted.
Gerry said in the recently released video, "If you're saying is it theoretically possible that Madeleine left the apartment? Then yes. Do we believe it -- and do we believe she was capable of leaving the apartment the way it was found -- then I would say absolutely not."
Since 2007, several photos of Madeleine have been widely publicized. One shows her distinctive right eye, and another is a projection of how she might look two years on.
The McCanns say they will ask the Portuguese police to re-open the investigation into Madeline's disappearance to follow up what they say are new leads uncovered by private investigators hired by the McCann family.
Pat Brown, a criminal profiler, said on "The Early Show" Monday that a combination of factors has contributed to where things stand in the McCann case.
"(One theory) was that the child was abducted. And another theory was that she died in the apartment, and this, of course, is the theory the McCanns aren't too happy about. And they don't want that one out there," Brown said.
"And so they're still angry at the Portuguese police. And this is one thing I don't think they should bring up at this point in time. After three years when they're looking to get the cooperation of the police, it's not the time to say, 'You're not following up our leads.'
And they also mentioned that it's possible they aren't following up the leads because they don't want the child to be found alive, because that would be embarrassing. Not what you want to say. You want to keep it positive and ask for somebody's help and not bring anything negative into the conversation."
As for the McCanns' supposed leads, Brown said she hasn't heard of any actually getting anywhere.
"Ever since the very beginning, when they have believed that the private investigators had great leads that weren't being followed up on, I never saw that they panned out to be anything. And they're saying that there's other leads that aren't being followed up, and I don't know what those are, and I don't think anybody really does. I don't know what leads they could be finding at this point in time."
Brown added, if the McCanns are innocent of any wrongdoing, they will continue to search for Madeleine.
"They're always going to believe their child is out there. That would be normal for any parent whose child has gone missing. They're not going to give up on her. So they're doing the right thing in the sense that they're trying to keep her in the public eye."
However, Brown added, "Quite frankly, this child has been seen everywhere. I mean, as far as missing children go, she's one of the most publicized missing children in the world. So that's one of the most unusual things about this: With her picture out as much as it's been out there, she would have to be pretty well hidden for her not to have shown up at this point."
Extract From CBS News
A video to help find Madeleine McCann is being seen by up 100,000 people on the internet every hour.
The 60-second film makes an appeal to anyone who knows what happened to her to come forward.
People from more than 150 countries have watched it since its release at midnight on Monday by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).
The video has spread across thousands of social networking sites, blogs, chat forums and search engines.
Celebrities including Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans, Alan Carr and Phillip Schofield have also sent the link to their followers on Twitter.
The surge of interest was mirrored on the official Find Madeleine website, which saw hits surge from an average of 200,000 a day to four million.
The video, called "A Minute For Madeleine", outlines how she disappeared on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her family in Portugal.
It stated: "Madeleine is now six years old. We know that there is someone out there who knows who is involved in her disappearance."
The film is available in seven languages - English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish - and includes two new digitally-aged pictures of how Madeleine might look now.
Her parents Kate and Gerry urged as many people to view and distribute the video as possible.
They said: "We are very pleased with the huge numbers of people who have downloaded and distributed this appeal. We would like to thank everyone for their help and support.
"Let's hope and pray that this message reaches those who know who took Madeleine and they find the strength to do the right thing."
Jim Gamble, of Ceop, said: "We are delighted with the response so far but this is only the start.
"Whether you're a blogger, businessman, student or parent, use the internet for something positive today."
Kate McCann has revealed she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine.
Kate and Gerry McCann make an emotional address to Madeleine
Mrs McCann spoke of her dark thoughts ahead of the third anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance - but vowed never to give up her search.
She said: "I used to have thoughts like we'll get wiped out in the car on the motorway. So it would just happen, we'd all be gone, and the pain would be away... "But what I do know now for sure is that I don't want that," she said to the BBC World Service.
In an emotional address to her daughter Mrs McCann, 42, said: "We will never give up until we've found you."We love you very much, Madeleine, and we're not going to stop what we're doing."
Her husband Gerry, 41, added: "Madeleine, we're still looking for you. Tell someone who your mummy and daddy are, who you are."
When you think of the amount of prayers that a single child has received, you think if those prayers were going to work, they should have worked before now.
Gerry McCann speaking about missing daughter Madeleine
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007, while her parents dined with friends nearby.
The couple still remain determined to find her but now feel less guilty about coping and enjoying themselves without her.
Mrs McCann said: "I'm able to look at it now and think actually it's positive we're functioning. It's positive for Madeleine and for (her siblings, five-year-old twins) Sean and Amelie."
"The guilt, where you feel 'Madeleine is missing so how can you enjoy yourself?' - that is much, much, much less than it was and I think if you're going to have some sort of normality, you've got to have some laughter and some joy."Missing: Madeleine McCann
Both have admitted their ongoing ordeal has tested their Catholic faith, however.
Mr McCann said: "When you think of the amount of prayers that a single child has received, you think if those prayers were going to work, they should have worked before now.
"The difficulty is you don't always get your rewards on this Earth."Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide failing to lead to Madeleine's discovery, Mrs McCann said she believed the chances of finding her have not diminished.
She said: "The hardest thing is you don't know how you're going to find her, what it's going to take."
The McCanns believe police activity should be renewed in search of their daughter.
"The key test is 'has everything that could reasonably have been done, been done?' And the answer to that is no," he said.
The McCanns are expected to mark the anniversary in private and as yet have no plans for how they will spend the day.
McCann leaflets cause local anger
McCann leaflets cause local anger
The family of missing girl Madeleine McCann have criticised leaflets posted in their home town.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she went missing from a holiday flat in Portugal on 3 May 2007.
The flyers are from a group which is calling for the case to be reopened - but the move has prompted an angry response from some residents.
The McCanns said the organisation was not connected to them and its actions could hamper their search.
Resident Patricia Ball explained the leaflet had stirred up memories still fresh in the minds of the community. "It sent a shiver down my spine," she said. "I did not like it at all, it had a nasty feel about it. "There is still a candle on the green, so every time you go into the centre of Rothley, you pass the candle and it always reminds you of Madeleine."
The group said it had not delivered a leaflet to the McCanns' house as they had been given a copy of a similar publication previously.
The McCanns released a statement saying they did not want to dignify the organisation by giving any response - but they believed it did not have Madeleine's best interests at heart.
They added they felt that, if anything, it was hampering efforts to achieve justice on Madeleine's behalf.
Extract From BBC NEWS
MADDIE YACHT MYSTERY
MADDIE YACHT MYSTERY
A Bayliner luxury yacht is now at the centre of the hunt for Maddie
By Nick Fagge
A YACHT which left the Algarve just hours after Madeleine McCann disappeared has vanished without trace, the Daily Express can reveal.
The luxury Swedish cruiser sailed out of the Portuguese harbour at Portimao on May 4, 2007, the morning after four-year-old Madeleine disappeared.
It has not been seen since.
Last night there was growing speculation that Madeleine might have been whisked out of Portugal on the mystery boat.
The captain of the Bayliner yacht had told port authorities it was going to the Algarve port of Albufeira – as is required under Portuguese law – but the boat did not arrive.
Attempts by the Portuguese navy to track down the boat – one of six that left the marina that day – have failed.
All the other yachts were accounted for.
A source close to the Portuguese authorities told the Daily Express: “The yacht from Sweden was the only boat that the Portuguese police could not trace.”
The disclosure comes a day after private detectives working for Kate and Gerry McCann revealed a “significant” new lead in their hunt for the missing youngster, now aged six.
An Australian woman in Barcelona appeared to be waiting to take delivery of her “new daughter” just 72 hours after Madeleine disappeared.
Lead investigator Dave Edgar, a former detective inspector, said he believed the girl from Rothley, Leicestershire, could have been smuggled to the Spanish port in a yacht.
The woman, described as a glamorous Victoria Beckham lookalike, was seen standing on the dockside of Barcelona’s Olympic Marina pacing up and down and “agitated”.
When approached, she asked a 41-year-old British man three times; “Are you here to deliver my new daughter?” Investigators are now trying to trace the woman, described as white, aged between 30 and 35, 5ft 2in tall, of slim build and wearing expensive clothes.
It is possible Madeleine could have been abducted on the orders of a childless couple, desperate to have a family, and taken to Barcelona to meet her new “parents”.
Last night private detectives searching for Madeleine said they had received a massive response to their appeal about the Australian woman.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said: “Many hundreds of calls had come in overnight, particular from Australia. “Some names have been put forward and all of this information is now being analysed and prioritised by the detectives,” he said.
The mystery boat had been sailing along the Algarve coast close to Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared.
And records show it has previously docked at Barcelona’s Marina Port Vell, next to the Olympic Marina where the Australian woman was spotted.
The Portuguese source said: “It’s possible that the boat went to Barcelona.
The yacht left Portimao on the morning of May 4, 2007. “It left saying it was going to Albufeira in Portugal. It is a legal requirement to give a destination but it did not arrive in Albufeira. “There were six boats that left Portimao that day. All have been accounted for apart from the Swedish boat.”
In Sweden all vessels measuring over 12 metres (40ft) long must be registered with the Swedish Maritime Administration.
But inquires with their head office in Stockholm yesterday found no record of the yacht.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the McCanns’ investigators on 0044845 8384699 or email them at investigation@findmadeleine.com
Extract From: Daily Express
SEARCH FOR MISSING MADELEINE MCCANN MOVES TO BARCELONA
SEARCH FOR MISSING MADELEINE MCCANN MOVES TO BARCELONA
The search for missing Madeleine McCann has moved to Barcelona where detectives employed by the young girl's parents are searching for information about a woman with an Australian accent who, they believe, could have crucial information which may help locate the three year old who has been missing since May 2007.
A British man has come forward claiming to have spoken to a woman outside a Barcelona bar in the Port Olympic Marina just days after Madeleine went missing.
She has been described as slim, between 30 and 35 years old, 5 ft 2 inches tall, with brown hair, and an appearance similar to that of Victoria Beckham.
She is also said to have had an Australian accent, but was heard to have spoken Spanish fluently.
Reports suggest that she asked the British man if he "had her new daughter" before realising that she was talking to the wrong person.
Since the efit was published, private detectives, acting on behalf of the McCann family, say they have received more than 600 new leads via email and telephone which they are currently following up.
They have also been give details of one Australian boat owner who is said to have been in the area at the time.
A statement issued recently by the New South Wales police has said that a woman in Sydney has made a formal statement in which she claims to know the identity of the woman who is being sought in this new line of questioning.
Extract From: www.yourlocalnewspaper.info
Missing Madeleine McCann: new suspect 'highly significant'
Missing Madeleine McCann: new suspect 'highly significant'
The new suspect being hunted in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a "highly significant person of interest" to the investigation, the family's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said.
E-Fit photo-composite of a woman sought in the search for missing girl Madeleine McCann
GETTY He refused to confirm or deny that the woman, described as a Victoria Beckham lookalike, had asked a British man: "Have you got her? Have you got the child?" But he said it was right to identify the woman as a possible accomplice in the abduction of Madeleine .
Private detectives released an e-fit of the woman, described as glamorous and stylishly dressed, on Thursday.
They said she spoke with an Australian or New Zealand accent.
The conversation with the British man, who has not been named but is a married 41-year-old professional without children, is said to have taken place at a marina in Barcelona, Spain, three days after the youngster disappeared from Portugal.
Speaking on GMTV, Mr Mitchell said: "This is potentially a highly significant person of interest to the investigation. I can't go into any more detail. "This woman is formally not accused of anything."
But he said reports identifying her as a potential "accomplice" were "right to identify that aspect of the story".
Appeals have been made in Australia in the hope of attracting further clues but Mr Mitchell admitted the whereabouts of the woman were unknown.
"We're not even absolutely sure she is in Australia," he said. Mr Mitchell said Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, remained cautious about the new development. "
They have learned through bitter experience to neither let their hopes go up or down," he said. But he said they had "drawn strength" from the new momentum
Extract From Telegraph.co.uk
MADDIE PARENTS SUE ’T
MADDIE PARENTS SUE ’T
MADDIE PARENTS SUE ’T
By Jerry Lawton
MADELEINE McCann’s parents are launching a £1million lawsuit against the detective who declared them suspects in her disappearance.
And they will use any cash they win to help fund their search for her.
Gerry and Kate McCann, both 41, have hired Portugal’s top libel lawyer to conduct their claim against Goncalo Amaral.
The 49-year-old ex-police officer was behind the decision to name them suspects after Maddie vanished from their Portuguese holiday flat in May 2007, just before her fourth birthday.
Cleared He was later sacked from the case and the couple, from Rothley, Leics, have been cleared of any involvement.
Since retiring from the force Amaral has continued to point the finger of suspicion at the McCanns in a book and TV documentary which have made him a millionaire.
Their lawyer Isabel Duarte, 54, said: “The McCanns have been torn apart by Amaral’s claims.”
Amaral’s publisher Mario Sena Lopes said he was “looking forward’’ to facing them in court.
Extract From: The Daily Star
WILL MADDY NOW BE FOUND?
WILL MADDY NOW BE FOUND?
By Hilary Douglas
A GIRL found alive after being kidnapped six years ago has given hope to Gerry and Kate McCann in their anguish for missing daughter Madeleine.
Police found the girl, now eight years old, after a nightmare battle by her distraught parents.
Like the McCanns, they had never given up the search for their missing daughter.
And also similar to Madeleine’s disappearance, Monica Serrano, then 18 months old, was snatched from her family as she slept.
She was staying at her grandmother’s house in the town of Arraigan in Panama when she went missing on February 8, 2003.
Last night Interpol detectives were carrying out DNA tests to confirm that the little girl now known as Angelis Mitre Castillo is Monica.
She had been living in Guayaquil in Ecuador for some years before police were tipped off that she looked identical to the girl who was kidnapped.
Last night the McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: “This gives Kate and Gerry hope. But they will never ever be satisfied until their daughter is found safe and well. “
It shows that investigators and Interpol can play an important part in finding missing children, but hopefully it will not take nearly this long to find Madeleine.
Just like the McCanns, the Serrano family have fought desperately to find their daughter and struggled to keep the story alive, with regular updates on how she would look as she grew up.
According to the Ecuadorian daily paper Expreso, Ecuadorian authorities said that a woman called Maria del Carmen Medina Reyes brought little “Angelis” to Ecuador, then travelled to Spain having left the child with another women, Matilde Ronquillo.
Police learned two months ago that the child was in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with Oredai Nieto Reyes, sister of Maria, and who had originally turned up with the child out of the blue.
“She told us that the girl had been gifted to her,” said Nieto Reyes in her declaration to prosecutor Rene Astudio Orellana.
Reyes admitted that she registered the child irregularly as an Ecuadorian with the help of a lawyer and that the child has lived in south Guayaquil since then.
“I thought nothing would happen seeing as I’ve never been involved in these cases,” Nieto Reyes said before police officers and the prosecutor.
According to a local news agency, the woman is now detained by the police.
The dramatic rescue began last January when Interpol in Panama was contacted by a mystery woman saying she had seen a little girl in Ecuador who looked amazingly like missing Monica.
She had recently seen a newspaper report on the story of the family’s torment over their missing daughter.
A source said: “The article was accompanied by a picture where the little girl had been aged to look as she would today and the lady thought the resemblance was too remarkable to be wrong. “
She called up Interpol as their number was given at the end of the newspaper piece.
Castor Serrano, Monica’s father, said the prosecutor informed him they were on top of the case and were sending a delegation to Ecuador for further investigation.
Jose Vicente Pachar, from Ecuador’s Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Institute, said they would have to wait for the DNA tests to confirm the identity of the child.
The Attorney General said yesterday Panama has 48 hours to prove the child is Monica.
Last night investigators working for the McCanns ruled out paedophile Raymond Hewlett as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
They wanted to question the British sex offender after it came to light he was in the Algarve at the time Madeleine went missing.
Madeleine, who is now six years old, was kidnapped while on a family holiday to Praia da Luz in the Algarve in May 2007.
Extract From: Daily Express
Cops let Maddie suspect off hook
Cops let Maddie suspect off hook
By SIMON HUGHES and ANTONELLA LAZZERI
A SUSPECT in the Madeleine McCann case was let off the hook — after a private detective tailing him was deported by cops.
The detective was told to leave Portugal after the suspect complained.
It is illegal in Portugal to run a private investigation into a crime when a police one is still active.
As a result of the deportation, the suspect had nearly a year to get rid of any possible evidence against him.
The man lived near the holiday complex in Praia da Luz where Maddie, three, disappeared on May 3, 2007.
A source close to the McCann family last night accused Portuguese cops of “hindering” the investigation, adding: “It’s a disgrace.”
The detective was working for the Spanish firm initially hired by Kate and Gerry McCann.
Their British investigators are now looking into the man.
Extract From: The-Sun.co.uk
Investigators to question Scottish suspect in McCann case
Investigators to question Scottish suspect in McCann case
By Oliver Farrimond
DETECTIVES are to question a Scottish suspect over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Private investigators working for the McCanns have confirmed that they want to question the man, who is currently awaiting trial for murder and child sex offences in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.
Already wanted by Spanish police in connection with the disappearance of a German boy, the man was spotted by a prison officer at Barlinnie due to his likeness to a pencil sketch of the chief Maddie suspect.
The insider said: “This man looks like the Maddie suspect drawing that has been in the papers. “
He is also well known to have spent a lot of time in the Spanish region – staff at the prison want the investigation team to speak to him.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, operated a cleaning firm for Spanish holiday homes when Maddie vanished in May 2007.
He is currently accused of murdering a 40-year-old woman from Ayrshire with an accomplice, reportedly because the pair feared she would report them for child sex abuse.
The woman went missing from Largs more than a decade ago, and the body has never been found.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, confirmed that investigators were trying to contact the man.
He said: “The investigators currently searching for Madeleine are aware of this man and they do want to speak to him. “
Any credible information they receive is, of course, followed up as top priority.
Both men face further charges of sex abuse against children, child pornography and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Charged for a second time after the initial evidence was ruled insufficient, both lived in the Canary Islands and in Costa Blanca until being charged again last year.
Extract From: BBC News
Maddie McCann suspect's wife: No one can give him an alibi
Maddie McCann suspect's wife: No one can give him an alibi
The wife of Madeleine McCann suspect Raymond Hewlett yesterday admitted that NO ONE can give him an alibi.
German-born Mariana, 33, confessed that a female friend who Hewlett insisted could vouch for him on the day Madeleine vanished cannot remember where he was.
Convicted paedophile Hewlett, 64, won't name the woman.
In an interview with the Sunday Mirror last week, he claimed she was with him on the day Madeleine vanished.
He said she would remember because she shot a home video of him and his family at a flea market in the town of Fuzeta, 30 miles from Praia da Luz, on May 5, 2007 - two days later.
But he refused to reveal the German woman's identity, saying: "I don't think I should involve anybody. Why should I keep dragging people into this?"
But last night, as dad-of-six Hewlett drifted closer to death from throat cancer, Mariana said: "The truth is, she cannot remember where Ray was. She can't give him an alibi. No one can."
The Sunday Mirror has also learned that Hewlett befriended two families of Portuguese gipsies in the weeks leading up to Madeleine's disappearance.
Theories that Madeleine was snatched by gipsies have surrounded the case.
Chillingly, Hewlett told a friend that gipsies had offered him "good money" for his own two-year-old blonde-haired daughter.
Former Scots Guard Peter Verran, 46, shared a Moroccan campsite with Hewlett between June and November 2007.
He said: "He told me gipsies wanted to pay good money for her and he'd met some who traded in children and sold them to paedophiles."
Last week, Hewlett dismissed those claims as "rubbish".
But another former close pal of his in the Portuguese town of Tavira - where his family used to park their truck - revealed how, in April 2007, he developed a close friendship with two gipsy families.
Us-born artist Leonardo Leopoldo, 79, who has lived in Tavira - 40 miles from Praia da Luz - for 10 years, said: "No one spoke to the gipsies apart from Ray. He was always talking to them. "
There was talk in the area that they sold children to paedophiles.
By the time, Madeleine was snatched, he was very friendly with them." Leonardo said he was stunned to learn of Hewlett's past convictions for child sex attacks. He said he had grown fond of him, Mariana and the couple's seven children after first meeting them in the summer of 2002. "
I thought they were lovely," he said. "Now, everything is different."
The Sunday Mirror tracked down another close pal of Hewlett's - British expat Jenny Day - who the McCanns' private detectives have been keen to interview but unable to trace.
Divorced Jenny, who is in her fifties, admitted she could not provide Hewlett with an alibi and told how she had been shattered by revelations of his criminal past.
Speaking at her beach-side apartment in Santa Luzia, 30 miles from Praia da Luz, she said: "I loved Ray, but not now. I met him 10 years ago and thought he was a loving father. To find out that he had committed the crimes he had was shattering. "
I didn't shoot the home video being talked about and I cannot provide Ray with an alibi for the day Madeleine went missing.
Hewlett's wife remains convince he had nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance.
Speaking from the couple's tiny flat in Aachen, Germany, she added that claims he had lied about a white van he supposedly owned at the time were "simply wrong".
A friend of Hewlett's said that he had owned a white van similar to one seen parked near the McCanns' apartment before Madeleine's disappearance.
But Hewlett insists a blue Dodge truck was the only vehicle he owned at the time.
He admits to leaving Portugal for Morocco three weeks later, but insisted if he'd been in Praia da Luz at the time, the truck meant he would have "stuck out like a sore thumb". Mariana added: "We've never owned a white van. We had a grey van when we first arrived in Portugal in 2002. "
In August 2004, we swapped it for the Dodge and kept that until March 2008."
Extarct From: Mirror.co.uk
Paedophile 'lied' over van
Paedophile 'lied' over van
A convicted British paedophile tried to mislead detectives over the vehicle he was driving at the time Madeleine McCann vanished, it is reported.
Raymond Hewlett claimed he only had one van, a blue Dodge truck, but a former friend says he also owned a white Mercedes van, the Daily Mirror reported.
Former friend Peter Verran, 46, said Hewlett was lying.
He told the newspaper: "He told me he owned a white Transit-type van before his blue Dodge truck. "
He said he'd swapped it for the Dodge in order to leave Portugal and travel to Morocco.
Last month it was revealed a witness had seen a man apparently staking out the McCanns' apartment, standing near a white van.
Madeleine went missing in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Earlier this week Hewlett insisted he has never seen missing Madeleine McCann other than in posters and on television.
He declared: "I'd take a lie-detector test. I'll take any test you like. "The only time I've seen Madeleine McCann is on missing posters.
And I saw her on TV in a bar once.
But I've never seen her in real life. Hewlett, 64, a former soldier who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, has been treated for throat cancer in Aachen, Germany.
Extract From: Metro.co.uk
Paedophile snubs Madeleine grilling
Paedophile snubs Madeleine grilling
Final attempts by private detectives searching for Madeleine McCann to interview a convicted British paedophile about her disappearance have failed.
Retired UK policemen Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley flew to Germany hoping to speak to Raymond Hewlett, who is said to have been staying an hour's drive from the McCanns' Portuguese holiday flat when the little girl vanished in May 2007.
But negotiations between the private investigators and Hewlett's German lawyer broke down.
Mr Edgar, who has been employed by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann to look for their daughter, said he was "very disappointed" with the lawyer's behaviour.
He added: "I have been attempting to speak with Raymond Hewlett to eliminate him from our investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. "
He is not a suspect but I was keen to interview him because of his failing health.
I have tried over the past weeks to arrange this via his lawyer in Germany. "These negotiations have been difficult for reasons which I do not want to go into detail about. Mr Hewlett's condition has of course been deteriorating during these negotiations. "
I travelled to Germany in a final effort to interview Raymond Hewlett.
Regrettably that interview is not possible.
From information provided by his lawyer and other sources it is obvious that his health is such that any meaningful interview would not be possible.
West Yorkshire Police has confirmed its officers are investigating Hewlett in connection with an indecent assault in 1975.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.
Extract From: The Press Association.
McCann Family Could Lose Their PR Expert
McCann Family Could Lose Their PR Expert
The prime sponsor of the McCann family, mogul Brian Kennedy, stopped paying the family’s spokesman his retainer.
The parents of the missing Madeleine McCann, Kate and Gerry McCann, could lose their public relations expert, Clarence Mitchell, because their sponsor has stopped paying his wages, Mirror.co.uk reported.
Tycoon Brian Kennedy, who said he would back the McCanns until Maddie is found, has stopped financing their campaign after having lost 50 million pounds in the credit crunch.
Clarence Mitchell, a former BBC reporter, will now get his wages from The Madeleine Fund, which could be empty by the end of the year.
An unnamed source said that Brian Kennedy still supports the McCann family and will always try to offer them financial assistance, adding that he is still covering the bills of the office of the private detectives hired by the family.
Extract From: Javno.com
Crunch-hit tycoon scales down cash aid for the Madeleine McCann campaign
Crunch-hit tycoon scales down cash aid for the Madeleine McCann campaign
Missing: But the parents of Madeleine McCann are paying to keep their daughter in the public eye
By Daniel Boffey
The multi-millionaire tycoon backing Kate and Gerry McCann in their search for their daughter has cut back his financial support after losing an estimated £50million from his fortune.
Brian Kennedy, who pledged to support the McCanns until Madeleine was found, has stopped paying for the couple’s media campaign after the credit crunch hit his business interests.
The Madeleine Fund – which is down to £500,000 and expected to be empty by the end of the year – is now paying for the media relations work of former BBC reporter Clarence Mitchell, although at a reduced rate.
The McCanns continue to regard a high-profile campaign as a crucial part of their efforts to find Madeleine, who went missing two years ago from her parents’ holiday apartment at Praia da Luz in Portugal.
But a source said Mr Kennedy, 49, who made his fortune in home improvements, had stopped paying the team promoting the McCanns’ investigation as part of a ‘costs-cutting exercise’.
Mr Kennedy saw his fortune dwindle from £350million to £300million over the past year, according to a newspaper Rich List.
However, he is still reportedly the joint 178th richest man in the UK through his company Latium, which owns Sale Rugby Club and Everest Double Glazing.
Losses: Brian Kennedy has stopped paying for the Madeleine McCann media campaign The source said: ‘Mr Kennedy was paying for reputation protection for Mr and Mrs McCann. So when their arguido, or official suspect status, was removed by the Portuguese police, he believed there was no further need to pay Mitchell’s costs. ‘Of course, it was also a way to cut costs given the state of the economy.
The fund are paying a reduced rate for Mitchell to deal with the continuing Press attention.’ But the source added: ‘Kennedy continues to talk to Kate and Gerry and his lawyer is involved in the latest legal action against the former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral.
His wallet is there if needs be. 'This does not represent a scaling down. For example, his company funds the offices from which the investigators are working.’
The Madeleine Fund amassed over £1million in the first few months of the then three-year-old’s disappearance after an unprecedented public reaction.
However, it was immersed in controversy after it was revealed that money from the fund had covered two mortgage payments on the McCanns’ home.
The fund was also drawn upon heavily by private detective agencies hired by the McCanns and Mr Kennedy, including an American firm, which charged £500,000 for six months work.
It was replenished by defamation action against British media organisations.
And this newspaper can reveal that the defamation case against Mr Amaral is expected to reap the McCanns a six-figure compensation fee.
But the couple and Mr Mitchell face the possibility that Mr Amaral, who was removed from the Portuguese police investigation for criticising the British police involved, will launch a legal action against them for defamation.
Campaign: The media force behind Kate and Gerry McCann to find Madeleine has even seen them interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show He claims to have launched his own private inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance and warned he intended to call a string of witnesses to court to show his reputation had been stained.
Detectives working for the McCanns are still hoping to interview convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who lives in Germany.
On Thursday he was interviewed in Aachen police station by two detectives from West Yorkshire over two offences in the Seventies.
Last night Brian Kennedy’s lawyer, Ed Smethurst, confirmed Mr Kennedy and Latium were no longer paying Mr Mitchell’s salary directly, but added: ‘They remain fully supportive of Kate and Gerry McCann and the search for their daughter.’
Extract From: Mail Online
I saw Maddie twice, admits paedo suspect
I saw Maddie twice, admits paedo suspect
CHILD-SEX fiend Raymond Hewlett has sensationally admitted he TWICE saw Madeleine McCann before she vanished.
By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
Hewlett, 64, claimed he was at the holiday resort where Maddie was kidnapped - and got so close to her that he could see the distinctive flaw in her right eye.
The pervert - who has a string of convictions for sexually assaulting young girls - is said to have made his confession to police who questioned him about a 1975 attack on an eight-year-old.
That is a dramatic U-turn after Hewlett previously claimed he had never been near the Ocean Club holiday complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal - where Maddie disappeared days before her fourth birthday in May 2007.
Two senior officers from West Yorkshire Police travelled to Germany, where Hewlett is in hospital being treated for throat cancer.
A source close to the investigation said Hewlett told the cops he had been to the Ocean Club and seen Maddie.
The source added: "He said he had seen her at least two times and had wandered around the complex several times. "
He said he had been so close to Maddie he was able to see the distinctive mark in her right eye.
"He didn't say why he had previously denied ever being in Praia da Luz. It's obviously a disturbing development."
Last night Clarence Mitchell, official spokesman for Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate, said it was vital Hewlett now spoke to private investigators employed by the family to find Maddie.
Payment He said: "If Mr Hewlett has any credible information about Madeleine it is absolutely imperative that he should speak to the investigators as a priority. "
Mr Hewlett and his representatives must do the right thing and allow the private investigators to do their work." Hewlett, originally from Todmorden, West Yorks, refused to see the McCanns' investigators when they flew to Germany two weeks ago. He now says he will talk to them - if he is paid. But Mr Mitchell said: "No payment will be made for any such interview."
Hewlett has also employed a lawyer to try to sell his story to newspapers for thousands of pounds.
The source said: "There are fears he's trying to cash in on Maddie, and it may be that he has made these claims to get more money. Whatever his motives, he needs to be seen by the investigators because he may have vital information."
Hewlett emerged as a suspect in Maddie's abduction after it was revealed he was living at a campsite nearby in May 2007.
British tourists who spoke to him said he was "obsessed" with the case.
Police wanting to quiz Hewlett over the 1975 assault had been unable to trace him as he travelled around Europe and Morocco after being released from prison.
His lawyer in Germany says he only has weeks to live.
Hewlett has now provided cops with a DNA sample which will be compared to evidence from 1975.
Any information he provided about Maddie, from Rothley, Leics, will be passed to the Leicestershire Police task force.
Officially, the West Yorkshire officers questioned Hewlett only about the 1975 attack.
A spokesman said: "Our understanding is that no questioning of Raymond Hewlett about Madeleine McCann was undertaken by our officers as that has nothing to do with our case."
Extract From: the-sun.co.uk
Madeleine suspect gives DNA sample
Madeleine suspect gives DNA sample
A convicted paedophile linked to the Madeleine McCann investigation has given a DNA sample to UK police.
Raymond Hewlett voluntarily gave a sample of his DNA to police in Germany after detectives investigating an incident from 1975 requested the sample.
The 64-year-old gave a saliva sample to police in his hospital bed at the University Clinic in Aachen where he is being treated for throat cancer, according to German newspaper Bild.
The sample relates to an investigation by West Yorkshire police into incidents which occurred in 1975.
A police spokesman said they "actively wanted to speak to" Hewlett in relation to their ongoing investigation into the 34-year-old case.
UK-born Hewlett, a former soldier who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, is said to have been staying around an hour's drive from the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when the little girl vanished on May 3 2007.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.
A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "We are looking for him. We want to speak to him in relation to an incident in 1975. We have requested a saliva sample to be taken on our behalf as part of our inquiry. It is a routine matter for us."
Extract From: AOL News
Algarve ‘awash with paedophiles’, say McCann detectives
Algarve ‘awash with paedophiles’, say McCann detectives
Private detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann believe the Algarve is rife with child molesters.
According to reports in today’s Daily Mail, a source close to the missing child investigation has confirmed that there are 38 known sex offenders in the Algarve. 'The area is a magnet for paedophiles,’ the source said.
There have been seven sexual assaults involving children on holiday with their families in the Algarve in the last four years.’ All of these sexual assaults were carried out in a similar way to Madeleine’s abduction, with molestation following a break-in at a holiday apartment. 'Five happened before Madeleine's abduction, and two afterwards,’ the source said. ‘One took place a month before she vanished.'
Detectives hired by the McCanns to hunt for Madeleine have narrowed their search to a small group of predatory paedophiles – two of whom still live in the resort of Praia da Luz.
This month marks the second anniversary of the disappearance of Madeleine who was three when she vanished without trace.
In a statement on the website they set up to help the search for their daughter, Gerry and Kate McCann said: ‘It is two long years since Madeleine was taken. It is two years since we were a happy family of five. The pain and anxiety does not lessen, but our determination to find our beautiful daughter remains steadfast.’
Extract From: MarieClaire.co.uk
I'm innocent: Paedophile Raymond Hewlett denies part in Maddie abduction as he agrees to speak with detectives
I'm innocent: Paedophile Raymond Hewlett denies part in Maddie abduction as he agrees to speak with detectives
I'm innocent: Paedophile Raymond Hewlett denies part in Maddie abduction as he agrees to speak with detectives
The convicted paedophile wanted for questioning over the disappearance of Madeleine MacCann finally spoke today to deny any involvement in her abduction.
Raymond Hewlett, 62, is said to have been staying around an hour's drive from the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished in May 2007.
But today Hewlett denied having any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance and said he would speak to the McCanns' private detectives.
Raymond Hewlett outside a hospital in Aachen today where he denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance He told reporters outside the hospital in Aachen, Germany, where he is being treated for cancer: 'I have nothing to hide. I am willing to talk with them. I thought the Portuguese police closed this case long ago.'
Hewlett has been jailed several times for sexual offences against young girls, and it is believed that a number of police forces have been trying to track him down.
Over the weekend, the family's private investigators flew in to quiz him about his movements around the time that Madeleine went missing.
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: 'The investigators are pleased to hear that Mr Hewlett has agreed to speak to them. 'An interview with him will be arranged and will take place in due course. '
We will not be going into public detail about where or when that interview will take place.
'Mr Hewlett has again denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction, and if it helps to eliminate him from the private investigation then he has done the right thing by indicating that he will speak to the investigators currently helping Kate and Gerry McCann.'
Portuguese police have dismissed up to four potential Madeleine McCann leads in the past week by telling informers: 'The case is closed, she is dead.'
Investigation: Convicted paedophile, Raymond Hewlett, left, refused to see two private detectives employed by the McCanns while his wife, Marianna Schmuker played 'silly games' with the detectives All the witnesses who came forward offering information about the missing youngster were waved away by indifferent officers in the Algarve.
The revelation was described as a 'disgrace' by friends of Kate and Gerry McCann, who are spearheading a renewed appeal to find their daughter two years after she vanished in Portugal.
Yesterday, two private detectives employed by the couple were rebuffed as they tried to question Hewlett in his hospital bed.
Former soldier Hewlett, who was living in the Algarve when Madeleine went missing and has a history of sex attacks on girls, hid in his room and refused to see the pair.
Hewlett is one of several fresh leads that have flooded in to investigators in the past few weeks.
The McCanns are privately furious that the Portuguese police - who in theory are still in charge of the inquiry - have refused to accept new tip-offs.
A source close to the investigation said: 'In the last week, three or four people have approached the Portuguese police with information, and they were told not to worry them because the case was closed and she is dead.'
It is understood these people later gave their information directly to the McCanns' private detectives.
But the source said: 'What if there are other people who tried to give information and then simply gave up when they were sent away?
They could have been squandering potentially significant new leads. Although Portuguese prosecutors announced last year they were shelving the Madeleine case, Leicestershire Police still refer new leads to them and claim the Portuguese are still in charge of the inquiry. A friend of the McCanns - both doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire - said: 'It's a disgrace frankly, it's beyond frustrating.
It is exactly the attitude that we have been up against for months.
Madeleine McCann: The revelation that Portuguese police have dismissed new leads was branded a 'disgrace' by friends of Kate and Gerry McCann 'They closed the inquiry and were not prepared to lift a finger.'
Two private detectives, former Detective Inspector Dave Edgar and former Detective Sergeant Arthur Cowley, employed by the McCanns flew to Aachen in Germany on Sunday night in an attempt to question Hewlett.
They spent ten minutes talking to his German wife Marianna Schmuker in her council apartment in the city.
But when they visited the hospital yesterday, Hewlett - who has spent much of his life in jail or on the run from police - made it plain he had no intention of cooperating.
Mr Edgar said: 'If he's got nothing to hide, he should speak to us. It is a matter of urgency because of his medical condition.'
The two investigators also came up against a wall of German bureaucracy.
Because Hewlett is not suspected of a crime in Germany, the authorities cannot compel him to cooperate - unless they receive a request from British Police.
However, West Yorkshire police have confirmed they are 'actively seeking' Hewlett in connection with an indecent assault on an eight-year-old in 1975.
Hewlett, whose son Wayne cut all ties with his father 20 years ago and a sketch of a man allegedly seen close to the resort when Madeleine was abducted Yesterday sick letters he wrote to his own daughter were revealed.
Gina, 41, was 20 when he scrawled the self-pitying missives from his cell at Risley remand centre in Warrington, Cheshire, in March 1988.
In the letters he told her she was his 'favourite girl, the only trouble is you grew up'.
Hewlett's son Wayne, 40, a builder, said he was savagely beaten by him as a child.
Wayne cut all ties with his father 20 years ago, and said: 'He is a monster.'
Paedophile linked to Madeleine probe 'often visited holiday complex'
Paedophile linked to Madeleine probe 'often visited holiday complex'
A convicted paedophile who is being investigated over Madeleine McCann's disappearance said he was familiar with the layout of the Portuguese holiday complex where she went missing.
Raymond Hewlett is alleged to have been staying around an hour's drive from the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz when she vanished on May 3 2007.
The McCanns' investigation team wants to interview the 64-year-old in the next few days in the hope he can shed some light on the little girl's disappearance.
Investigation: Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett (left) and a sketch of a man allegedly seen close to the resort when Madeleine was abducted
A former soldier who met Hewlett at a campsite in Morocco in May 2007 told the Sunday Mirror he admitted parking a van close to the McCann's complex on several occasions.
Peter Verran, 46, said: 'He brought Madeleine up straight away. He said his three-year-old daughter looked like her. 'He was worried that because there had been reports that Madeleine may have been spirited away to Morocco, people might think his child was her. Then he suddenly said, "Madeleine's not in Morocco". Missing: Madeleine McCann has not been seen since May 3 2007 '
I asked him what he meant and he said he knew Praia Da Luz really well.
He knew the Ocean Club complex where the McCanns had been staying.
He said he'd been there many times and had often parked his van close to the apartment. 'He said he knew the layout of the place, the flat and the restaurant where the McCanns and their friends had been eating when Maddie disappeared. '
He had a lot of detail about the layout.
He said there was no way that the child could be taken without the parents seeing.
He said they were lying.' UK-born Hewlett, a former soldier who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, is reportedly being treated for throat cancer in hospital in the German city Aachen.
He was jailed several times for sexually assaulting young girls and is now wanted for questioning by British detectives in connection with a separate indecent assault.
The McCanns hope that once officers from West Yorkshire Police have questioned Hewlett, their investigators will speak to him, despite reports he is seriously ill in intensive care.
Clarence Mitchell, Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman, said: 'Mr Hewlett has denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. '
Our investigators hope he will see sense and co-operate by giving them whatever information needed so they can eliminate him from the investigation.
'It's clear the man is ill and it is clear he has information that our investigators need. It is also clear that our investigators will be speaking to him in the near future.'
It is understood that before the McCanns' team can speak to Hewlett, British officers will interview him in connection with an indecent assault in 1975.
Sources close to the investigation say they think both interviews will take place in 'a matter of days, not weeks.
The McCanns currently have two retired detectives who they hired to search for their daughter.
They hope British police will help facilitate an interview with Hewlett.
But a source with knowledge of the investigation admitted Hewlett was a 'private individual' who could 'in theory say no' to an interview with the McCanns' detectives.
A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police said the force could not go in to details about why British officers wanted to speak to the convicted paedophile.
The spokeswoman added: 'We have made contact with the German authorities. We are just waiting for clearance so we can actually go and speak to him regarding that incident.'
Earlier, the Daily Mirror reported questions were raised about Hewlett's time in Portugal by a couple who met him on holiday in Portugal.
Alan and Cindy Thompson said the sex offender was living with his German wife and six children in a converted Dodge truck travelling from campsite to campsite in the Algarve and southern Spain.
Hewlett allegedly told the Thompsons he was approached by some 'Gipsy tourists' offering to buy his daughter just before Madeleine went missing.
They also recalled him mentioning a 'business' trip to Morocco, where there were several alleged sightings of the little girl in the months after her disappearance.
Hewlett told the Thompsons he was at a market in the Portuguese town of Fuseta, 30 miles from Praia da Luz, when Madeleine vanished, according to the Mirror.
On Friday, the McCanns' private investigators flew back to the UK from Portugal, where they have been chasing up information received from the public since a blaze of publicity around the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
It is understood the leads include the names of a number of suspects.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide she has not been found.
Extract From: Mail Online
Parents mark Missing Children's Day
Parents mark Missing Children's Day
The parents of children who have disappeared have marked International Missing Children's Day with a special service.
The ceremony was held at Leicester Cathedral - the day particularly poignant to the city because of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal two years ago.
According to the charity Missing, since then 1,200 young people have disappeared.
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, launched the event last week but were not at the service.
Other members of the McCann family were - all working together to try and raise the profile of all missing children.
On Friday, Mr and Mrs McCann met with parents of other youngsters who have disappeared.
At an event on London's South Bank, the couple spoke of how they could not bear to meet other families in their situation in the weeks after Madeleine vanished from Praia du Luz in 2007.
But they explained they now draw strength from sharing their experiences.
Mrs McCann said: "It's easy to meet families where the children have been found because that gives you hope. "
But, obviously, emotionally it is quite difficult to put yourself in a situation where a child has been missing for years and years.
Obviously now it is easier, and I have to say it's been a comfort." Her husband added: "
Early on Kate and I couldn't even entertain the idea of speaking to another family whose child was still missing, particularly for a long time, because you think, 'I just hope we don't get there'.
The McCanns appeared alongside the relatives of Katrice Lee, who was two when she disappeared from a supermarket in Germany in November 1981.
Mr McCann explained that speaking to the Lee family had been especially helpful because of the similarity of their situations. He said: "What they have gone through is very similar, and the whole experience is similar, particularly the barriers that they faced. And an abduction in a foreign country adds a different dimension to everything that you face."
The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, made a heartfelt plea for the public to keep thinking about missing children even after they slip out of the headlines.
The event also heard from ChildLine founder Esther Rantzen and experts who spoke of moves to improve information-sharing about missing children both within the UK and abroad.
extract From: Independent Television News Ltd
Madeleine McCann investigators 'want paedophile Raymond Hewlett to undergo DNA test'
Madeleine McCann investigators 'want paedophile Raymond Hewlett to undergo DNA test'
Investigators working for the parents of Madeleine McCann hope to question convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett as early as today – and want him to undergo a DNA test.
By Matthew Moore
Madeleine McCann investigators 'want paedophile Raymond Hewlett to undergo DNA test'
PA Private detectives hired by Gerry and Kate McCann arrived in the German city of Aachen on Sunday night to establish whether the 64-year-old was involved in their daughter's disappearance.
Mr Hewlett, who is being treated at a cancer hospital, is alleged to have been living around an hour's drive from the holiday flat in Praia da Luz where Madeleine was staying with her family when she vanished in May 2007.
The investigators have no legal authority to interview Mr Hewlett, but hope he will agree to co-operate in an effort to clear his name.
Some of the DNA samples taken from the McCann's apartment in Portugal have never been traced.
German authorities who are already investigating the former Scots Guardsman over the death of his son in a car accident will decide this week whether to give him a DNA test, The Sun reported.
Detectives may also be able to use Mr Hewlett's mobile phone records to establish whether he was in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine disappeared, according to the Daily Mirror.
Mr Hewlett, who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, is also wanted for questioning by West Yorkshire Police in connection with an indecent assault in 1975.
The McCanns hope that officers from the force will facilitate a meeting between their investigators and Mr Hewlett after the official interview.
Sources close to the family believe this could take place this week – perhaps as early as Monday, Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, said: "Mr Hewlett has denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. "
Our investigators hope he will co-operate by giving them whatever information is needed so they can eliminate him from their investigation. "It is clear that the man is ill and it is clear he has information that our investigators need."
Mr Hewlett is reportedly in intensive care recovering from throat cancer surgery.
Security at the hospital where he is being treated has been increased since he was connected to the Madeleine inquiry.
He has been jailed several times for sexual offences against young girls, and it is believed that a number of police forces in Britain and Ireland have been trying to track him down.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment on May 3, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide she has not been found.
The search for is now being headed by two retired policemen, Dave Edgar, a former RUC and Cheshire Police officer, and Arthur Cowley, previously of Merseyside Police, who run Alpha Investigations Group and have been hired by the Find Madeleine Fund to investigate missed leads.
Extract From: telegraph.co.uk
Maddy is alive, believes ex-cop hunting missing Madeleine McCann
Maddy is alive, believes ex-cop hunting missing Madeleine McCann
Exclusive by Rod Chaytor
Madeleine McCann is still alive and was snatched by someone who wanted a child to love, claims the ex-policeman hunting her.
David Edgar today reveals why he is convinced the youngster is not dead – while dismissing all other theories so far put forward about her disappearance.
The 52-year-old dad-of-two believes Madeleine was simply “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when she was kidnapped from her holiday flat at Praia da Luz on May 2007, aged three.
Mr Edgar spoke as her parents Kate and Gerry prepared to sue disgraced former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral over “offensive” claims they were involved in her disappearance.
He said: “Everybody hopes she has been taken by someone who wanted a child to take care of. That’s also my theory because it is supported by obvious facts.”
He said other claims about what happened do not stand up. - Taken by child traffickers: Former RUC and Cheshire officer Mr Edgar, who has more than 30 years’ experience investigating murders, kidnappings and sex crimes, said: “There has been a huge reward offered. One of the gang would have broken ranks by now and come forward for the money.”
Abducted by paedophile: “Most child-abusers dump the body quickly and near the scene with little or no attempt to hide it. It’s a statistical fact. No trace of Madeleine, or her clothing, was found in a search.”
Wandered off and fell down a hole:“The Portuguese searched the drainage tunnels. Again, no body.”
Stumbled into the clutches of a paedophile: “A three-year-old is out in the street and comes across an abductor who happens to be walking by? It doesn’t happen. Most people seeing a child out in nightclothes take them to look for the parents.”
Parents killed her and dumped the body: “Not the slightest shred of evidence.”
Mr Edgar added: “There are good grounds for believing Madeleine is alive. I can justify it by the evidence.”
Kate and Gerry will take legal action against Amaral over his comments in a book he wrote.
The couple, of Rothley, Leics, said: “These are unfounded and grossly defamatory claims.”
Kate and Gerry are today due to mark International Missing Children’s Day in London by joining other families who have lost youngsters.
Extract From: Mirror.co.uk
Madeleine parents sue police chief
Madeleine parents sue police chief
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to sue the disgraced former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral.
Kate and Gerry McCann are to take action over comments made in the media by the man who previously led the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance.
In a statement, the parents of the missing girl said: "We - together with our three children Madeleine, Sean and Amelie - are taking this legal action against Goncalo Amaral over his entirely unfounded and grossly defamatory claims -made in all types of media, both within Portugal and beyond - that Madeleine is not only dead, but that we, her parents, were somehow involved in concealing her body."
The decision was taken in a bid to prevent further publication of Amaral's "deeply offensive" book The Truth of the Lie, his television documentary and his "disgraceful thesis" that the parents are involved in their daughter's disappearance.
The statement continued: "The primary reason for our legal action is simple: to stop any negative effect that these absurd and deeply hurtful claims may be having on the ongoing search for Madeleine. "
We can no longer stand back and watch as Mr Amaral tries to convince the entire world that Madeleine is dead.
"Nor can we allow this blatant injustice to Madeleine, with its obvious risk of hindering our attempts to find her, to continue. "
Mr Amaral's entirely unjustified claims have not only brought indescribable devastation and suffering to our lives, they have hugely compounded the already immense pain and anxiety we have endured since Madeleine's abduction."
The couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, recently marked the second anniversary of Madeleine going missing from their holiday flat in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3 2007, just days before her fourth birthday.
They will join families of other vanished youngsters on Monday to mark International Missing Children's Day.
The event on London's South Bank will publicise the plight of the mothers and fathers left wondering what happened to their children many years after their disappearance.
Extract From: The Press Association.
HELP US TRACE MADDIE SUSPECT, SAY MCCANNS
HELP US TRACE MADDIE SUSPECT, SAY MCCANNS
Detectives probe 18 known perverts in search for Madeleine McCann
DETECTIVES hunting for Madeleine McCann are studying a list of 18 perverts and six sex attacks on kids in the area where she vanished.
Ex-cops hired by parents Kate and Gerry also have details of five new suspects following last week's publicity on the second anniversary of her disappearance.
Former detective inspector Dave Edgar, 52, believes she is still alive.
He thinks she could be living in a Portuguese village just 15 miles from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where she was last seen in May 2007.
He said: "There is a very strong possibility Madeleine is still within that area. We are following evidence with this."
His team have been sifting through up to 300 calls after a TV reconstruction last week and the release of a sketch of a man seen watching the McCann's holiday flat.
They are cross-checking a database of sex offenders in Portugal at the time, including 18 living within an hour of the McCanns' holiday flat.
He said: "There are five or six we are focusing in on. We have names for some."
Edgar is looking at records of six sex attacks on children in the Algarve in the three years before Madeleine's disappearance.
He said: "Most were overnight, in apartments, and at least five involved British children."
Edgar says it is more than likely Portuguese cops had the kidnapper in their grasp but let him go.
Extract From: Daily Record.co.uk
HELP US TRACE MADDIE SUSPECT, SAY MCCANNS
HELP US TRACE MADDIE SUSPECT, SAY MCCANNS
HELP US TRACE MADDIE SUSPECT, SAY MCCANNS
By Jonathan Corke
THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann are praying that a suspect dubbed “Scarface” will be found within days.
Investigators working for doctors Kate and Gerry are believed to have been offered names for the pock-marked man.
And they hope that he will be tracked down once the British Channel 4 reconstruction of Maddie’s disappearance is screened in Portugal tomorrow.
A source close to the McCanns said: “We need the people of Portugal to help. Someone in the country knows who this man is and where he might be found. “
And, if he is found, then finding Madeleine could be a distinct possibility.
“Let’s hope the Cutting Edge documentary already screened in the UK will provide that vital clue.”
An image of “Scarface” was released last week after the documentary highlighted evidence which had been buried in Portuguese police files.
Retired detectives Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley believe the man had been watching the McCanns’ holiday apartment at Praia da Luz for several days before Madeleine – then aged three – vanished in May 2007.
One theory is that he “cased” the apartment and an accomplice carried out Maddie’s abduction.
The image is based on a description given to the local police by an unnamed British tourist.
She was walking with her daughter four days before Maddie vanished when she saw the pock-marked man acting suspiciously.
She saw him again outside the flat the day before Maddie went missing.
She told police he was about 5ft 10in tall, slim and wearing casual clothes, probably jeans.
Another two witnesses – a 12-year-old girl and a man from Cheshire – also reported seeing a man watching the apartment.
Their testimony was dug out of the files by the McCanns’ two detectives.
And, after the Cutting Edge documentary was aired in the UK on Thursday, they were given around 50 new leads to investigate, including possible sightings of Maddie.
Kate and Gerry, both 41, are now hoping the renewed publicity push will end their two years of suffering.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the response to the UK documentary screening had been “very encouraging”.
He added: “When it goes out on Portuguese television for the first time we are obviously hoping that will generate even more new information.”
There has also been a wave of “sightings” of the missing girl from across Europe after the issue of a computer-generated “age-progression” image showing how she might look now she is two years older.
Extract From: Daily Star
Maddie: Hunt for scarface
Maddie: Hunt for scarface
Pock-marked ... artist's impressions of the 'unnerving' man seen loitering outside McCanns' apartment (Look on My Home Page At The Image)
The three witnesses
Witness 1: THE YOUNG MUM SHE first saw the “unnerving” suspect loitering outside the holiday complex on April 29.
Three days later — the day before Maddie disappeared — she noticed him again near the McCanns’ apartment.
She said: “He appeared to be watching it. He was about 5ft 10in, slim build and casual clothes, probably jeans.”
Witness 2: THE SCHOOL GIRL THE 12-year-old local was on her way to school on April 30 when she spotted the mystery man gazing at the holiday flat.
She remembers seeing him again at lunchtime on May 2.
The youngster said: “He was standing on the road opposite the Ocean Club and he was staring at the apartment.”
Witness 3: THE TOURIST A BRITISH holidaymaker recalls seeing the man standing beside a wall near the complex on the morning of May 2 or May 3.
A white van was on the opposite side of the road.
She said: “As I walked past him, I looked at him and, for a split second, we had eye contact. But then he just carried on staring at the apartment.”
THREE witnesses saw a scary weirdo who may have masterminded the abduction of Madeleine McCann, it was revealed last night.
The ugly suspect, who has a big nose and thin pock-marked face, was seen watching the holiday apartment from which Maddie was snatched.
The chilling artist’s impressions were pieced together from statements made by the three to Portuguese police.
The sightings, said by one witness to be “unnerving,” were never linked by the cops.
But Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry realised the significance of them as they ploughed through the 30,000 pages of police files about their daughter’s disappearance.
They told their private investigation team, who re-interviewed the witnesses and came up with the image.
Last night the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “This man needs to be traced urgently. “
The witnesses did talk to the Portuguese police but it appears that nothing was done to find him.
He is a vital part of the jigsaw.
Were you one of the witnesses? Do you know this man? If so call the newsdesk on 0207 7824104 “Kate and Gerry believe the testimony is critically important but has not had the attention it deserves.”
The existence of the witnesses and the gawping weirdo will be highlighted in a Channel 4 documentary tonight entitled Cutting Edge: Madeleine Was Here.
It will also show for the first time a reconstruction of the night Maddie was taken from the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007 — just before her fourth birthday.
And it features the moment when Jane Tanner — one of the Tapas Seven who dined with Kate and Gerry on the night Maddie vanished — saw a man hurrying away from the Ocean Club flat with a little girl in his arms.
He is NOT the same man as the one in the artist’s impression, suggesting a team of kidnappers may have been at work.
Riddle ... suspect played by actor on TV WITNESS ONE was a young mum on holiday in the resort, who twice saw the pock-marked suspect acting suspiciously.
The first time was around 8am on April 29 2007.
She said: “I was walking along the road with my daughter. I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me because for some reason the man unnerved me.”
She next saw him the day before Maddie was snatched. She said: “He was standing on the opposite side of the road to the apartment. I would describe him as very ugly, pitted skin with a large nose."
WITNESS TWO was a 12-year-old girl who lives in Praia da Luz.
She first saw the suspect on April 30 at 8.15am as she walked to a bus stop. She said: “The man seemed to be looking at the balcony of the ground floor apartment. He was wearing a black jacket and leaning against the wall.”
She spotted him doing the same again at 12.25pm on May 2.
WITNESS THREE, a tourist from Cheshire, saw the suspect either on May 2 or May 3 at around 11.30am.
The woman, who was on holiday with her husband, said: “I paid particular attention to him because he appeared to be focused on watching the apartment block.”
Distraught ... Kate and Gerry McCann The McCanns believe Portuguese cops made no effort to find him.
In the documentary former detective inspector David Edgar, the private investigation chief, tells Kate he believes tracing the suspect is vital.
He talks about the sightings and says: “It’s got to be the same person.”
He adds he is convinced the family was being watched.
The programme also reveals a family group from Ireland may have seen the man carrying a girl 40 minutes after he was spotted by Jane Tanner.
Mr Edgar says: “When the man saw the family he appeared furtive, veered off to one side and carried on walking. We need to find out who this person was.”
A statement made to Portuguese cops by the head of the family, Martin Smith, said: “The girl was about four. She looked like my granddaughter — blonde hair, pale white skin, typically British. “
The man didn’t look like a tourist. I can’t explain why. It was probably from his clothes.
The documentary opens with a tearful Kate, 41, explaining publicly for the first time how she found her daughter gone. Poignant There is a poignant shot of Maddie’s bed, with her Cuddle Cat toy and pink “blankie” still on it.
Then and now ... Maddie how she was and how she would be age six Kate says: “I knew straight away that she’d been taken.”
The mum also tells how she could not bear to go back to Portugal with Gerry to film the reconstruction. She says: “I think it’s actually going through the scenario of that night, seeing Gerry that distraught really and sobbing and on the floor.”
Towards the end of the programme Kate and Gerry, 40, are shown in America at the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
They are studying the recently-released image of how Maddie would look now aged six.
As they drive away from the centre Kate sobs and says: “It’s a very emotional thing really to see my daughter in a different way to how I can remember.”
Mr Mitchell last night revealed there had been 30 new possible sightings of Maddie since the McCanns appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s TV show in America on Monday.
The FindMadeleine hotline has been swamped by hundreds of calls and thousands have visited the Findmadeleine.com website.
Extract From: the-sun.co.uk
Madeleine McCann: parents relive pain of daughter's abduction two years on
Madeleine McCann: parents relive pain of daughter's abduction two years on
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing youngster Madeleine McCann, have told of their agony and hope on the second anniversary of their daughters disappearance.
By David Harrison
Maddy's disappearance sparked an international search and endless heartbreaking 'sightings' that proved to be no such thing.
It is a moment of unbearable poignancy.
A distraught Gerry McCann stands at the door of the bedroom where he last saw his daughter Madeleine two years ago today.
As the pain of the last 24 months washes over him, Mr McCann pauses for a moment and then steps in to look around the bedroom in Apartment 5a of the Ocean Club in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.
It is the first time he has been here since Maddy went missing.
The room is silent and bare but Mr McCann can see his daughter's toys and hear the laughter that echoed around the apartment in the days before May 3, 2007 when Maddy was abducted while her parents ate with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Mr McCann emerges from the apartment and solemnly retraces his steps to the tapas bar, a short but agonising journey, his mind racked with "what ifs" and "if onlys".
"We are a family and we're a happy family but we're not a complete family," he says, and goes on to use an image appropriate for a hospital doctor.
"There's still a scar, a deep, deep scar that's kind of knitted at the minute, but you still think it might break or the stitches will come loose."
Mr McCann was back in Praia da Luz to take part in a reconstruction of the events of that fateful night in the hope of jogging somebody's memory and helping detectives find his daughter who would now be days away from her sixth birthday.
The reconstruction was filmed for a Channel 4 documentary that will be broadcast on Thursday.
The parents, both doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, believe Maddy is still alive.
Mrs McCann says: I think we're far from normality.
We need to get out there she's alive, she's out there, she's findable… She might look different, she could be speaking a different language, she might have her hair different, she might have different interests, but you know she's still our daughter.
Maddy's disappearance sparked an international search and endless heartbreaking "sightings" that proved to be no such thing.
The young girl with the fair hair and distinctive marking on her right eye has not been seen since.
Her appearance will have changed in the intervening two years and that was why the McCanns commissioned an "age-progression image", released on Friday, to show how Maddy might look if she is still alive.
In the documentary, two former British police detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance say they have found important new leads in the 30,000 case files released by Portuguese police last summer and now translated into English, at a cost of £100,000 to the Madeleine Fund.
Dave Edgar, a retired detective inspector, and his colleague Arthur Cowley, a former detective sergeant, who have more than 60 years' experience between them, say they are interested in a series of important sightings in and around the Ocean Club in the days before Maddy was abducted.
One key statement appears to corroborate a sighting by Jane Tanner, the McCanns' friend, who told police about a man she saw carrying a small girl near the apartment on May 3 at around 9.10pm.
Shortly afterwards on the same night, another family had also seen a man carrying a small blonde child nearby and gave descriptions similar to Mrs Tanner's.
The search team has also found a number of statements from tourists who all noticed a suspicious-looking man loitering around near the McCanns' apartment.
Statements from the files suggest that the McCanns may have been watched in the days before Madeleine was abducted.
Mr Edgar, who worked for Cheshire police and the RUC, says: "There's someone local, lives locally, has the answer to this, and not much wider than 10, 15 kilometres from Praia da Luz."
So you don't start an investigation in Morocco or Spain or France, or even Lisbon.
"This offence happened in Praia da Luz, it's a very self-contained resort, and that's where we've started and that's where I think the answer is."
Mr Edgar adds: "We're not speculating on anything or theories, it's evidence that we've got from the file. "
In my experience random just doesn't happen, someone just doesn't go in, a passer-by, and pick up a child and take it.
These things are planned. So someone will have been in the vicinity of apartment 5a, the Ocean Club.
They may even have been watching the apartment for a week or more.
Mrs Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, both friends from the group known as the "Tapas 7", who were on holiday with the McCanns at the time, also returned to Portugal for the reconstruction.
The "age-progression image" of Maddy was done by a forensic imaging artist from the United States' National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.
It was unveiled on Oprah Winfrey's Fridays Live show ahead of the broadcast of an interview with the McCanns on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the US tomorrow and in the UK on Tuesday.
The image shows Maddy as slightly thinner-faced and with darker hair and will be used on posters as part of a new effort to find Madeleine, although Mrs McCann says in the interview: "I only remember Madeleine when she was four.
" Ms Winfrey asks: "Do you let yourself go to the worst?" Mrs McCann replies: "I think it's natural.
I know people mean well when they say don't let yourself go there, but as a mum, inevitably there are times when I do.
And they're the times that I kind of dip down.
" Asked about their marriage, Mr McCann says: "Child abduction, I think, could destroy any family.
It's one of the most devastating things.
But we've been supported tremendously well and I think that's helped us stay strong and stay together.
"We're really united in our goal and our love of Madeleine and Sean and Amelie."
Mrs McCann said she keeps Madeleine's room ready for her return and that she goes in there about twice a day "just to say hello, really, just to tell her we're still going to do everything we can to find her".
Cutting Edge: Madeleine Was Here, Channel 4, Thursday, May 7, 9pm.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine McCann 'may have forgotten her name'
Madeleine McCann 'may have forgotten her name'
Madeleine McCann "may have forgotten who she is", a criminologist has claimed, as her parents take their appeal for their missing daughter to a new level.
By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
The McCanns asked a forensic imaging specialist to create an 'age progression'' picture of how their daughter may look now, aged six .
Kate and Gerry McCann's resurgent campaign to find their daughter will reach its widest ever global audience tonight as an emotional interview with American chatshow host Oprah Winfrey is broadcast to more than 100 countries.
They said there was a "very real likelihood" that Madeleine is still alive and disclosed that they have kept her bedroom ready at their home in Rothley, Leics, for her return.
However as the show was recorded, Professor David Canter, the criminal profiler, revealed that the girl, who was three when she disappeared in Portugal two years ago, may not be able to remember her former identity.
Prof Canter said that she may speak a different language and answer to a different name.
"You could call out Madeleine to her and she wouldn't respond," he said.
"She doesn't remember being that child. "
Children have what is called infantile amnesia, which means that before the age of four they don't remember anything from childhood.
Mr and Mrs McCann marked the second anniversary of their daughter's disappearance in private, with their four-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
The couple asked a forensic imaging specialist from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, to create an "age progression'' picture of how she may look now, aged six, as part of the campaign.
When questioned by Oprah about their marriage, Mr McCann said: "Child abduction, I think, could destroy any family. There's no doubt about it. "
It's one of the most devastating things.
But we've been supported tremendously well and I think that's helped us stay strong and stay together.
"Obviously, we're really united in our goal and our love of Madeleine and Sean and Amelie."
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine is alive, McCanns tell Oprah
Madeleine is alive, McCanns tell Oprah
The parents of Madeleine McCann told Oprah Winfrey on Monday that there is a "very real likelihood" that their missing daughter is alive.
By Tom Leonard in New York
In their first US television interview, a frequently tearful Kate McCann told Winfrey of her "feeling of absolute helplessness" on discovering her daughter, then nearly four, had gone missing from their hotel room in the Algarve two years ago.
The McCanns used Winfrey's show, which is broadcast in more than 100 countries, to give new impetus to their campaign to find their daughter.
Madeleine's bedroom at her home in Rothley, Leics, was "all ready, waiting," her mother said. "
I go in (the room) about twice a day to talk to her, just to say hello really ... tell her that we're going to do everything we can to find her.
She said it made her angry when the Portuguese police revealed that she and her husband, Gerry, were suspects because "it suddenly dawned on me that they weren't looking for Madeleine and they weren't looking for the abductor".
The couple said there was no evidence that she was dead.
"I don't feel that she's that far away," said Mrs McCann.
The hour-long programme focused heavily on an age progression photo of Madeleine, which shows her as she would look today, about to turn six, although Mrs McCann admitted she could not relate to the image as her daughter.
Mr McCann said it was "not too late" for the abductor - whom they are convinced is male - to "do the right thing", adding: "They can hand her over to a priest or someone in authority."
Holding hands frequently during the studio interview, both parents wore the yellow and green wristbands that have become a symbol of their campaign.
During a section of the programme filmed at the family home, Mrs McCann's eyes welled up with tears as she showed the camera pictures drawn by Madeleine that she could not bring herself to remove from the refrigerator.
"She was like my little friend all the time," she said.
When she worried about how her daughter was now, she admitted she sometimes fretted about the "little things".
"Is someone brushing her teeth? Is someone rubbing her tummy if she's not feeling well? It's all those things you do as a mother."
Madeleine disappeared from her bed as her parents dined with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant on the fifth night of the family holiday.
Addressing their much-criticised decision to leave their children unsupervised in the apartment as they ate,
Mrs McCann told Winfrey: "I could persecute myself every day about that, and I feel awful that we weren't there at that minute."
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Friend says Kate and Gerry McCann's hunt for missing Madeline will never end - Exclusive
Friend says Kate and Gerry McCann's hunt for missing Madeline will never end - Exclusive
By Rod Chaytor 4/05/2009
Kate and Gerry McCann are doomed to spend a lifetime hunting for their missing daughter Madeleine, a friend revealed yesterday.
Film director Emma Loach, who spent eight weeks with the couple for a new TV documentary, says they will never give up.
As the McCanns quietly spent the second anniversary of Maddy’s disappearance at church with friends yesterday, Emma said: “This is a life sentence for them. “
They will never be able to move on and the deep scar will not heal until they have an answer… either Maddy comes home or they know what happened to her.
No one in the McCann family has ever given up on missing Madeleine – and that includes twins Sean and Amelie.
Little Amelie, four, has lately taken to wearing her big sister’s shoes.
She patiently explains to mum Kate that Maddy’s feet will have grown when she comes back – so they’ll have to get her a new pair anyway.
Kate, 41, told director Emma Loach, who was making a new TV documentary: “I honestly believe Sean and Amelie are expecting her to come home one day soon. “
They are very much, ‘Well, when Madeleine comes back we’ll share our toys’.”
Kate’s mum, Susan Healy, revealed how the past two weeks have taken a heavy toll on her daughter.
The hunt has been rekindled with the release of a new digitally age-progressed picture of Maddy at six.
And just before yesterday’s second anniversary of the youngster’s disappearance, Kate and husband Gerry flew to the US to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.
Susan said at the family’s home in Rothley, Leics: “They are exhausted.
Kate is very tired after coming home from America.
“She has had a hectic couple of weeks and really needs to recharge her batteries, but I don’t think she has thought about stopping. “
Not for a minute. I don’t think either of them can stop – that’s the awful thing.
They are just stuck in a situation where they don’t have a lot of control.
The only control they have is to remind people that Madeleine is still missing.
That is why they do it.
You have to understand that everything Kate does – and I mean everything – is done because she wants her daughter back.
“That’s the only question they can ever ask themselves: Will this help us find Madeleine? Nothing else is of any importance.
“If Kate ever gets to the end of the line – I mean to the stage where they thought there was nothing more they could do – then that would be very difficult. “
But it would appear that they haven’t reached that stage.
Madeleine is their daughter and they’ve simply got to carry on.
I don't know whether they would call it optimism or not, but they have to keep hoping.
If they shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘OK, she’s not alive any more,’ they would be letting her down.”
The hunt continues with the help of director Emma – daughter of film-maker Ken Loach.
Her Cutting Edge programme, Madeleine Was Here, is to be shown on Thursday.
The programme follows two retired British detectives – Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley – as they went to Praia da Luz in Portugal to stage a reconstruction of her disappearance.
The two ex-cops are convinced the key to the mystery lies within a 10 to 15 kilometre radius of the resort.
Edgar, 52, who has more than 30 years' experience in Cheshire and the RUC, said: “There’s someone local who has the answer to this. “
This offence happened in Praia da Luz.
That's where we’ve started and that’s where I think the answer is.
He and former DS Cowley, 57, hope the documentary and a reconstruction filmed with Gerry McCann will jog the memories of locals and tourists who were in the area at the time Madeleine vanished.
AGE SNAPS HELP FIND 900 KIDS Missing-child expert Ernie Allen says he has helped find 900 children using age-updated images similar to the one of Madeleine McCann.
And every single one of these children had been missing for more than two years — just like Maddy.
Allen is advising the McCanns in his capacity as president of the Washington-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the US.
He says using updated images of missing children is an incredibly successful way of finding them.
And he holds out hope for the couple in the future by insisting that children missing for even five or 10 years are still “recoverable”.
He explained: “When we started this 10 years ago, the goal was to use technology to keep these cases alive, to provide new hope for parents and new leads for law enforcement.
“We said at the time, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually find one of these kids? “And we did, we found 900 of them.”
Extract From: Mirror.co.uk
We can still solve the Madeleine McCann mystery, insist detectives
We can still solve the Madeleine McCann mystery, insist detectives
We can still solve the Madeleine McCann mystery, insist detectives
By Neil Sears
The McCanns released this poster last week showing how Madeleine might look today Detectives seeking Madeleine McCann are still confident they can solve the case.
They say it is likely the family was watched for a week before she was abducted in a carefully planned operation.
Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate, were not at home last night as they marked the second anniversary of their daughter's disappearance in private.
Meanwhile, former detective inspector Dave Edgar, who leads the family's investigation team, said inquiries continued to focus on Praia da Luz.
Madeleine, then aged three, vanished from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort.
Mr Edgar, who is being paid out of money donated to the McCanns, said: 'Someone local has the answer to this. '
It's a very self-contained resort and that's where I think the answer is.
I don't think it was someone random.
In my experience, random just doesn't happen.
Someone just doesn't go in and pick up a child and take it.
'These things are planned. They may even have been watching the apartment for a week or more.'
Prayers were said for Madeleine at her parents' Roman Catholic church in Rothley, Leicestershire, yesterday.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: 'There's still not a shred of evidence Madeleine has come to harm and their conviction she will be found remains as strong as ever.'
He confirmed funds raised to help find Madeleine are due to run out by the end of the year, but that wealthy benefactors were likely to provide more.
The McCanns are determined to maintain a high profile in their search for their missing daughter.
Last week the couple, both doctors, gave an interview to American television star Oprah Winfrey, and on Thursday a documentary about the ongoing search is to be broadcast on Channel 4.
It emerged at the weekend that the McCann's twins Sean and Amelie, four, talk about their missing sister every day.
Extract From: Mail Online
McCanns: we have adapted, not healed
McCanns: we have adapted, not healed
By Maurice Chittenden
THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann have spoken of their mixed emotions in keeping alive the hunt for their daughter while providing a happy family life for their other two children.
Twins Sean and Amelie, toddlers at the time of the abduction in Portugal, are now four, just a little older than their sister when she went missing in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz two years ago today.
They talk about their sister every day and include her in their games.
Amelie wears her sister’s shoes, telling her mother that Madeleine’s feet will have grown “when she comes back”.
Kate McCann said: “I honestly believe they’re expecting her to come back home one day soon.
They’re very much ‘well, when Madeleine comes back, we’ll share our toys’.”
Experts at the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, have produced a computer image of what Madeleine would look like now.
In an article in today’s News Review, Emma Loach, the producer of a Channel 4 documentary to be screened this week, describes the dilemma facing the McCanns whom she first got to know while making a programme to mark the first anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.
“The further away they get from the shock of finding Madeleine had gone, the more they find themselves able to function,” she writes. “
In some ways this disgusts them. In some ways they feel they should still be incapable of operating in this bizarre, horrifying new world where Madeleine has been taken from them.
But this is not an option, they have to keep going for the sake of all their children.
The twins deserve a happy childhood.
And if they don’t keep looking for Madeleine, who will?” Gerry McCann describes how they have adjusted to this new world.
“Healed is a bit difficult, adapted is probably the right word,” he said.
“There’s still a scar, a deep, deep scar that’s kind of knitted at the minute but you still think it might break.” He added: “We are a happy family, but we’re not a complete family.”
Kate McCann says in the documentary: “I think we’re far from normality.” She said she recognised the importance of spending time thinking about Madeleine, however painful.
Loach reveals that far from slowing down, the family’s hunt for Madeleine has speeded up since Portuguese authorities released 30,000 pages from their files on the case.
Kate McCann spent six months reading every document after they had been translated at a cost of £100,000.
As a result the family’s investigation, aided by two retired policemen, has thrown up a new suspect.
Several tourists had told Portuguese detectives that they had seen a suspicious-looking short-haired man in his twenties hanging around outside the family’s apartment block.
He is different from the long-haired man spotted carrying a small girl dressed in pink pyjamas away from the block on the night Madeleine disappeared.
It has prompted the programme makers to carry out a Crimewatch-style reconstruction that will be seen in the documentary.
Dave Edgar, the retired detective inspector leading the search, said: “Someone local has the answer to this and not much wider than 10 kilometres away from Praia da Luz.
So you don’t start an investigation in Morocco or Spain or even Lisbon.
This offence happened in Praia da Luz.
It’s a very self-contained resort and that’s where I think the answer is.
Until the fresh image was released last week the McCanns were still receiving hundreds of letters each month from people who thought they had spotted a much younger Madeleine.
Gerry McCann said he felt sick reading the witness statements suggesting the family were being watched in the days before the abduction.
“The thought that we were having a nice time and I was oblivious – didn’t notice anything out of sorts – it’s pretty gut-wrenching,” he said.
Extract From: Times Online
Lone kidnapper clue as British cops join the hunt for Madeleine McCann
Lone kidnapper clue as British cops join the hunt for Madeleine McCann
EXCLUSIVE by Simon Wright & Justin Penrose
Madeleine McCann was snatched by a lone kidnapper who had stalked the family for days, according to British detectives hired by her parents Kate and Gerry.
The theory is based on information extracted from 30,000 Portuguese police files translated into English at a cost of £100,000.
The files have been painstakingly examined by two former British detectives – Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley – hired by the Find Madeleine Fund two years after she vanished.
Mr Edgar, a retired Detective Inspector with 30 years experience, believes the case can still be solved and is convinced that the crucial evidence remains in Praia Da Luz.
He says: “In my experience random just doesn’t happen.
A passer-by just doesn’t go in, pick up a child and take it.
These things are planned.
So you don’t start an investigation in Morocco or Spain or even Lisbon.
This happened in Praia da Luz – and that’s where the answer is.
Crucially, the files include a previously-undisclosed statement which supports the claim made by Jane Tanner – one of the so-called Tapas 7 – that she saw a man carrying a child close to the apartments the night Madeleine vanished exactly two years ago.
The new report tells of a man carrying a small blonde child nearby with an almost identical description on the same night.
The files also contain a number of statements from tourists, all claiming to have seen a suspicious-looking man hanging around the McCanns’ apartment in the days leading up to the disappearance.
Ms Tanner always maintained she saw a man walking briskly across the road, away from the apartments.
She described him as swarthy, about 5ft 7ins, between 35 and 40 and with dark, curly hair, wearing beige trousers and black shoes.
She says a little girl wrapped in a blanket hung limply from his arms, but all she saw of her was her bare feet and pink pyjamas.
She said at the time: “That’s not unusual in a family holiday resort. There is a creche nearby. I thought he might be a father picking up his child.”
She was unaware at the time that Madeleine had been put to bed wearing similar pyjamas.
Investigators also staged a reconstruction of her possible abduction as part of a Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary Madeleine Was Here to be screened on Thursday.
It is hoped it might jog the memory of anyone who was there at the time.
In the film, Gerry McCann is seen travelling back to Portugal and entering the bedroom of the family’s apartment for the first time since Madeleine vanished.
Also in the documentary, Kate and Gerry, both 41, talk about the family’s life two years on.
Kate says: “I think we’re far from normality…but she’s alive, she’s out there, she’s findable.”
A computer-generated photo of how Madeleine might look today aged six has been released as part of the renewed efforts to find her.
Cutting Edge: Madeleine Was Here is on Channel 4 on Thursday at 9pm.
Extract From: news@sundaymirror.co.uk
MCCANNS IN NEW SEARCH FOR MADDIE
MCCANNS IN NEW SEARCH FOR MADDIE
By Jack Bellamy
THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann have launched a new push to find her as the second anniversary of her disappearance nears.
They are pinning their hopes on a series of internet appeals to locate their daughter, six next month.
A new hotline and web portal has been launched for anonymous tip-offs from people who may have information about who took Maddie.
Heart specialist Gerry, 40, and his wife Kate, 41, from Rothley, Leics, said in a statement: “As the second anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction approaches, there is much still to be done. “
We continue to remain focused on our aim: to find Madeleine and bring her back home safely.
As Madeleine’s parents we cannot and will not ever stop doing all we can to find her. “The search for Madeleine continues with the same strength and determination, and, thankfully, there are many people who are continuing to help in a variety of ways.”
It ends: “Please don’t give up on Madeleine.” A poster campaign has been launched in the Praia da Luz area of Portugal where Madeleine vanished.
And a Portuguese version of the “Find Madeleine” website has been created.
The couple said locals “have never been properly asked about information they may have to give”.
Extract From: Daily Star
Missing Maddy - anonymous hotline opened
Missing Maddy - anonymous hotline opened
by Chris Johnson.
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have told how they take hope from the cases of children who have been held prisoner for years before being found. Kate and Gerry McCann say the ordeals suffered by Elizabeth Smart, Shawn Hornbeck and Natascha Kampusch show that youngsters can survive after they go "off radar".
And the couple have launched a new push to trace her through internet social networkorking sites like Facebook.
Alongside that campaign they have also opened a new hotline and web portal for anonymous tip-offs from people who may have information about who took Maddy.
The move comes after a poster campaign was launched in the Praia da Luz area of Portugal where she vanished.
And to co-incide the the second anniversary of her disappearance a Portuguese language version of the "Find Madeleine" web site has been posted created.
Heart specialist Gerry, and his wife Kate say the hunt for Maddy is re-focusing on Portugal because residents "have never been properly asked about information they may have to give".
Dr McCann, 40, and his Liverpool-born Wife Kate, 41, are to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show appealing for information on their daughter whose 6th birthday is next month.
A fund to aid the hunt for Maddy raised more than £1.5m but despite extensive enquires and many alleged sightings she is still missing.
In a news statement on their web site the McCanns, of live in Rothley, Leices say: "As the second anniversary of Madeleine's abduction approaches, there is much still to be done. "
We continue to remain focussed on our aim - to find Madeleine and bring her back home safely.
As Madeleine's parents we cannot and will not ever stop doing all we can to find her. "The search for Madeleine continues with the same strength and determination, and thankfully, there are many people who are continuing to help in a variety of ways. "
The reduction in media reporting does not signify a lack of effort - far from it! If anything, the search for Madeleine goes on with renewed vigour and great experience.
"We have quietly and persistently been working very hard - exploring all possible avenues in order to get that key piece of information. Someone somewhere knows where Madeleine is. "
It is impossible for us to ignore the day to day heartache of missing Madeleine but there is however, a very important and positive fact that remains - in spite of all the investigative work done, there is still absolutely nothing to suggest harm to Madeleine.and therefore, a very real likelihood that Madeleine is alive and well.
"You only have to recall the cases of Elizabeth Smart, Shawn Hornbeck and Natascha Kampusch to appreciate that children can seem to disappear 'off the radar' for very long periods of time. "
The return of these children to their families not only gives us great hope but also starkly emphasises that perseverance is essential, and surely what every such child deserves.
"It is vital that we never, ever give up on Madeleine. "
Can you imagine a little girl or boy out there, hoping and waiting to be found but for people then to 'write them off', forget about them, just because there's been no 'news'? For that child never to be reunited with their family because everyone had given up on them? Just imagine......... "And so, we will never, ever give up.
"We urge you to remember Madeleine as a real, living and findable little girl. "
Our most sincere thanks go to everyone who is helping us in our efforts. You know why we must keep going.
"Please don't give up on Madeleine."
* Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah on June 5, 2002 at the age of 14.
She was found alive nine months later on in March 2003 about 18 miles from her home, * Shawn Hornbeck was missing for more than four years before being discovered in Kirkwood, Missouri, on in January 2007 by police searching another missing boy.
* Natascha Kampusch was held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006.
Extract From: Click Liverpool
Mum 'talks' to missing Maddie every day
Mum 'talks' to missing Maddie every day
THE mother of missing youngster Madeleine McCann has revealed she 'talks' to Maddie every day, ahead of the release of photos revealing how the now six-year-old may look.
Kate McCann has told US talkshow host Oprah Winfrey how she visits missing Madeleine's bedroom twice a day to talk to her, reports Her moving confession came during a tearful interview with Oprah ahead of the second anniversary of her daughter's disappearance.
She said the little girl's bedroom in their Leicestershire home had been kept ready for her return, adding that she goes in there at least twice a day, 'just to say hello to Madeleine'.
Mrs McCann also admitted she did not recognise a new photograph of Madeleine generated to show how she would look aged six.
The picture, which will be released publicly next week, has been produced by graphics experts to depict the youngster two years after she went missing on a family holiday in Portugal shortly before her fourth birthday.
Kate and Gerry McCann have spent weeks helping create the picture, which was made by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States.
Mrs McCann admitted to Winfrey that when she first saw the finished image, she failed to recognise her own daughter.
She told the chat show host: 'I did not know who that little girl is.'
The picture shows Madeleine with slightly darker hair than the blonde locks seen in her last holiday snaps, and her face is also thinner.
But her piercing blue eyes continue to shine through.
Mrs McCann began to well up as she said: 'I only remember Madeleine when she was four. She remains four-years-old in my mind.'
The photograph will spearhead a fresh appeal for help in finding Madeleine which the McCanns are planning for next month.
The hour-long interview with Oprah Winfrey will be broadcast on May 4, one day after the anniversary.
Insiders said the show, recorded in Chicago a few days ago, was highly charged with emotion.
Extract From: Daily telegraph
Two years after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, her parents are desperately trying to keep her name and image alive
Two years after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, her parents are desperately trying to keep her name and image alive
By Jeremy Watson
THE beach is not busy, but it is healthily populated with spring sun-seekers lazing on the golden sands before the summer rush.
The promenade-front bars and cafes hum with business as diners bask in the warmth of a late Algarve morning.
The pretty fishing village of Praia da Luz is occupied with doing what it does best – providing holidaymakers from across Europe with a lazy vacation on one of the continent's most stunning coastlines.
Only inside the picturesque white-painted Catholic church of Nossa Senhora Da Luz, now so familiar from thousands of TV news bulletins and newspaper photographs, is there any sign that two years ago next Sunday the small community, residents and visitors alike, were hit by a cataclysmic event from which it has not yet fully recovered.
At the side of the altar is a poolside picture of Madeleine McCann, taken in the happy days before she disappeared from her resort bedroom on the evening of May 3.
Lit by the reflected light flame of candles, it says simply: "Pray For Me."
On Sunday, as he did last year on the first anniversary of her disappearance, Father Haynes Q Hubbard, senior chaplain of the church where Madeleine's doctor parents Kate and Gerry McCann came to seek solace in the long weeks after their daughter went missing just 10 days before her fourth birthday, will hold a second "service of hope" in both Portuguese and English.
Haynes, understandably weary of fielding questions from journalists around the world, said last week it is the only thing he feels he can do: "We are doing it because nothing here has changed. It is two years on and Madeleine is still missing. But we should keep her memory alive."
More than 700 days since Madeleine disappeared from an apartment at the Ocean Club and from beside her sleeping younger brother and sister while her parents ate with friends in a Tapas bar just yards away, an answer to the mystery is yet to be uncovered.
This is despite one of the biggest searches for a missing child in history, involving hundreds of police and private detectives and an army of media from around the globe.
No one involved in the case seems to be any wiser about what happened to Madeleine than they were in the minutes after she vanished, allegedly spirited away by an unknown abductor.
This weekend, the couple are in the US to record a one-hour special interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast on May 3.
Kate and Gerry will be quizzed by the US TV star in front of a live audience as part of their global campaign to keep Madeleine's name and image alive and to persuade police forces around the world to adopt more streamlined methods for issuing alerts when a young child goes missing.
Then, on May 7, Channel Four will broadcast a filmed reconstruction of the events of two years ago, in which 15 actors have been hired to play the parts of the principal characters.
The crew and actors were given full access to the Mark Warner-run Ocean Club to make the film.
A computer-enhanced image of what Madeleine could look like at age six has also been produced by forensic computer specialists used by the FBI to coincide with the broadcast.
The angelic innocence remains along with the distinctive pigmentation stripe in her right eye that may, unfortunately, fade with age.
So, in the past two years has the McCanns' campaign on improving child safety achieved any results? And how long can such a campaign be sustained in the face of dwindling cash reserves? In Praia da Luz, there is little open hostility to the McCanns, but feelings nevertheless run high among both the large expatriate community and local Portuguese residents who depend on tourism for a living.
They feel that the media spotlight should be turned away from their village. One English bar owner who helped in the initial search for the three-year-old girl, but did not want his name used, said: "We have to move on. Of course, everyone still has sympathy for the family; no-one is indifferent to what happened. How could you be? But we don't want Praia to be evermore associated with what happened. This was a nice and safe place before she went missing and it is a nice, safe place now. "
We all lost some business in the year after it happened and we did well to get through it.
Our main problem now is the strength of the euro, so we don't really need any more negative publicity." Images of missing Madeleine are now hard to find in the town. "
There are a couple of billboards out at the moment linked with the TV reconstruction, but that's about it.
One sited on the main road into the village was defaced just one day after being erected. Paint was splattered across the poster and the Find Madeleine campaign number was obscured.
When Gerry McCann visited earlier this month, along with Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, two members of the 'Tapas Seven', to advise on the reconstruction, it was reported that Madeleine's father was heckled by former Ocean Club employees who had lost their jobs due to a downturn in trade.
Concerns over money are also besetting the Find Madeleine campaign.
On his first return visit to Praia da Luz since his and his wife's official "arguido" suspect status was lifted last year, Gerry McCann revealed that the fund was running out.
Earlier this year, newspaper reports said the fund had dipped to £600,000. "There's still money in it," McCann said. "It won't dry up in the next few months, but probably by the end of the year at the rate we are running."
The published accounts from last year detail where the money, swelled by a £550,000 libel payment from a group of British newspapers found to have defamed the couple and a £375,000 award to the Tapas Seven, has gone.
In the first year, it includes £250,000 spent on private investigators, including the Madrid-based Metodo 3 agency, whose head claimed he would find Madeleine within three months.
Another £133,000 went on campaign management at a time when the couple were being besieged by the world's media, largely spent on public relations advisers.
Legal fees swallowed up £120,000, £88,000 went on posters and television and newspaper advertising.
There were also the costs of the couple's travels to publicise their campaign for an improved child alerts system.
What the couple want is for the Amber Alert system used widely in the United States to be introduced across Europe.
Their supporters have been critical of the 12 hours it took for Portuguese police to alert Spanish border officials located just two hours away by road that Madeleine was missing.
The system was introduced in the mid-1990s after the horrific capture and murder of a young Texan girl.
Once police are alerted that a child has vanished, the details of the child are sent immediately to broadcasters and flashed up on motorway signs.
It has been credited with saving the lives of around 400 children.
The McCanns lobbied the European parliament to introduce Amber Alert in Europe.
Although the EU failed to order a union-wide system, it recommended member states to set up their own systems.
France, Greece and, earlier this month, Ireland, have agreed to set up national Amber Alert systems, but, in the UK, the decision has been left to individual police forces.
For the McCanns, the EU recommendation was at least step forward in the absence of any information about Madeleine herself.
Spokesman Clarence Mitchell, putting the best gloss he could on the EU decision, said: "Whether it is a centralised system or individual national alerts, all Kate and Gerry want to see is better and quicker cooperation between countries. "
When a child goes missing, every minute counts.
Kate and Gerry will continue to push for the best possible alert system for children.
How that happens is something for ministers to agree on.
Next weekend, the McCanns are expected to mark the anniversary at home in Rothley, Leicestershire, in private with their now four-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
Back in Praia da Luz, in the church where prayers have been said for centuries for missing fishermen, Father Hubbard is expected to once again read out Kate's message of hope that one day her daughter will be found.
At 9.15pm, a new candle will be lit at the time her parents believe she vanished.
"We continue to hope because there is nothing to the contrary," he said.
"The only thing we can do is hold hands, weep and pray."
Where are they now? Robert Murat Employed by the Portuguese police at the scene as a translator, this property consultant who lived close with his mother to the Ocean Club was given "arguido" – official suspect – status by investigators. The status was revoked and Murat, 35, sued newspapers for £600,000 libel damages.
Goncalo Amaral Amaral was the senior investigating officer but was turfed off the case after alleging Madeleine's parents were involved. Last year, he brought out his version of events in a book, The Truth Of The Lie, which was not published in English but has reportedly sold thousands of copies on the continent. He claims Madeleine died in a "tragic accident" in the apartment. Jane Tanner One of the 'Tapas Seven' whose testimony supports the theory that Madeleine was abducted.
Tanner travelled to Praia da Luz this month to help with the reconstruction as she says she saw a barefoot girl being carried from the apartment but did not regard it as unusual at the time. Last year, she said: "I wake up to that image every day. I see him there, striding away, carrying Madeleine and I try desperately to remember more detail."
Extract From: News.Scotman.com
Maddy 'suspect' on TV
Maddy 'suspect' on TV
Maddy 'suspect' on TV
A television documentary will reveal a potential new suspect in the search for missing Madeleine McCann.
The programme, to be aired on May 7, has used previously unseen material from Portuguese police files to identify a possible abductor.
Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann believe the information could help track down a suspicious man seen loitering near the holiday apartments where the toddler was abducted.
The Cutting Edge documentary on Channel 4 will also feature new witness statements and a reconstruction of events on the night she was last seen.
Gerry McCann returned to Portugal this month to advise private detectives during the filming.
The programme is expected to be broadcast on Portuguese television and across Europe.
It will also be available on the official Find Madeleine website.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the hope was it could shed fresh light on her disappearance.
He said: "The Channel 4 documentary will feature detailed witness testimony, which the private investigators feel hasn't been covered before. "
We are hoping that new information in the documentary will spark something in someone's memory that they previously may not have thought was relevant.
The new suspect is thought to be a Mediterranean man in his late 20s or early 30s.
He is not believed to be the same man family friend Jane Tanner, who was holidaying with the McCanns, said she saw carrying a child on the night of the disappearance.
Kate and Gerry are currently on their way to Chicago to appear on the Oprah Winfrey talk show.
The couple will unveil computer- generated images of Madeleine which will show how she would look today.
A date for the one-hour special has not been set, but it is thought it will coincide with the second anniversary of the girl's disappearance on Sunday, May 3, 2007.
The pre-recorded show will be a combination of interviews and short films.
Oprah has about seven million viewers in the US and is shown on satellite channel Diva TV in the UK.
Part of the footage has already been recorded in the McCanns' home village of Rothley.
Mr Mitchell said: "The Oprah Winfrey show reaches a massive global audience and will be significant in the hunt for Madeleine. "
Kate and Gerry are very confident that their daughter is still alive.
"Millions of television viewers will see these computer-generated pictures, which could lead to crucial leads and help to bring Madeleine home."
Extract From: Leicester Mercury
McCanns - someone is shielding Maddy abductor
McCanns - someone is shielding Maddy abductor
by Nick Webster. Missing
Madeleine An intensive publicity campaign aimed at renewing the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann is to be launched in the Praia da Luz area of Portugal where she vanished.
The parents of Madeleine McCann indirectly condemned Portuguese police for failing to carry out house to house inquiries in the area around the resort where she was abducted.
Heart specialist Gerry, and his wife Kate say the search for Maddy in Portugal is to be relaunched on the second anniversary of her disappearance because residents "have never been properly asked about information they may have to give".
And in issuing a new appeal for information they tell how they suspect someone in Portugal knows the identity of their daughter's kidnapper and is shielding them.
The plea came as Dr McCann, 40, and his Liverpool-born husband Kate, 41, set-off to the USA where they are to make an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show appealing for information on their daughter who would now be aged 5.
Making the heartfelt plea the couple say: "Experience shows that the crucial answers are in the immediate vicinity. "
Someone in the area could almost certainly has the vital information that could help Madeleine's return..." Madeleine was last seen when she was left to bed down for the night in a holiday apartment on 3rd May 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.
Madeleine's disappearance from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz at the age of three made worldwide headlines and continues to provoke huge public sympathy and concern worldwide.
A fund to aid the hunt for Maddy raised more than £1.5m but despite extensive enquires and many alleged sightings she is still missing.
In their latest statement the McCanns, of live in Leicestershire, say: "It is almost two years since Madeleine McCann disappeared and there is good reason to believe that she is still alive.
Madeleine's family and friends will never give up hope.
"At the time of Madeleine's disappearance the emphasis was placed more on international appeals and it has been recognised that the local Portuguese residents of Praia da Luz and the surrounding areas have never been properly asked about information they may have to give. "
The purpose of the current campaign is to do just that; ask the local Portuguese residents for information to help to find Madeleine.
Experience shows that the crucial answers are in the immediate vicinity.
Someone in the area could almost certainly has the vital information that could help Madeleine's return to her family, or a combination of people all coming forward with a single piece of information could piece together vital clues which could solve the disappearance.
Experience also shows that people almost always confide in someone else.
Someone in Praia da Luz may have been given information that should be passed on and now is the perfect opportunity to do just that.
If anyone has information of any kind, do the right thing and pass it on so that Madeleine McCann can go home.
The campaign is about finding Madeleine.
Her family hope and believe that local residents can be a very real help.
It goes without saying that they would forever be indebted to anyone who had that vital piece of information.
Over the next couple of weeks in the Lagos and Luz areas residents will see posters, billboards and advertisements.
Leaflets will be distributed in towns and local markets and there will also be a mailing sent to local homes appealing for help.
It should be stressed that any information given will be treated with the utmost confidence.
Information can be given anonymously by telephone, email, text and freepost.
Extract From: Click Liverpool
Hol Brits: We saw Maddie
Hol Brits: We saw Maddie
By ANTONELLA LAZZERI
Published: 23/04/09
A BRITISH couple claim to have seen Madeleine McCann playing in a square in Malta just WEEKS ago.
The tourists were so sure she was the missing girl they tailed her — but lost her in a maze of streets.
Brian White, 72, said yesterday: “I can’t stop tormenting myself I didn’t do enough.”
It is the latest in a spate of reported sightings of Maddie in Malta.
The pensioner and wife Glenice noticed the girl in capital Valletta on March 14. Brian, of Sudbury, Derbys, said: “She stood out because she was so blonde and fair skinned while the couple she was with were very dark.”
He said the pair “grabbed the girl and hurried off” when they saw they were being watched.
Brian called local cops.
British officers are also investigating.
Call in info to the Find Maddie Hotline on 0845 838 4699.
Extract From: The Sun
PUT ME ON MCCANN TV SHOW BEGS AXED COP
PUT ME ON MCCANN TV SHOW BEGS AXED COP
As the second anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction approaches, there is much still to be done
23rd April 2009 By Emma Wall
Disgraced Portuguese cop Goncala Amaral is desperate to appear with Madeleine McCann’s parents on Oprah.
Gerry and Kate McCann flew out to America yesterday.
They will appear on the TV show, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, 55, to mark the second anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance.
And the couple will use the high-profile slot to release images of how Madeleine, who would be nearly six years old, may look now.
Amaral, kicked off the investigation after wrongly branding Gerry, 40, and Kate, 41, suspects, has emailed the show makers asking to appear.
He has offered to pay his travel costs and has yet to receive a response from the show.
The McCanns agreed to appear on Oprah because it is shown in 144 countries.
They hope it will aid the hunt for Maddie, who vanished from Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007.
Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, wrote on the official Find Madeleine website: “As the second anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction approaches, there is much still to be done. “
We continue to remain focused on our aim – to find Madeleine and bring her back home safely.
“As Madeleine’s parents we cannot and will not ever stop doing all we can to find her.”
The couple have also been working with a C4 documentary crew.
Extract From: Daily Star
WHERE THE £2M 'FIND MADDIE' CASH WENT
WHERE THE £2M 'FIND MADDIE' CASH WENT
"The accounts have been independently audited and are entirely transparent"
Private eyes, PR executives and lawyers earned tens of thousands of pounds from the Madeleine McCann fund, accounts revealed yesterday.
Almost £2million poured in from the public after Maddie vanished in May 2007 on holiday in Portugal.
The nation was quick to help distraught parents Gerry and Kate McCann, both 40, with donations flooding in from around the world at the rate of £260 every hour.
Accounts filed at Companies House show the fund – set up two weeks after Maddie disappeared – raised over £1.89m in the first 10 months.
And they reveal how huge chunks were spent on private detectives, PR, legal firms and even bankers.
Money was raised through selling Maddie T-shirts and wristbands and through internet appeals, but most came from direct donations via banks.
The flow of cash suffered a dip when the McCanns were named as suspects, only to be later cleared by bungling Portuguese cops.
The fund currently stands at around £600,000 as the couple continue to fork out in their relentless bid to find Maddie.
Rules meant they had to set up a not-for-profit company – Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited – and not a charity.
The biggest cost involved was Spanish agency Metodo 3, whose private detectives vowed to find her abductors, but they found nothing.
Their hunt took them to places like Morocco where they were convinced Maddie was being held.
Legal fees and costs administering the fund also swallowed up thousands.
There was controversy when it was disclosed in October 2007 that the McCanns had used money from the fund to pay two mortgage payments on their home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
Gerry’s brother John, 48, is the chairman of the fund and he stated in the accounts: “On 3rd May 2007, Madeleine McCann was abducted in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
The events of that day touched the hearts of many in countries around the world.
Donations started to flood in.
In response to this, Madeleine’s Fund was established.
The aims of the fund are to help find Madeleine, to support her family and to bring her abductors to justice.
“Any surplus funds will be used to help families and missing children in similar circumstances in the UK, Portugal and elsewhere.”
He said the fund had helped boost an awareness campaign and “provided some support to Made-leine’s parents, brother and sister in maintaining the impetus of the investigation”.
He added: “As expected, the level of donations has fallen over time, although we have a number of loyal donors who still help out. “
The subsequent release of the police investigation files has enabled our investigative team to access a wealth of new information to be followed up, resulting in increased search and investigation activity.
We will continue to ensure that Madeleine is not forgotten and will leave no stone unturned in our continued search for her.
” The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “The accounts have been independently audited and are entirely transparent.”
Extract From: Daily Star
Outrage as art event invites participants to 'Make your own Maddy McCann porn'
Outrage as art event invites participants to 'Make your own Maddy McCann porn'
By Alex Millson
Missing: Madeleine's parents said the art stunt would hamper attempts to find the four-year-old
A group of artists have provoked outrage by using images of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann to make pornographic pictures.
An event held at an art gallery in Hackney, London, saw participants paste photographs of the missing four-year-old onto pornographic magazines.
Artists at the Decima Gallery claimed the stunt was a satirical look at the way the Madeleine case was treated by the media.
The event was part of an event at the weekend examining the pornography industry.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate, said such acts could only hamper the hunt for their daughter, who went missing from a holiday apartment in Portugal in May 2007.
He said: 'This sort of thing is a complete distraction from the search for Madeleine and Gerry and Kate will simply not be dignifying it by commenting on it whatsoever.'
Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, branded the stunt 'sick and appalling'.
The Labour MP said: Hackney has a reputation as an artistic place with artists who do interesting and sometimes provocative work, but this sort of thing doesn't do the reputation of Hackney any good.
This goes beyond the bounds of that and is just sick and I don't see how anyone could think anything else.
Installations at the Decima Gallery are often known to be thought-provoking 'Even allowing for artistic freedom there is no excuse for encouraging people to indulge in something as distasteful as this.'
Decima has carved out a reputation for staging provocative exhibitions and events.
The Madeleine stunt was part of an event held on Sunday, which organisers said was inspired by a recent news story that the American pornography industry was struggling due to the global credit crunch.
'It's unbelievable and if it's not a spoof, which would be bad enough, then it's just appalling.'
A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said: 'This is appalling and completely insensitive to the family of Madeleine McCann. Kate and Gerry McCann have been hunting for their daughter Madeleine since she was snatched from an apartment in Portugal Decima co-founder David West said he decided to host 'a delightful afternoon of hardcore porn', which was attended by some 40 visitors.
The event included a screening of the notorious 1972 X-rated movie Deep Throat, and talks about the porn industry by a variety of speakers.
A press release about the afternoon advertised one of the show's 'highlights' as an event entitled 'Make Your Own Maddy McCann Porn'.
Mr West said: 'They were decorating models with images of Madeleine McCann.
'They didn't see it in too bad taste.'
He added that it was an attempt was to satirise the way the media has represented the missing youngster.
'It was meant to be a way of showing how the tabloid press sensationalises the use of attractive females such as Kate McCann in news stories,' added Mr West.
A Hackney police spokeswoman said they had not received any complaints about Sundays event.
Extract From: Mail Online
Detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann have exposed a child pornography ring in Spain, leading to 13 arrests.
Detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann have exposed a child pornography ring in Spain, leading to 13 arrests.
Detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann have exposed a child pornography ring in Spain, leading to 13 arrests.
Nine months after Madeleine was snatched the agency received an anonymous email saying the toddler appeared in a pornographic video on the Internet Photo: PA The network was discovered by Metedo 3, a private detective agency based in Barcelona hired by Gerry and Kate McCann to help find Madeleine after she disappeared.
However it has not provided any fresh leads on the fate of the missing girl.
Nine months after Madeleine was snatched from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the agency received an anonymous email saying the toddler appeared in a pornographic video being distributed on the Internet.
The team, lead by agency director Francisco Marco, traced the images and discovered Madeleine did not appear in them.
They reported their findings to Spain's National Police, who launched an operation to hunt down the paedophiles distributing the videos.
Armed police launched a series of raids across Spain last month and arrested 13 people.
Ten more are being formally investigated by a judge at a Barcelona court, which is overseeing the police operation.
Sources said the video showed dozens of young children, mostly girls, being sexually abused.
The paedophiles were allowing other Internet users around the globe access to the videos.
Mr Marco said: "In the video all the victims are under ten years old.
I am satisfied to have taken out of circulation more than 20 paedophiles, and those who will be arrested in the future.
The agency chief was criticised after boasting in November 2007 that he would find the missing youngster before the firm's six month contract expired.
And the following month he claimed he knew who kidnapped Madeleine - and hoped to reunite her with her parents for Christmas.
Mr and Mrs McCann have hired a new team of 12 retired British detectives, MI5 and MI6 officers.
They will use information contained in Portuguese police files, which were released last summer after the couple were cleared of being suspects.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine McCann: Police follow new leads
Madeleine McCann: Police follow new leads
Police follow new leads By Rod Chaytor
Callers claiming to have fresh information on missing Madeleine McCann have come forward after a new appeal by her parents.
Potential sightings and other leads are being followed up by a British team of former detectives who specialise in cold cases.
Parents Kate and Gerry, both 40, were delighted with the public response to their Christmas appeal, when they released a previously unseen video of their daughter.
Thousands logged on to www.findmadeleine.com to hear the couple's message: "This is our second Christmas without Madeleine. Please help us make sure we don't have a third."
Their spokesman said yesterday: "Kate and Gerry are pleased because the new material has achieved the desired response."
The couple spent Christmas at home in Rothley, Leics, with their twins, three. Madeleine vanished in Portugal days before her fourth birthday.
Extract From: Mirror.co.uk
Madeleine's grandmother still has Christmas present for her
Madeleine's grandmother still has Christmas present for her
By Kevin Doyle Tuesday December 30 2008
THE grandmother of missing girl Madeleine McCann had a Christmas present ready for the five-year-old this year.
For the second Christmas in a row, Eileen McCann left a large pink teddy bear on Madeleine's bed, as she clings to hope that she will return home.
Donegal-born Eileen, who lives in Scotland, is spending the holidays with her son Gerry, his wife Kate and Madeleine's younger siblings, twins Sean and Amelie.
It is the second Christmas that the family is spending without Madeleine, and Eileen had predicted it would be difficult for everyone.
Asked how everyone is coping with the holiday season, she said "so, so".
Last year, she decided that a huge pink teddy with a white heart on it, a gift to her from the Scottish government, would be her present for Madeleine.
And just as she was about to travel to Leicester for the holidays, she told the Herald that she has held on to it all year, in the hope that Madeleine would return for this Christmas.
However, that now seems unlikely, and Mrs McCann said: "It's still in my house.
I keep it on the bed." Speaking from her home near Glasgow, Mrs McCann added: "I'm going down to stay with them [Gerry and Kate] for Christmas."
She said that the McCann family will try to enjoy Christmas as best they can under the circumstances.
Several days before Christmas, the family released previously unseen footage of Madeleine playing with her brother and sister around Christmas 2006, the last one she spent with them.
She is seen interacting with her parents and the twins, and talking about her new pink shoes.
The little girl, who was three at the time, is seen playfully jumping up and down.
Meanwhile, the family's friends in Ireland said they have been praying for the missing child over Christmas. Joe Peoples, who rents a pub from Eileen in the small village of St Johnston in Donegal, said that everyone is still thinking of her plight.
The McCanns regularly visited the area with their cousins and spent the Easter before Madeleine's disappearance there.
"Kate and Gerry are hoping this might be their last Christmas without her and of course we are too," Mr Peoples said.
Extract From: Herald.ie
Fury at Maddie 'ghost chat'
Fury at Maddie 'ghost chat'
A SICK comedy writer has sparked outrage by publishing a spoof interview with Madeleine McCann’s “ghost”.
Jose Perez, 28, who writes for Spanish TV, reports in his online blog that Maddie — who vanished in May 2007 aged three — visited his house.
He said she criticised parents Kate and Gerry, saying: “I’m the business kid of the century.
They’ve sold more T-shirts with my face on than Mickey Mouse.
And what for? So my mum can leave her job and play Nintendo all day.
Perez was inundated with criticism. One reader wrote: “You’ve no shame.”
Extract From: TheSun
Madeleine McCann's parents issue new video
Madeleine McCann's parents issue new video
The parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann have released a new video appealing for information about her.
Kate and Gerry McCann posted the video Sunday on the Web site http://www.findmadeleine.com that they set up after their daughter disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal.
The video shows footage of Madeleine singing and playing at the family home and closes with the words: "This will be our second Christmas without our daughter, Please help us make sure we don't have a third."
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO
Extract From: The Associated Press
Couple branded 'despicable' over Madeleine fund fraud
Couple branded 'despicable' over Madeleine fund fraud
A teenage couple who claimed they were collecting money for the fund for missing Rothley girl Madeleine McCann have been branded "despicable" in court.
Dale Armstrong, 16, and Gareth Trainer, 18, admitted asking people in their home town of Hawick, southern Scotland, for money for the fund.
Armstrong was sentenced to 80 hours of community service at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Trainer after he failed to show up for sentencing.
Extract From: guardian.co.uk
Madeleine McCann Christmas appeal to air on TV
Madeleine McCann Christmas appeal to air on TV
A new worldwide television appeal is to be launched at Christmas appealing for help in finding Madeleine McCann.
It is likely the appeal will be fronted by a celebrity - who has yet to be named - and concentrate solely on Madeleine and not her parents Kate and Gerry, who face their second Christmas without their daughter.
The appeal is also likely to feature previously unseen footage of Madeleine, who was nearly four when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal 19 months ago.
The Find Madeleine Fund is to foot the cost of the new appeal.
The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed that discussions were under way over the fresh appeal.
"It is likely there will be a Christmas message with the focus on Madeleine," he said. Mr Mitchell would not comment on who had been approached to narrate the film, but it is believed to be a sporting hero or some other celebrity.
The message will be done in video format so it can be used by broadcasters and the Find Madeline Fund website.
It is believed the McCanns do not want to appear themselves but are keen to spark renewed interest in the search.
Last month the McCanns admitted they faced a new blow in their hunt for their daughter.
They said there was less information in the released Portuguese police files than they had hoped.
Among the files was a prosecutor's report that said the investigation had uncovered "very little" conclusive about Madeleine's fate.
The McCanns also confessed to being "low" as the 18th month milestone of Madeleine's disappearance passed, but have expanded their support team to try and find their daughter and understand what has - and has not - been done by the Portuguese police.
The McCanns have already spent more than 1m trying to find Madeleine, who disappeared on May 3, 2007 from the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal, just days short of her fourth birthday.
The McCanns have previously accused the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) - the Portuguese criminal investigation police - of exaggerating DNA evidence to name them as suspects after Madeleine vanished.
The police inquiry into the girl's disappearance was wound up in July due to a lack of evidence.
The McCanns and a third British national, Robert Murat - who have always strongly denied having had any involvement in what happened to Madeleine - were then declared to no longer be formal suspects.
The McCanns have vowed to "leave no stone unturned" in their hunt for Madeleine - who they firmly believe is still alive - and also say they may change the way they keep people updated about the hunt for their daughter.
Extract from: Telegraph.co.uk
Missing Madeleine - the hunt is stepped up
Missing Madeleine - the hunt is stepped up
by Chris Johnson
Madeleine McCann's parents are stepping-up the hunt for their missing daughter with an increased number of investigators hired to help find her.
The move comes as Gerry McCann revealed that Portuguese police files on the disappearance of their daughter hold "less information than expected".
Gerry McCann, 41, said that their support team of investigators are not yet half way through the task of reviewing official files compiled by detectives in the Algarve.
But he indicated that the extensive police dossier,, handed over by the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, is proving to be disappointing short of real evidence.
Gerry also revealed that he and his wife Kate, who are both doctors, had suffered a low spot in their morale as they marked the passing of 18-months since Madeleine vanished.
Gerry and Kate have spent more than #1m on the search their daughter who vanished on 3rd May 2007 from an apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, days before her fourth birthday.
Writing on their Find Madeleine web site, Gerry McCann said: "We are not yet half way through the Portuguese files but there is less information within the files than we were expecting."
The McCanns have already spent more than 1m trying to find their daughter, who disappeared on May 3, 2007, from the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal, just days short of her fourth birthday.
Gerry added: "Monday 3rd of November was 18 months since Madeleine was so cruelly taken from us. "
We do not usually put a lot of store in specific milestones - these being just another day without Madeleine.
"This week was unusual in that both Kate and I were feeling low at the same time, which is an uncommon occurrence, and we can usually rely on one of us lifting the other. "
We continue to work very hard behind the scenes.
Our support team has been expanded as we try to identify what has been done, what has not been done and what can still be done to help find Madeleine.
"As I have stated many times, someone has a key bit of information that can unlock this frustratingly difficult and painful situation."
Gerry also thanked those who attended a race night in Liverpool organised by the Greenhills Taverners Society that raised 5000 for the Find Madeleine fund.
Gerry added: "Around 200 people turned up and everyone enjoyed a good night. Liverpool and Everton donated signed shirts which were auctioned and with tickets and a raffle around 2000 has been raised. "
A taxi driver, taking home some of our friends, even got in to the spirit of things by donating his fare to the fund.
"Well done everyone and thanks for all the messages of support prayers- we left Liverpool in much better spirits than when we arrived!"
Extract From: Click, Liverpool
Madeleine McCann's Parents 'Less Than Halfway' Through Police Files
Madeleine McCann's Parents 'Less Than Halfway' Through Police Files
By Pete Norman
Originally posted Monday November 10, 2008 11:30 AM EST Eighteen months after their child's disappearance and nearly four months after Portuguese police officially closed the books on their probe, the parents of Madeleine McCann have revealed they are only a fraction of the way through analyzing voluminous files relating to the unsolved case.
Writing a rare blog on a Web site dedicated to finding Madeleine, her father, Dr. Gerry McCann, says on behalf of himself and wife Kate (also a doctor), We continue to work very hard behind the scenes.
Our support team has been expanded as we try to identify what has been done, what has not been done and what can still be done to help find Madeleine.
" He adds, "We are not yet halfway through the Portuguese files but there is less information within the files than we were expecting."
Their daughter was just days away from her fourth birthday when, as her parents were dining with friends, she went missing from a Portuguese vacation resort on May 3 last year.
Access to Files Although there have been numerous sightings of Madeleine around the world since, none have proved credible.
Her British parents, along with a local Portuguese man, were later named as official suspects aurguidos but last July investigators dropped all suspicion of their involvement.
Afterwards the McCanns were given access to volumes of Portuguese police files. Gerry McCann's last blog was on Day 533 Oct. 17 after the couple's friends who dined with them on the fateful night won libel damages of more than $500,000 from a British newspaper group.
The former aurguidos have previously received substantial libel damages from British media outlets.
"As I have stated many times, someone has a key bit of information that can unlock this frustratingly difficult and painful situation," adds McCann. Extract from: people.com
50,000 monthly expenses bill for McCanns private eyes
50,000 monthly expenses bill for McCanns private eyes
By Daniel Boffey
The search for Madeleine McCann : A U.S.-based agency charged 50,000 for one month's worth of work
The private investigators hired to find Madeleine McCann were embroiled in fresh controversy last night as it was revealed they claimed nearly 50,000 in expenses for one months work.
US-based firm Oakley International was taken on by the Find Madeleine Fund earlier this year on a 500,000 six-month contract to monitor a telephone hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage from around the world of possible sightings of the missing girl.
The company was selected by double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has pledged to support the McCanns financially until the mystery of the disappearance of their daughter is solved. Madeleine has not been seen since May last year, when she disappeared from the familys apartment in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz shortly before her fourth birthday.
However, Mr Kennedy became concerned by Oakleys $74,155 expenses claim in the first month of the contract, and the lack of receipts.
This newspaper revealed last month that the companys contract was terminated at the end of August after Mr Kennedy had become concerned at its lack of results.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the Find Madeleine Fund, confirmed that Oakley International was not now working on the case.
Gerry and Kate McCann: A spokesman for the couple said the search for Madeleine continues He said: The contract with Oakley was just one among many that have been entered into during the search for Madeleine.
While Oakley did some valuable work, particularly in the early stages, its contract, like many others, has now come to a close.
The search for Madeleine is continuing, however, using other resources and the performance of other contractors is constantly reviewed and monitored. Kate and Gerry and the backers will leave no stone unturned in the search for Madeleine.
Former police officers are now being interviewed by Mr Kennedy to take over responsibility for the investigation into Madeleines disappearance.
Mr Kennedy, 47, estimated to be worth about 250million, made his money in double-glazing and home-improvement ventures with companies including Everest windows.
He became involved with the McCanns after being moved by their plight during the period they were made formal suspects arguidos in Madeleines disappearance.
Portuguese prosecutors dropped the couples arguido status in July.
Oakley International said: We carried out our instructions from the Fund professionally and responsibly in accordance with our agreement.
Extract From: Daily Mail
Police search for Madeleine in Majorca
Police search for Madeleine in Majorca
SPANISH POLICE searched hotels and apartments following a possible sighting of Madeleine McCann in Majorca at the weekend.
According to reports in Mondays edition of the Belfast Telegraph, detectives were alerted by a British couple on Wednesday, September 24.
The couple, who are in their 50s, were said to have seen the missing child with two dark-haired women at the Cala dOr beach, in the south east of the island, on Sunday morning, September 21, only reporting the possible sighting to police three days later.
The newspaper quotes a police source as saying the couples account was detailed and there were no contradictions in their statements.
It is also said the couple attempted to contact the McCanns through the internet before going to police.
They say the two women had dark hair and did not look like they were related to the girl.
The toddler was colouring in a book on her own and was wearing sunglasses.
The searches, which were fruitless, included hotels and holiday apartments in Cala dOr and nearby Cala Egos and Cala Ferrera.
Extract From: the-resident.com
Polish link in missing Madeleine McCann case
Polish link in missing Madeleine McCann case
Police in Poland have investigated whether a Polish couple from Warsaw were involved in the kidnapping of the four-year old British girl Madeleine McCann in May 2007.
Two days after the kidnapping, Portuguese authorities asked us for help looking for the missing girl. According to their information, a Polish married couple were staying in the same hotel as the McCanns at that time, a source within the Polish state prosecutors office has revealed to tvp.info Internet service.
The source also told the service that Portuguese investigators wanted the Warsaw police to immediately search the Polish couples flat to look for any clues.
We could not agree to that, because the mere fact that they were staying at the same place was not enough evidence, the source explained.
But tvp.info reporters have found out that the police in Warsaw did put the Polish couple under discreet police surveillance.
As a result, any links between them and the missing Madeleine were disproved.
Madeleine McCann, aged four, disappeared from her parents hotel room in the Portuguese seaside resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 when the McCanns were out dining.
It has been speculated that she might have been abducted by an international paedophile gang.
The international search for the missing girl continues.
Extract From: News.pl
Was Madeleine Spotted In Majorca?
Was Madeleine Spotted In Majorca?
Alex Watts, Sky News Online
Detectives searching for Madeleine McCann are investigating a sighting of the little girl on a beach in Majorca.
A British couple claim they saw the youngster with two women at Cala d'Or, in the south east of the island.
They went to their hotel to check internet pictures of Madeleine and were certain it was her.
But when they returned to the beach there was no sign of the girl, who was three when she vanished in Portugal on May 3 last year.
Police on the island have launched a search of nearby hotels and holiday apartments.
Clarence Mitchell, family spokesman for the McCanns, thanked the couple for reporting the sighting.
He told Sky News Online that detectives employed by the Madeleine Fund are investigating.
He added: "Kate and Gerry are very grateful to the British couple concerned, however we can't go into any further detail until our investigators have checked out the report."
He stressed that the two doctors would not build up their hopes, because there had been many sightings of their daughter which had come to nothing.
Extract From SkyNewsOnline
Kate McCann secret diary revealed
Kate McCann secret diary revealed
Kate McCann's secret diary, which details her struggle to cope when her daughter went missing, has been revealed.
As you are probably aware, the media have published Kate McCanns personal diary, I feel that for me to reproduce this on my site (As it Kates personal diary) would be the wrong thing to do, I have taken the decision therefore not to do so.
Should any one so wish to read it there are many sources on the internet where it can be found?
www.wheres-madeleine.info Site Owner/Admin
Public interest in McCann case tested
Public interest in McCann case tested
British police will consider whether it is in the public interest to release information about their involvement in the Madeleine McCann inquiry.
Leicestershire Constabulary, which led the British side of the investigation for their counterparts in Portugal, said it must apply the 'public interest test' before agreeing to disclosure.
Linda Dempsey, of the force's data protection department, said: "An initial meeting has now been held and from this we are still in the process of preparing the Public Interest Test regarding the intended response. "
It will be necessary to consult with other agencies to assist in this matter in order for us to give the due consideration that must be given to such a high profile case and the need to balance the needs for disclosure or not.
Anyone is able to access information held by a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act, but the Act contains exemptions to the right of access "to protect legitimate interests and sensitivities", says the Department of Constitutional Affairs.
Ms Dempsey added: "At the heart of this tragic case is an innocent little girl who went missing in May 2007."
Extract From: Independent Television News
Madeleine McCann: Top British detectives are lined up to join the hunt
Madeleine McCann: Top British detectives are lined up to join the hunt
Some of the country's most experienced police detectives are being approached to join a team to help find Madeleine McCann.
By Ben Farmer
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing while on a family holiday in Portugal in May last year Photo.
The Find Madeleine Fund has asked for lists of suitable retired or soon-to-retire officers from forces across the country.
The fund, which is now being bankrolled by Brian Kennedy, the owner of Sale Sharks rugby team, is understood to have approached several police forces around the country including Greater Manchester.
Madeleine, three, disappeared from the family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal during a family holiday in May last year.
Chief Supt Steve Heywood, head of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) serious crime division, is among those who have been asked to provide a list of officers, while Mr Kennedy is said to have already met former Det Supt Andy Tattersall, who retired from the force last year.
Mr Tattersall co-wrote the A To Z Checklist of Murder Investigation which is used by police forces across the country.
He worked on the investigation into the murder of special branch officer Stephen Oake, stabbed to death by terrorist Kamel Bourgass during a raid in 2003, and was involved in the Jill Dando murder case.
A spokesman for GMP said: "We have given details of some eligible officers or former officers. As far as we are aware, no decision has been made by the fund."
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, said: "Kate and Gerry McCann, the fund and its backers have always sought to employ or use the very best people and resources in the search for Madeleine. "
If police expertise is potentially available anywhere, the fund and Gerry and Kate would naturally considering using it.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Holiday apartment where Madeleine McCann went missing goes on sale for 250,000
Holiday apartment where Madeleine McCann went missing goes on sale for 250,000
By Daily Mail Reporter
The infamous holiday flat where Madeleine McCann vanished has been put up for sale for 250,000.
The apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve is on the market and being advertised by a local estate agent, according to a Portuguese newspaper.
Potential buyers could begin viewing the flat from as early as next week, raising the possibility of voyeurs keen to see where the three-year-old disappeared looking round.
For sale: The apartment in Praia da Luz where the McCanns were staying when Madeleine vanished has been put on the market for 250,000
Flat 5A at the Ocean Club holiday complex has two bedrooms, measures 90 metres squared and is 20 years old.
It is 500 metres from the beach.
Until now it has been owned by British woman Ruth McCann, a retired teacher who is no relation to Madeleine or her parents.
The estate agent, which has not been named, said: 'We should have the key by the end of this week.
The owner is asking for 250,000 (300,000 Euros) for the flat.
According to the newspaper 24 Horas, the price of the property is 'substantially higher than others with similar characteristics' also on sale in the resort.
Madeleine was days away from turning four when she vanished from the apartment on May 3 last year while her parents were eating dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Another apartment just one minute from the beach is currently on sale for less than half the price at 103,000 (127,500 Euros).
An un-named estate agent claimed the higher price of the Ocean Club apartment was not due to its link to the case but because it is aimed at the English market.
The next door flat, where Kate and Gerry McCann's friends Matthew Oldfield and his wife Rachel were staying when Madeleine vanished, is also said to be on sale.
Case shelved: Portuguese police have given up looking for Madeleine, who vanished last May days before her fourth birthday
Their group was having dinner at the tapas bar 40 yards away and conducting regular checks on their children on the night she went missing.
The apartment was used by holiday-makers for nearly two months after Madeleine disappeared before police sealed it off as a permanent crime scene.
It was crucial to the police investigation with forensic teams dusting the shutters and specialists taking DNA samples from furniture.
After the McCanns moved out, it remained empty for a month but was then made available to tourists last summer.
It was later cordoned off in August last year.
Its sale comes weeks after the Portuguese authorities officially shelved the case and declared Mr and Mrs McCann to be entirely innocent.
They had been official 'arguidos' in the case since last September but always strenuously denied any involvement.
Robert Murat, the British ex-pat who was the first to be made an arguido in the case, was also cleared.
Police files released after the investigation was halted revealed scores of 'sightings' of Madeleine across Europe.
It was not clear to what extent they had been followed up by police, giving fresh hope of new leads which could help the McCanns discover what happened to their daughter.
So far, however, all appear to have been dead ends but the couple from Leicestershire, who are both GPs, have vowed never to give up their search.
Extract From: Mail online
Exclusive: Portuguese police turned down British help to find Maddy
Exclusive: Portuguese police turned down British help to find Maddy
By Jon Clements Crime Correspondent
Portuguese police turned down an offer to help find Madeleine McCann from Britain's most senior murder investigator, it has emerged.
Durham Chief Constable John Stoddart wanted to send a team of elite detectives to Praia da Luz after she went missing in 2007.
But Stoddart, chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers' Homicide Working Group, was "disappointed" when the Policia Judiciaria vetoed the idea.
He said: "I would like to have sent a team out there to provide some support to the investigation team. "
I'm disappointed that we couldn't help out.
I think we would have provided some expert advice and support.
" The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It is not surprising. However, our own investigations continue and we are following up several leads."
Extract From: mirror.co.uk
Madeleine detectives axing denied
Madeleine detectives axing denied
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have denied they have decided to axe private investigators Oakley International following allegations the company has drained the McCanns fund of nearly half a million pounds.
Reports on Sunday claimed they were supported in doing so by Madeleine Fund underwriter Brian Kennedy, a self-made millionaire, who was also said to be dissatisfied with the investigators work.
It was said he considered their approximate 100,000-per-month fee excessive for the results that were being obtained.
This has since been refuted.
A written entry on the official Find Madeleine website said, In the light of articles in some UK Sunday newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley International. We appointed them several months ago to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. We continue to work with them to this end. The working relationship is managed by Brian Kennedy, who also confirms the relationship with Oakley International continues to be good and that it remains entirely focused on the search for Madeleine.
Oakley International, which is made up of ex-British special forces officers and has FBI contacts, won the contract over the London-based Red Defence International (RDI), though one of the employees, 47-year-old communications expert known as Mr. Halligen, is listed as being involved with both companies.
Weekend reports in the UK claim Halligen is given as the contact name for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment, and is also, reportedly, a director of RDI.
The company says it has annual sales of around 45,000 and only one employee, which appears to be Mr Halligen.
Initial reports alleged that the day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine Fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI.
Previously the McCann Fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3, who were also axed after claims they would find Madeleine before Christmas failed.
A McCann spokesperson said yesterday, Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine.
A search that is, according to the McCanns, still continuing.
Extract From: The Portugal News Online
Madeleine fund in chaos as private eyes are axed after draining 500,000
Madeleine fund in chaos as private eyes are axed after draining 500,000
By Daniel Boffey and Miles Goslett
The fund for finding Madeleine now has only 500,000 left in its coffers
A team of private investigators working behind the scenes to find Madeleine McCann has been axed after being paid 500,000 from publicly donated funds.
The Find Madeleine Fund quietly engaged the services of a US-based company which was awarded the lucrative six-month contract earlier this year.
The company, Oakley International, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, was hired to monitor the Madeleine Hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage of possible sightings of the missing girl around the world.
A source revealed that the company had also spent resources in an attempt to infiltrate a paedophile ring in Belgium.
However, the companys contract will now not be renewed.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has been underwriting the funds search for Madeleine, has conducted a review of the agencys work and has become unhappy with the progress it was making.
The deal was abruptly ended following a meeting last week after the fund brought in independent monitors to assess how the money was spent.
The cost of employing the agency - run by a Briton, Kevin Halligen - has drained the Madeleine fund and there is now less than 500,000 left.
The development is likely to dismay the thousands who gave to the appeal, and raise questions about how the fund has been administered.
Mr Kennedy, who owns Sale Sharks rugby club, was said to be angry because he believed Oakleys bills, estimated to be more than 80,000 a month, were too much for the results they achieved.
A source said: There is a sense that they were meaning well but hadnt got as far as they should for the money involved.
'Brian Kennedy thought their work was far too pricey and wanted to know where the money was being spent. He wasnt satisfied with their answers and the contract was not renewed. Madeleines parents, Gerry and Kate, have been kept informed all along and agree with the decision.
A lot of people were asking questions about where the money was being spent.
Kate and Gerry McCann agree with the decision to drop Oakley International Oakley International won the contract after an introduction by another company, Red Defence International (RDI), based in Jermyn Street, Central London.
Listed as being involved with both companies was Mr Halligen, 47, a communications expert.
He is given as the contact name for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment.
The company says it has annual sales of 33,000 and only one employee, who appears to be Mr Halligen.
The address given for the company is 2550 M Street NW Washington, which is the downtown office of Patton Boggs, one of the largest and most powerful law companies in America.
A source at the law firm said last night that the lawyer who represented Mr Halligen was unavailable for comment.
RDI, formed in 2005, bills itself as an experienced provider of crisis prevention, management and expertise.
It claims to have a presence in Washington DC and Virginia and representation in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.
Brian Kennedy, who has underwritten the search for Madeleine, is dissatisfied with the agency's work However, its latest set of accounts is two months overdue and it faces being fined by HM Revenue & Customs.
Among the main players working on the McCann contract were Mr Halligen and Henri Exton, 57, who headed the Greater Manchester Police undercover unit until 1993.
He then worked for the Government before moving into the private sector.
One day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI. Mr Exton, of Bury, Lancashire, has the Queens Police Medal and an OBE.
During the Seventies and Eighties his work included uncovering organised crime rings and recruiting supergrasses.
He also infiltrated football gangs, at one stage becoming a leader of the Young Guvnors, who followed Manchester City, and was forced to take part in organised incidents to preserve his cover.
Previously, the McCann fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3.
However, the fund lost confidence in them, especially after they announced they would find Madeleine by last Christmas.
She had disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, nine days short of her fourth birthday.
A spokesman for the McCanns said yesterday: Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine.
Kate and Gerry, via the fund and the backers, continue to employ many such resources and it is true that Red Defence and Oakley were part of those resources.
I simply will not comment on any personnel, financial or operational details whatsoever. No one could be reached for comment at Oakley International or Red Defence International.
Mr Kennedy, estimated to be worth about 250million, became involved after being moved by the plight of the McCanns during the period they were made formal suspects arguidos in Madeleines disappearance.
Portuguese prosecutors dropped the couples arguido status last month.
The 47-year-old made his money in double-glazing and home improvement ventures with companies including Everest windows.
His Latium Group business empire has an annual turnover of about 400million.
Extract From: Mail online
MADELEINE: Police should search for body said British expert
MADELEINE: Police should search for body said British expert
By DAISY SAMPSON and CECLIA PIRES
A SUMMARY by police in February 2008 reveals, for the first time, that there were only two possible causes, in their opinion, that could account for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The report, written on February 5 by investigators, concludes that by analysing the evidence up to that point, police felt that Madeleine was kidnapped or killed, either accidentally or deliberately, and continues to give detailed reasons as to why these conclusions have been drawn.
The possibility of kidnap is taken from evidence including the statement made by Kate describing windows in the apartment being open that were not open earlier.
The testimony by Jane Tanner is also taken into account and her statement describing an individual carrying a child in their arms at 9.15pm adds to this theory.
Police files reveal that the alternative explanation for Madeleines disappearance is that she died in the apartment and her body was then removed.
The summary states that the specialist British police dog, Eddie, detected the smell of a dead body in the apartment near the window and behind the sofa.
The dog also detected signs of a body in the Renault car hired by the McCanns and in other areas in and around the apartment used by the McCanns.
Keela, the dog used to detect the smell of human blood, is reported in the files as finding the smell of blood in the sitting room of the apartment, adding to the suspicions by the police that Madeleine died in the apartment.
At no point in the summary is anyone specifically accused of killing or kidnapping Madeleine.
In July 2007 Mark Harrison MBE of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) made a report to the Portuguese police stating that in his opinion: Police have concentrated on finding Madeleine alive, they now need to start to consider other options and the possibility that she has been killed and her body hidden.
Mark Harrison assessed the Portuguese investigation between May and July and recommended that areas should be searched again but using dogs that detect blood and dead bodies.
The McCanns have countered the reports from the police files and have pledged to continue to look for their daughter.
Gerry McCann told press: The content of these files has been extensively reported. It will be clear to everyone now that there is absolutely no evidence that suggests Madeleine has been seriously harmed, we strongly believe that Madeleine is out there and can be found.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the McCanns have hired a new detective agency to help in the search for their daughter.
The unnamed US firm reportedly uses former members of the FBI and CIA.
Clarence Mitchell confirmed: It is correct that an international firm of investigators has been appointed. I am unable to say anything about them because of the covert nature of their work.
Metodo 3, the Spanish private investigators used by the McCanns, are still involved in the case but are dealing with leads in Iberia and northern Africa while the new team will be looking at international leads.
Extract From: the-resident.com
Fury as Madeleine McCann cop brings sick book to UK
Fury as Madeleine McCann cop brings sick book to UK
Exclusive by Joshua Layton
Bungling Maddie cop Goncalo Amaral will rake in a MILLION pounds by flogging his book worldwide.
The Truth Of The Lie has topped Portugal's bestseller lists after selling more than 140,000 copies in its first two weeks. And his publisher plans to release it in the UK, despite our stricter libel laws which would make it easier for the McCanns to sue.
Jorge Silva, of Portuguese firm Guerrae Paz, said: "We are convinced it doesn't go against any law. It is an important contribution to the discovery of the material truth and the fulfilment of justice."
But the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell fired a warning to Mr Amaral last night, saying: "If he seeks to publish in Britain, he and his publisher will face legal action without a shadow of a doubt. "There is nothing to stop us from suing him in Portugal. Our lawyers are looking at the exact content of what he said in Portuguese and have plenty of time in which to act. "
But if he publishes in Britain it will make legal action even easier." The tubby ex-chief inspector was obsessed with the theory that parents Kate and Gerry disposed of Madeleine's bod - despite all their denails.
Mr Amaral was overheard telling Portuguese F1 driver Pedro Lamy: "We suspect the parents killed Madeleine." Even without a UK book deal, he is set to make a fortune.
A Spanish publisher has just bought the so-called inside story and Mr Silva said he was in talks with publishers from countries like the USA, the Netherlands, Brazil and Germany, as well as Britain.
Uk book expert Suzanne Collier said: "I could see it being a bestseller and even one of the biggest British books of the year." She likened the book to Spycatcher, the controversial memoirs of former MI5 officer Peter Wright. She added: "It doesn't matter if it's true or not, people would want to read it.
The author could well make up to a million. I reserve judgment on whether it should be published." Mr Amaral, 48, is on a full police pension after being sacked five months into the shambolic Maddie hunt for saying Brit cops were shielding the McCanns.
He shamelessly launched his 214-page book by flogging hundreds of signed copies for 10 each in a Lisbon department store.
The father of three's account says cops suspected Kate and Gerry almost as soon as Maddie vanished in Praia da Luz. He blames British police, the Diplomatic Service, M15 and even the NHS for conspiring against him.
His publishers claimed he was motivated by "duty", not money. Incredibly, Mr Silva hit out at the McCanns over the book.
He added: "We're aware that some UK publishers - given the atmosphere created by the McCanns and more specifically their spokesman - may fear to take it on.
We hope that an audacious publisher understands its relevancy and will publish soon.
Mr Amaral said he would RELISH a court battle with the couple to clear HIS name.
Documents released this month showed the Portuguese CID had no evidence against the McCanns. The couple's spokesman Mr Mitchell said of the ex-detective's book: "Any publisher should think very long and hard about what they are potentially opening themselves up to. "
He's been trying to make money out of his book since the day he started writing.
'This is an important contribution to discovery of truth'
Extract From: People.co.uk
The global Maddy McCann sightings, from Sao Paolo to Essex
The global Maddy McCann sightings, from Sao Paolo to Essex
By Victoria Ward In Praia Da Luz
From Sao Paolo to Romford, global reports of little girl
For the past 15 months the world has been moved by the tragedy of missing Madeleine McCann.
Her image has become ingrained in the public consciousness as well-meaning people wonder whether they have spotted the abducted four-year-old. Sightings have been reported in Europe, India, the US and Brazil.
In the UK, Maddy has been "seen" in towns from Epsom to Fife, Broadstairs to Newcastle.
There were suspected sightings in car parks, restaurants, supermarkets, DIY shops, cars, buses, trains, at airports, on beaches and at the hairdressers.
Some contacted CrimeStoppers anonymously, some called police, some wrote detailed statements and sent photographs.
Some were apologetic, fearful of wasting police time.
Others said they could not sleep until they had reported their sighting.
Madeleine has never been found but the public response to the McCanns' worldwide publicity drive has been incredible.
Newly released Portuguese police files contain 2,550 pages of sightings spread over 17 volumes.
They reveal that every effort was made to interview each witness and check out every sighting.
Most were made in the days after Madeleine first disappeared from her holiday flat in Praia da Luz on May 3.
A dip into the files throws up reams of reports and hastily scribbled notes as officers followed them up, checked them out and disregarded them, one by one.
Many simply proved impossible to verify.
They reveal the sheer volume of work as police teams all over the world ploughed through any potential lead in the desperate search to find her.
Among the mammoth files are scores of sightings where vigilant Brits suspected they had seen the missing girl.
Often they tried to speak to the girls or their bewildered parents and looked for Madeleine's distinctive right eye.
Many reports simply describe a blonde child in a car with adults who appear to be of a different nationality.
Suspicions were raised by the smallest detail - unkempt hair, an uneven haircut, sun tan, brand new pram or clothes that did not fit properly.
Scores of sightings simply reported a blonde little girl, who "looked like Madeleine".
Many involved children who looked upset, were screaming and crying or not interacting with their parents.
Many which seemed credible at first only led to crushing disappointments for parents Kate and Gerry McCann.
However, they quickly conditioned themselves not to place too much emphasis on any one sighting unless the police or their private detectives had reason to do so.
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry are immensely grateful to everyone who reported possible sightings.
Everybody has been incredibly well meaning and helpful.
"That's exactly the sort of approach they had hoped for and continue to hope for."
Pages of notes from the Serious Organised Crime Agency requested that: "In all cases any possible witnesses be traced, local inquiries be made to trace any further witnesses and any CCTV be preserved.
Any hotels should be checked for identity of guests.
Vehicle owners should be seen and checked.
Leicestershire police also issued instructions to local forces when sightings were made in their areas, such as how to deal with CCTV footage and how to obtain full witness statements.
The files suggest efforts were made to contact everyone who reported a sighting, regardless of its quality.
Operation Task - the British end of the investigation - even appeared to have allocated Madeleine her own code, referring to her as N1.
Many sightings were made in ALGARVE resorts in the fortnight after Madeleine's disappearance.
A man from Strathclyde was on holiday in ALBUFEIRA when he saw a girl in a hotel foyer on May 5 who said: "I want to see my mummy."
He told police he was "convinced" it was Madeleine.
The next day a sighting was reported at a LISBON metro station, and the day after that in a white van in NORTH YORKS.
On May 8, a tourist from Stockport was on holiday in RHODES when he thought he saw Madeleine in TRIANDA village.
A woman from Cheadle, Cheshire, phoned cops when she thought she saw Maddy during a holiday in ALICANTE.
She tried to talk to the girl, who had "beautiful, sad eyes" and hair that "needed combing" but her family moved her away.
A police note read: "Neither the couple nor the little girl spoke but caller said girl just seemed very sad."
Meanwhile, a woman in Margate reported seeing a couple and a young child "with dark skin as if she'd been on holiday and caught the sun" in a face on BROADSTAIRS High Street on May 6.
The man said to the waitress: "This is our little visitor" and the witness thought the couple were trying to protect child from view.
One the same day, another Briton thought he saw a man with Madeleine as he watched the Arsenal v Chelsea football match in the Queen Vic pub in EL ARENAL, MAJORCA.
A woman from Northern Ireland thought she had spotted the tot on the TROONLARNE ferry.
She told police: "I watched her thinking why would she be in Troon of all places?"
On May 4, a man contacted police after seeing a fair-haired child in FLEET,WEYMOUTH who was "screaming and crying earnestly... clearly very upset and agitated."
She was walking with a man who was over 6ft.
On the same day, someone reported seeing a girl on a PORTUGAL to LONDON flight who looked tired.
The witness thought this was "strange as it was only 10.55am".
Another tourist reported seeing a girl dressed as a boy who looked poorly in MAJORCA on May 8.
The man she was with was "the image of James Hewitt".
"They were doing numbers in French but I felt they weren't French," she added.
There was a girl waving and smiling from a van in ROMFORD, another with puffy eyes at GATWICK airport, one on a bus in Leicester and another at Morrison's supermarket in MALDON, ESSEX.
A young woman from the Midlands was on a hen party in the Algarve resort of ALBUFEIRAin June last year and told police that she returned to her apartment drunk at 5am, was sick as she got out of the taxi, stumbled on the doorstep as the owners of the block opened the door and she saw a child with "dark hair, biggish cheeks and a tiny mouth".
Another Brit took a picture of a girl at a bull ring in SEVILLE on May 12 and told police:
"I doubt that someone who abducted Maddy on the Thursday would be visiting a bull ring on the Saturday so I suspect this photo won't help you but I thought it was better to send it anyway."
An air passenger reported a sighting on a jet to the Brazilian capital SAO PAOLO.
The previous year a man called police claiming to have seen Maddy at a book fair in RIO DE JANEIRO.
An eye-witness report by a British diplomat sparked a major incident in GUATEMALA when officials stopped a man in a shopping mall with a little girl.
It turned out to be a local child with a bodyguard and despite an apology, her father accused the British Government of plotting to kidnap her.
He demanded a formal written apology from the British Embassy.
Mr Mitchell said the search continued and urged anyone with information to contact www.findmadeleine.com
Extract From: Mirror.co.uk
Madeleine McCann's parents hire US private investigators
Madeleine McCann's parents hire US private investigators
Madeleine McCann's parents have hired a US private investigator firm made up of former CIA and FBI agents and special forces veterans as part of a renewed push to find their missing daughter, it was reported.
Madeleine McCann's parents have hired a US private investigator firm made up of former CIA and FBI agents and special forces veterans as part of a renewed push to find their missing daughter, it was reported.
By Aislinn Simpson
The team are said to be taking over primary responsibility for the investigating into Madeleine's disappearance, although the Spanish firm Metodo 3, which has until now spearheaded the search, will continue to follow up information from Spain and Portugal.
The news comes shortly after Portuguese police shelved the case and released a 30,000 page dossier detailing their investigation.
The dossier has revealed thousands of potential sightings of the three-year-old following her disappearance from the family's rented holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 last year.
The US firm, which has not been named, is said to have been offered a 500,000 six-month contract by the Find Madeleine Fund, which has received donations from several wealthy benefactors and wellwishers around the world.
However, according to previous reports, there is only 500,000 left in the fighting fund.
A friend of Kate and Gerry McCann said of the hiring: "It was felt that a truly international firm was now needed to lead the inquiry. These really are the big boys."
Last month, the couple, both doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, had their status as suspects in the Portuguese police inquiry lifted.
The release of the police dossier revealed that police tried to elicit a confession from Gerry McCann by telling him that conclusive DNA evidence that been found linking his daughter to a car the family hired after her disappearance.
The dossier also included details of sightings around the world, including in the Caribbean, Belgium and Holland.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine search police 'untrained'
Madeleine search police 'untrained'
Most of the Portuguese police officers who looked for Rothley girl Madeleine McCann after her disappearance had no formal training in missing people searches, case files revealed.
Up to 100 personnel spent a week scouring an area up to 15km (9.3 miles) around the Algarve resort where the little girl vanished on May 3 last year.
But they failed to find any clues to Madeleine's fate, and in July Portuguese detectives called in leading British expert Mark Harrison.
Mr Harrison, national search adviser for all UK police agencies in cases of missing people, homicides and abductions, reviewed the initial operations and advised on the inquiry's future strategy.
He noted that neither search co-ordinator Major Luis Sequeira nor most of his teams had received any training for the task of looking for the missing girl.
Between 80 and 100 people drawn from the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) local police, civil protection, fire brigade, Red Cross and urban police were involved in the searches.
In his report, dated July 23 last year, Mr Harrison wrote: "Major Sequeira has not benefited from any formal training or accreditation in the management of searching for missing persons.
"The search officers - with the exception of the search and rescue team dispatched from Lisbon - had not benefited from any formal training in search procedures."
The report, contained in police files made public last week, focuses on the possibility that Madeleine was murdered and her body hidden in areas previously scrutinised by police.
Mr Harrison highlighted an open area to the east of Praia da Luz, the village where the little girl disappeared, that afforded "many opportunities to dispose of a body" and recommended fresh searches there.
Most significantly, he advised that specialist sniffer dogs should be used to examine key sites such as the McCanns' holiday apartment and the home of official suspect Robert Murat.
Extract From: The Press Association
I WAS AFRAID TO GRAB HER
I WAS AFRAID TO GRAB HER
Witness was sure restaurant girl was Maddie but feared causing a scene
Witness was sure restaurant girl was Maddie but feared causing a scene
By Ross Hall, 10/08/2008
A VITAL new witness in the hunt for Madeleine McCann has told cops: I saw Maddie. I know it was herI saw the unique blemish in her eye.
Businessman Trevor Francis is certain he spotted the missing five-year-old in Venezuela just WEEKS ago.
Because of the remarkable eye detail, Gerry and Kate McCann regard this as one of the most significant sightings.
Trevor, who swears he spotted Madeleine McCann in the Caribbean just weeks ago, has told of the haunting moment he saw the tell-tale blemish in her eye.
In a dramatic statement to police back in the UK yacht skipper Trevor Francis, 64, said the girl was with three women in a restaurant on the Venezuelan island of Margarita.
He recalled: Her eyes met mine as I walked past and thats when I saw the little blemish in her right eyeit was like a little fleck.
And he added: I wanted to grab her or shout out her name and see what reaction I would get.
But I was afraid to do anything and cause a scene. . . a huge ruckus would have erupted and it could have made things worse.
I decided to get a good look to make sure it was her so I could come back to England and report it.
Unlike all other reported sightings, fresh witness Trevor is the FIRST to get a clear view of the unique blemish matching Madeleines eye.
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell last night said the detail of his description was very significant.
He added: The investigation team are looking into this seriously.
The eye makes it potentially more serious than other sightings.
Our revelation climaxes a week in which the Portuguese police case files were released, highlighting reported sightings across the world since Madeleine went missing from the familys holiday apartment in Praia da Luz a year ago.
Many have already been discredited or ruled out.
But now the McCanns private investigators are making urgent enquiries into the Margarita connection.
Caribbean islands are on a regular sailing route from Portugal Divorced dad of two Mr Francis, 64, built and owns a nursing home in Worthing, West Sussex, but spends most of his time on his five-bedroom yacht Northern Seas based in Margarita.
On a recent trip home to check on business interests he made a detailed hand-written statement to Sussex cops revealing hes certain he saw Madeleine on May 16 this year in the Lugar de Equenter restaurant in the town of Porlamar.
I was in there having some lunch, said Trevor.
There was lots of light and nothing to obstruct my view.
The door opened and three females with a little girl came in.
They sat down at a table opposite me about 20 feet away.
At first I did not take any notice as I was having trouble with my order.
Then I glanced back and noticed the little girl was white with fair hair.
She really stood out There are sometimes white children in Venezuela but not as fair as this child.
She really stood out. I was transfixed.
She was the absolute image of the missing Madeleine McCann with chin-length straight fair hair, about four years old, a pretty girl.
What I noticed most prominently were her eyesthey were big and staring.
I shuffled in my seat so I could see Madeleine clearly.
I didnt pay much attention to the three women because I was concentrating on the little girl.
However from what I saw I would say that they were all of Spanish/South American origin.
Female 1 I can describe as being heavily built, dark short bobbed hair.
Female 2 had bleached platinum blonde hair, with a slim build.
The third had long black hair, she was heavily built.
They were late 30s to early 40s.
They werent very pretty.
They seemed to be local women as they didnt hesitate at finding a table when they came in and they seemed to know the waiters.
One of the women was trying to feed the girl what looked like some sort of pasta dish.
Although the girl looked healthy and well cared for, she was very sullen looking and refused to eat anything.
Something just didnt fit.
She looked unhappy and out of place.
The women were talking amongst themselves and at the little girl. I couldnt understand, they were speaking in Spanish.
The little girl wasnt saying anything, I watched her for about 20-30 minutes and decided to get a close look as I left the restaurant.
Then I was four to five feet away.
That was the dramatic moment Trevor spotted the tiny eye blemish.
He said: I havent been in England for all of the press coverage and updates about Madeleine McCann but I have seen photos of her on the news.
From what I saw that day I am about 85 per cent certain that it was in fact Madeleine McCann.
The eye blemish often referred to as the mark of Madeleinehas formed a key part in the campaign to highlight her disappearance.
It is played up prominently on posters and videos.
It is actually what doctors call a colobomaor defectof the iris.
Figures suggest it occurs in only about 0.007 per cent of the population.
Witness Trevors son Ben, 22, of Worthing told us last night: My dad is a very serious, credible and intelligent man.
Hes not the sort of person who would make things up.
And hed certainly never lie about something like this.
Meanwhile, dozens of specialist police were drafted into Brussels yesterday after a bank security guard reported he saw a girl resembling her on Monday.
He spoke out after case files revealed Scotland Yard had warned the child could have been stolen to order for a Belgian paedophile gang.
As detectives studied the CCTV pictures from the KBC bank in the rundown immigrant Molenbeek district, other officers trained in search techniques joined the hunt.
A spokesman said: Were taking this very seriously.
House-to-house searches have started, and numerous people are being spoken to.
Were determined to establish exactly who the little girl in the CCTV images is.
Extract From:www.notw.co.uk
The shop assistant who says she 'saw' Madeleine McCann in Amsterdam speaks about the girl.
The shop assistant who says she 'saw' Madeleine McCann in Amsterdam speaks about the girl.
Shop assistant who saw 'Maddy' speaks
Shop assistant who saw 'Maddy' speaks
Click Here to View Video
From: Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine McCann: Apartment was not made crime scene for two months
Madeleine McCann: Apartment was not made crime scene for two months
The apartment where Madeleine McCann vanished was used by holiday-makers for nearly two months before police sealed it off as a permanent crime scene, case files have showed.
By Caroline Gammell in Praia da Luz
The two-bedroom flat in Praia da Luz was crucial to the investigation with forensic teams dusting the shutters and specialists taking DNA samples from the furniture.
It lay empty for a month after three-year-old Madeleines disappearance, but was then available to tourists throughout the summer, raising fears of contamination.
Apartment 5A in the Ocean Club resort was eventually cordoned off in August after sniffer dogs from the UK - trained to detect corpses and human remains - were brought in.
Their reaction prompted investigators to take further samples from the flat which were sent to the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham for analysis.
The findings, which appeared to suggest that traces of Madeleines DNA were in the apartment and the hire car rented 25 days after she disappeared, played a large factor in making the McCanns suspects last September.
Although the couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, have been cleared and the investigation closed, the apartment which played such a large part the case still lies empty.
The blunder was revealed in the extensive 30,000 page police dossier into the investigation.
Details of all those who stayed in 5A after the McCanns were disclosed in an internal document written by Chief Inspector Vitor Matos to Goncalo Amaral, who was then leading the investigation.
It showed that the McCanns booked the flat from April 28 for a week, but moved out on the morning after Madeleine vanished on May 3 last year.
They moved to neighbouring 4G with their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, and stayed there until July 3, when they moved to a villa in Praia da Luz.
On June 12, a couple from Liverpool who were friends of the owner, retired teacher Ruth McCann - who is no relation to Kate and Gerry McCann - stayed in 5A for a week.
A family of four from Falkirk in Scotland stayed from June 28 to July 12, followed by a couple from New Barnet in Hertfordshire.
On July 19, a family of three from Leicester stayed for a week.
The apartment became a focal point for the worlds media who descended on the small Algarve town to cover Madeleines disappearance.
During the search for the little girl, Portuguese police wanted to bug Mr and Mrs McCann to eavesdrop on their conversation, according to the police file.
They wanted to place two bugs in the house and one in the couples car but a judge refused the formal request, saying that the couples witness statement would be enough.
The case files also showed the frustration felt by the officers sifting through the thousands of potential sightings of Madeleine that could not be substantiated.
DC John Hughes, from Leicestershire Police, the force co-ordinating the British end of the investigation, looked into a spate of reports of children resembling the missing girl seen in Malta.
In an e-mail dated June 26 last year he wrote: "Most replies we get back from other countries don't take us far as many can't be verified or discounted, and I feel these will be the same.
The investigation was shelved on July 21 and the McCanns were cleared of their suspect status after all leads went cold.
The McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: I think this particular revelation speaks for itself.
We have always said that there were wholly explicable reasons for any material that was found.
Kate and Gerry are as innocent today as they were on May 3 and if this number of people were in the apartment before the searches then I think people will draw their own conclusions about the strength of any material that was recovered.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
MADDIE: WE WARNED PORTUGUESE, SAY VICE SQUAD
MADDIE: WE WARNED PORTUGUESE, SAY VICE SQUAD
By Martin Evans
BRITISH police did everything in their power to investigate claims that Madeleine McCann had been snatched by an international paedophile ring, they insisted last night.
Officers working for CO14, a specialised vice unit within the Metropolitan Police, wrote to their Portuguese counterparts in March warning them they had intelligence that the three-year-old had been kidnapped to order by a Belgian gang.
The Policia Judiciaria then contacted Interpol and asked them to investigate further.
But just weeks later Portuguese police chiefs shelved the line of inquiry, claiming it lacked credibility.
Private detectives working for Kate and Gerry McCann are now urgently examining the information to see if any more could have been done to check out the anonymous tip-off.
An email sent by John Shord of the Metropolitans Vice and Clubs Unit in March to Leicestershire Police who were coordinating the UK end of the Madeleine case read: Intelligence suggests that a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.
Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium.
The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken.
Interpol contacted its departments in London, Belgium, Germany and Finland to gather more information about European paedophile gangs.
But detective Paulo Rebelo, head of the Madeleine inquiry, ruled that all but the German intelligence showed lack of credibility.
As a result, the Scotland Yard tip-off was added to the massive file of evidence considered during the hunt for Madeleine.
Extract From: Daily Express
McCann detectives check new leads
McCann detectives check new leads
A cluster of new leads in Holland and Belgium were being examined by detectives leading the search for Madeleine McCann.
Belgian police said they had received more than 100 reports of possible sightings of the youngster, after it was revealed a Scotland Yard informant suggested Madeleine was stolen to order by a Belgian paedophile gang.
And artist sketches of a man and woman seen in an Amsterdam shop with a girl who identified herself as "Maddie" were released.
The pictures were drawn by a police artist on the evidence of Anna Stam, the 41-year-old shopkeeper who saw the couple with a girl resembling Madeleine last year.
The drawings, commissioned by the Daily Mirror, show a swarthy, dark-haired man with pencil moustache and short dark hair and a light brown-haired woman with thin lips.
The girl entered Ms Stam's party shop with a man and a woman and two other children in early May.
The man, aged between 35 and 40, spoke Portuguese while the woman, who was in her 40s, spoke English.
She told Ms Stam they were from a French travelling circus.
Ms Stam said the little girl, who looked like Madeleine apart from the colour of her hair, asked her: "Do you know where my mummy is?"
On being told that her mother was a little further back in the store, the child replied, "She is not my mummy," and added: "She is a stranger, she took me from my mummy."
Alain Remue, who heads the Belgian police missing persons unit, said about a third of the possible sightings were from clairvoyants and another third lacked concrete information.
Around 30, however, they were able to investigate further.
He said officers had examined "every possible link" between the disappearance and the information they had received.
Extract From: The Press Association.
Madeleine McCann 'spotted in Brussels' after paedophile ring reports
Madeleine McCann 'spotted in Brussels' after paedophile ring reports
Madeleine McCann was apparently spotted in Brussels days after she vanished.
By Caroline Gammell in Praia da Luz Last Updated: 6:58PM BST 07 Aug 2008
Details of the sighting emerged after official documents showed that British police were tipped off about a Belgian paedophile ring who allegedly stole the girl to order.
The Metropolitan Police's vice squad passed on the information which suggested that Madeleine's photograph was taken and approved before she was abducted on to Portuguese police and Interpol earlier this year.
The three-year-old went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on May 3 last year.
Belgian Line Compere, 31, told police that she saw Madeleine on a tram in Brussels on May 15 - 12 days later.
In a police interview dated June 1 last year, she said she spied a young girl with a couple on tram 18, heading from Anderlecht to Midi in the centre of the city at about 8.45am.
She said she had been curious because the Eastern European couple did not resemble the blonde-haired, blue eyed girl accompanying them.
At this stage Miss Compere had not seen a picture of Madeleine, but when she saw her photograph on the television later that day, she said she instantly recognised her.
"What immediately leapt out to me was there was a big resemblance between the little girl on the tram and Madeleine," she said.
"She was dressed in pink, like most young girls, had blonde hair and blue eyes and about four years old. "
I can't tell you what language they were speaking but I think they were speaking different languages.
"The couple did not seem to be familiar to each other."
Miss Compere called a child protection group in Belgium who reported the sighting to police, but the couple or child were never traced.
Her witness statement appeared in the extensive Portuguese police dossier into the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.
The case was closed last month and her parents were cleared of all suspicion.
According to an email sent by the Metropolitan Police a child abduction ring based in Belgium placed an order for a "young girl".
Met officer John Shord wrote to Leicestershire Police on March 4 and the email was passed on to Operation Task the British end of the investigation into Madeleine McCann.
It said: "Intelligence suggests that a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.
"Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium.
The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken.
" The email, which was forwarded to the Portuguese police and Interpol, is now being investigated by the McCann's own investigators.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Their private investigators will be pursuing this line as an absolute priority to establish if it has been fully investigated and properly ruled out.
" A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Unsubstantiated information was received by CO14 relating to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. "
This was passed on to Leicestershire Police on 4th March 2008.
The information was further discussed with Leicestershire Police verbally and all possible lines of enquiry were conducted.
"Leicestershire Police passed the information on to the Portuguese authorities."
A Belgium Federal Police spokesman said: "Our police, our missing person team, paedophile unit, are not aware of this information.
We are checking with the British police.
We find it all a bit strange.
We are not aware and we have never found a paedophile network in Belgium that could order, sell or buy children like this.
"Belgian Police normally should have been involved via Interpol, I am told, and officials are asking UK Police what is going on."
Extract from: Telegraph.co.uk
Only McCanns know full pain of never-ending story
Only McCanns know full pain of never-ending story
If you find the ambiguity hard to live with, imagine the trauma the McCanns have to endure, writes Eilis O'Hanlon By EILIS O'HANLON Sunday July 27 2008
THE tragedy of Madeleine McCann has been one of milestones.
The first 24 hours since her disappearance; the first week gone by; the naming of the first suspect, Robert Murat; the slow turning of the spotlight on to the little girl's parents; the passing in May of the first fruitless year of searching; and now, the official lifting of the arguido status put on Kate and Gerry McCann, and Murat himself for that matter, by the Portuguese Attorney-General. It's difficult to know where the story can go from here.
The police in Praia da Luz obviously have one answer to that question: nowhere.
They have officially wound up their investigation.
Barring new evidence, they're giving up on the search for the little girl.
Wherever Madeleine is and whatever happened to her, they have concluded they will never find out, unless a miracle, a confession or plain old-fashioned luck does the job for them.
The McCanns are threatening legal action to force the police to go on looking for their daughter -- and who wouldn't?
Whatever money has been raised by the Find Madeleine campaign and spent sending private investigators after every lead, however slim, is no match for the resources and expertise of a proper police force, even one which has mishandled the investigation as thoroughly as the Portuguese did this one.
But it still feels as if an ending of sorts has been reached.
The disappearance of Madeleine has become a part of history.
That's probably a shocking indictment of the shortness of our collective memory -- but, reprehensible or not, it's true.
The internet obsessives will keep the flame burning a little longer, having determined long ago not to let a little thing like the facts stop them witch-hunting Kate and Gerry; but even they will give up eventually.
We'll forget about Madeleine until the next sad milestone: the second anniversary, say, or the third, fifth, 10th; her name will be one which passes fleetingly across our consciousness as the months and years pass, an irregular reminder of a sorrowful few months in the summer of 2007 when it was impossible to open a newspaper or turn on the television without seeing her smiling face gazing innocently back.
Kate and Gerry McCann are not celebrating the fact that they're no longer official suspects.
"Hugely relieved" was how the couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, described their mood, "but we will not be getting the balloons out".
Part of the reason for that is surely because they understand better than anyone that a bridge has been crossed.
This was always the risk they ran.
In order to keep Madeleine's name and image in the public imagination, they had to make themselves part of the story.
For her, they turned into media commodities, but in so doing increasingly found that they were becoming the story.
Now that their part has come to a conclusion of sorts with the lifting of the cloud of suspicion hanging over them, there is practically no story left, except the initial one about a missing child, and that ran out of media steam a long time ago.
The one glint of hope for the McCanns is that they now have access to the files gathered by the Portuguese police in the course of the investigation.
Their best, if unlikely, hope is that there will be something there which has hitherto been overlooked.
More probably, there might be a few curious snippets of background information which could be given to the media to keep the hunt for Madeleine in the headlines for a few more days at least.
But even if there was, a few more days might be an optimistic assessment.
Not so many months ago, the almost insultingly brief statement by Portuguese Attorney-General Fernando Pinto Monteiro, bringing the shutters down on the Madeleine investigation, and the subsequent reaction of her parents, would have dominated the media for days on end, unceremoniously pushing all other stories out of the way.
Last week, it was Madeleine who was quickly shoved aside to make way for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's arrest, or Obama Barack's premature lap of honour around a besotted, fawning Europe.
It's even possible to detect a certain awkward air of embarrassment in the latest coverage, akin to the shamefaced way in which some of the more fervent Diana worshippers look back on the hysteria which followed the death of the so-called People's Princess.
Perhaps in retrospect, the all-consuming power for a while of the Madeleine McCann saga will come to seem as emblematic of its time as the mass outbreak of angry sentimentalism that erupted post-Diana.
With one crucial difference.
The death of Diana and the subsequent mourning had a beginning, a middle and an end.
Madeleine McCann was all beginning and middle.
The end never materialised.
I still think that's why people were so eager to believe the worst about Gerry and especially Kate McCann -- because that would have brought the story to a close and allowed the watching audience of millions to move onwards and upwards to the next big thing.
Having invested so much emotional energy into the story, they were cheated of closure, so turned ruthlessly on the two people who potentially could have given it to them.
And that's why there's still such an unwillingness among many to accept that the McCanns' names really have been conclusively cleared.
Take the Portuguese statement at face value, rather than deciphering it for clues that Madeleine's parents really were guilty of her murder and are only being exonerated because they have powerful friends who put pressure on the authorities in Praia da Luz, and what it means is that there still isn't closure and there's precious little prospect of there ever being so.
It means living with ambiguity.
Well, if that's what it's like for casual observers whose only contact with Madeleine came through Sky News and the Daily Express, it beggars belief how traumatic the not knowing must be for her parents.
For the sake of their daughter, they went along with the media desire to cast them as the equivalent of housemates in a gruesome version of a reality TV show and, like all Big Brother wannabes who start out believing they can control how they're portrayed, they found out that the format was bigger than them and that their parts had already been allocated.
You could see it as a warning to other parents who find themselves in a similar position not to repeat the same mistake -- except that the McCanns' is a fate you couldn't wish on anyone, however metaphorically.
Besides, any parent whose child went missing probably would blunder into the same errors, as well as adding a few of their own.
All Kate and Gerry did from the start, after all, was try to find their daughter.
That they became bigger hate figures in some people's eyes than the man who took Madeleine away and, in all probability, murdered her, says more about our society's dysfunctional attitude to the celebrities it craves and simultaneously seeks to destroy than it ever did about them.
Extract From: Independent.ie
Madeleine McCann: Parents await access police dossier
Madeleine McCann: Parents await access police dossier
LIVERPOOL-born Kate McCann and her husband Gerry are still awaiting access to Portuguese police files into the disappearance of daughter Madeleine.
Their legal team in Portugal was expected to be granted official permission to look at the massive dossier of documents by the end of this week.
But despite the leaking of a detailed 57-page summary of the file on Tuesday, the McCanns lawyers have so far not heard from the authorities.
Extract From: Liverpool Echo
Portugal closes case of missing British girl
Portugal closes case of missing British girl
By BARRY HATTON LISBON, Portugal
Portugal's attorney general ordered police Monday to halt their investigation into the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann because detectives uncovered no evidence of a crime during their 14-month probe.
The case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges, Attorney-General Fernando Pinto Monteiro's office said in a statement.
Detectives found no reason to charge any of the three people named as suspects: Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry and local man Robert Murat, the statement said.
All three denied involvement.
After the announcement, the McCanns said being named suspects in the case had damaged the search for Madeleine."In an order issued today, ... the investigation into the disappearance of the minor Madeleine McCann has been halted because no evidence was discovered of any crime committed by the suspects," the attorney general's statement said.
It added the investigation could be reopened "if new evidence emerges from any serious, pertinent and authoritative" source.
The disappearance of the blond-haired girl in May 2007 immediately attracted intense global media attention which continued unabated as her parents were named as suspects and few clues turned up to explain how she mysteriously vanished from a hotel room during a family vacation in Portugal's southern Algarve region.
She went missing a few days before her fourth birthday and there has been no reliable indication of what might have happened to her despite numerous reported sightings from around the world.
The McCanns have waged a far-reaching international campaign to find their daughter.
Through regular statements to the media and via a Web page, they kept the search for Madeleine in the public eye.
Pope Benedict XVI blessed the McCanns, who are Catholics, and a photo of their daughter during his weekly general audience at the Vatican a few weeks after her disappearance.
Celebrities, including "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and soccer star David Beckham, made public appeals that helped raise money for a Find Madeleine fund.
The McCanns also traveled to Brussels, Morocco and Spain in their effort to raise public awareness of their daughter's disappearance.
And they campaigned for the introduction of a Europe-wide child abduction alert similar to the Amber Alert system in the United States.
The ruling ends months of anguish for the three suspects who denied their involvement from the start and eases pressure on Portuguese police whose failure to make progress under intense public scrutiny at home and abroad.
The McCanns' reacted to the Portuguese decision by expressing their anguish over being named suspects.
"It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguidos (suspects) and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction," Kate McCann told reporters in England.
"Equally, it has been devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had on the search for Madeleine."
Rogerio Alves, one of the McCanns' Portuguese lawyers, told state broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa the decision was "an undoubted victory.
He said the couple's legal team intended to examine the police file to see whether there were any leads which private investigators they have hired could follow up.
Lawyers for the McCanns may now ask a judge to grant them access to the police file, which officials have said runs to 10 volumes.
Access to the case file is permitted, at a judge's discretion, to "interested parties."
"We look forward to scrutinizing the police files to see what has actually been done, and more importantly what can still be done as we leave no stone unturned in our search for our little girl," Kate McCann said. Madeleine's parents said she vanished from their hotel room while they were eating dinner with friends at a resort's poolside restaurant in the sleepy vacation town of Praia da Luz, about 120 miles south of Lisbon.
They had left her and her twin siblings, a year younger, alone in the room while they ate at the restaurant about 50 yards away.
Police previously said DNA evidence, though inconclusive, led them to doubt the McCann's version of events.
The Portuguese police faced criticism from the family and others at home and abroad for their failure to find out what happened to Madeline.
The McCanns' family and friends complained that the police were slow to react to the disappearance and apparently struggled to build a case.
The lack of sophisticated equipment led Portuguese authorities to ask British police for help with forensic tests.
Defending their investigation, Portuguese officials said thousands of children go missing worldwide each year and are never found.
Extract From: The Associated Press
McCann Lawyers See Police Files
McCann Lawyers See Police Files
Lawyers for Gerry and Kate McCann will be looking for unexplored leads later this week as they are given access to the files compiled by detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.
Kate and Gerry McCann are to continue their hunt for Madeleine This will help the couple's private investigators continue their search for the missing girl - and possibly lead to a legal action against Portuguese authorities.
After having their status as "arguidos" or formal suspects lifted, the McCanns have not ruled out suing the police who they say wrongly accused them of involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell told Sky News: "By the end of this week, lawyers will have complete access to everything. "
They will have three weeks to examine it in detail and feed that all back to Gerry and Kate and the private investigators.
" He went on: "They want to find their daughter - it's as simple as that and this information is a key element in that.
They are relieved, of course, that they are no longer 'arguido' or suspect but frankly the whole thing was an unnecessary, wrongly imposed distraction.
Asked if the McCanns intend to take legal action against the Portuguese police, he said: "They will not hesitate from taking action if they feel it is necessary."
The couple, both 40, now have "a sense of being free" but have been left "drained by the whole thing".
He said: " Of course they are angry but it's not the time for throwing accusations around or pointing the finger of blame."
The focus is back on the search for their daughter, said Mr Mitchell, as the couple "cling to the hope that she is alive".
Gerry and Kate McCann looked drawn and tired as they addressed a press conference in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire, last night.
Mrs McCann read a brief statement in which she made a fresh appeal for information about Madeleine's whereabouts and vowed to keep looking for her daughter.
Answering questions from journalists, her husband refused to rule out either going back to Portugal or taking legal action against the Portuguese authorities.
Mr McCann said: "We don't have any immediate plans to return to Portugal at the moment. "
Obviously we want to digest the statement and also to get access to the files to see what can still be done.
He said any legal action would be "secondary" to finding their daughter.
Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year as her parents dined in a tapas restaurant with friends nearby.
After an exhaustive investigation lasting more than 14 months, Portuguese prosecutors announced that they had no evidence that the three suspects in the case committed any crimes.
The inquiry can be reopened if credible new evidence comes to light, the Portuguese attorney-general's office said.
Ex-detective Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the case last October after criticising British police, will publish a book containing allegations against the couple on Thursday.
Putting the Focus back where it belongs
Putting the Focus back where it belongs
By Judi McLeod
The focus must be placed on Prai de Luz. I hope the test results put the focus back on Maddie, said the email that reached Canada Free Press (CFP) this morning.
Had anybody but Danie Krugel sent the email, I would not have got the jolt of adrenalin upon reading it.
Former South African police superintendent Danie Krugel has been quietly working on the Maddie casewith the consent of her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, using the Matter Oriented System (MOS) equipment he has developed.
The discovery and possible application of the technique appears to be nothing less than revolutionary, a team of five scientists concluded on MOS, on June 12, 2008. (See here).
Like many things revolutionary with hard to understand names, MOS successfully finds small bits of DNA belong to missing persons, dead or alive.
It is in the hauntingly beautiful surroundings of the Portuguese coast where Krugel believes Madeleine McCanns tiny corpse is buried.
The site he wanted searched is but 900m away from the Ocean Club resort apartment where the McCann family were staying in Praia de Luz when Maddie went missing, a few days shy of her 4th birthday in May 2007.
Even as people (including CFP) were writing him letters begging him to get involved in the Maddie case, Krugel spent three nights searching for Maddie in July of 2007, putting him on the scene only two months after she went missing.
Using his years of experience as a police superintendent, he remained mum to the press about details of his findings from the search for fear of someone trying to disturb the scene.
Krugel wanted Portuguese police to put sniffer dogs and a full forensic team to suss out the area, but as far as anyone knows, that never happened.
The lure that drew him to the Madeleine McCann case was universal.
Like so many others in so many posts around the globe, Krugel simply fell in love with little Maddies picture.
When I first saw Madeleines face in the paper, I could see this child had an angels face, he told thestar.co.za in January this year.
Immediately I wanted to catch the person who took this child.
There is somebody out there who is guilty.
That person belongs in a place where he must not see the blue sky.
Initially ridiculed by the mainstream media when his name was first associated with the heartbreaking hunt for Maddie, Krugel became a household name in South Africa after creating a DNA tracking device which solved a 19-year long mystery about the whereabouts of six schoolgirls snatched by a pedophile.
His search for Maddie began with a single strand of the golden hair from one of the little girls coat.
It had been given to him by her father.
Krugel, who has always maintained a low profile, finds missing personsfor free.
Now some fourteen months after Maddie went missing, the Portuguese police are about to stamp the word CLOSED on Maddies file.
Although Portugals attorney general Fernando Pinto Monteiro used a PR announcement, The Maddie case will have a solution on Monday, conventional wisdom says that the solution is to officially wind up the investigation.
The angelic little girl whose fate was followed worldwide, will now be relegated to Cold Case status, at least as far as the official police investigation is concerned.
Maddies parents, named as suspects 10 months ago, and linked by official leaks alleging DNA evidence linked to them, will finally have access to the case files.
Eleven UK newspapers have had to fork out about 500,000 and an apology to Robert Murat in damages over allegations that he was involved in Madeleine McCanns disappearance.
I am almost 90% sure Madeleine is dead, Krugel says.
There is always the slight possibility that she could be held hostage in one of the houses in the area on my map, but I feel this is very unlikely.
If her body had been moved, my equipment would tell me she is no longer there. (VISIT HERE)
Krugels belief that Maddie lies dead in Portugal has nothing to do with dashing hope for all those who love the little girl with a passion for pink or anything macabre.
The sooner we find Madeleines body, the sooner the police can find out who murdered her, he insists.
In life things have a tendency to come full circle, and in the end, a glimmer of hope is left in the Dark Days of Maddie.
It comes from the unflagging belief of Danie Krugel who wants beyond everything to put the focus back on Maddie.
Extract From: CFP Crimewatch
The Article below is an update with reference to the one dated 25/06/08 and 06/06/08 (shown below)
The Article below is an update with reference to the one dated 25/06/08 and 06/06/08 (shown below)
Exclusive: Scots charity firm boss quits over after sick Madeleine McCann joke
By Joanne Curran
A CHARITY boss facing the sack over a sick joke about Madeleine McCann has quit her job.
Senior manager Lynn McBain was suspended and faced a disciplinary hearing because of the jibe.
The Record told last month how she referred in a staff newsletter to "McCann oven chips" disappearing from her oven after she left them in for 20 minutes.
Madeleine, four, disappeared from her family's holiday flat in Portugal 14 months ago.
McBain resigned before her showdown with charity bosses.
She wrote the tasteless gag in a 10- page booklet for Enable Scotland.
McBain, who lives in West Kilbride, Ayrshire, also insulted the family of a woman with learning difficulties who was cared for by the charity.
She referred to the woman's sisters, from Ayrshire, as "witches" who had come to blows with staff.
In the newsletter, McBain thanked her "lovely partner" for his "awful jokes" and invited people to send their own.
But the joke backfired when the sisters complained to Enable chiefs about the newsletter.
A source at Enable said: "If she hadn't resigned, it was very likely she would have been fired.
I think she knew her time was up.
What she did was very offensive.
" A spokeswoman for Enable said: "Our directors and trustees wish to apologise unreservedly to the families concerned for the offensive and unsuitable material in this newsletter.
" She added: "I can confirm a senior manager has resigned but our investigation will not end there.
"We will continue to look into how this happened and how we can prevent it from happening in the future."
Extract From: DailyRecord.co.uk
Kate and Gerry McCann could be cleared on Monday
Kate and Gerry McCann could be cleared on Monday
By Daily Telegraph Reporter Last Updated: 8:21PM BST 16/07/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann could find out on Monday if they are to be formally cleared of involvement in their daughter's disappearance.
Portugal's attorney-general has said he will announce a "solution" to the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Fernando Pinto Monteiro's comments also fuelled speculation that the case could finally be drawing to a close.
Mr Pinto Monteiro said in Lisbon yesterday: "The 'Maddie Case' will have a solution on Monday and you will hear of it."
Reports in Portugal suggested he would announce whether the case would be closed, charges would be brought or the police would be asked to undertake further inquiries.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said the family, whose daughter went missing from their holiday apartment on May 3 last year, had not been contacted by the Portuguese authorities.
"We've heard nothing official and our lawyers have heard nothing official," he said. "It may well be true, but we can't comment because we haven't heard. We're not going to prejudice anything."
Extract From Telegraph.co.uk
Madeleine McCann: Robert Murat to get libel damages from British newspapers
By Richard Edwards
Last Updated: 5:34PM BST 15/07/2008
Robert Murat, the British expatriate made a formal suspect over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has settled one of the widest ranging libel claims in the history of British media.
A relative of Robert Murat said the British reports had left 'unfair stains' over his name
The 34-year-old, who lived 100 yards from the Portuguese apartment where the missing girl was last seen, launched proceedings against 11 newspapers in April- the largest number of separate damages claims made against the British media by one person on the same issue.
Although there was speculation from media lawyers that Mr Murat could receive around 2million, it is understood the figure is nearer to 500,000.
He is understood to have settled with the lawyers of all the newspapers including The Evening Standard, The Daily Mail, the Mirror group, the Express group, The Sun and The Scotsman.
Two claims against The Metro and The News of the World were said to be "peripheral".
Mr Murat will be in the High Court in London on Thursday to receive apologies from the newspapers and is expecting a number of them to be read out in open court.
He and his family were believed to have been particularly aggrieved by a number of reports in the aftermath of his being made an arguido, or official suspect, which repeated claims made by Portuguese media.
He was questioned by police for 17 hours last May, less than two weeks after Madeleine's disappearance from the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, and was subsequently made an arguido.
He has always strongly protested his innocence.
In at least one case - the false allegation that there were pornographic images on his computer - Portuguese media later published corrections.
A relative of Mr Murat said the British reports had left "unfair stains on the name of a man against whom there is not a shred of evidence".
Mr Murat was represented by London-based law firm Simons Muirhead and Burton.
The other formal suspects in the case are Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
Express Newspapers printed front-page apologies to the McCanns for running stories falsely suggesting they were involved in their daughter's disappearance.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
FOR MORE NEWS ON THIS CLICK MORE NEWS LINK ABOVE
McCANNS WELCOME EU ALERT BACKING
Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed European Parliament backing for an EU-wide missing child alert system to help prevent child abductions across borders.
The parents of Madeleine McCann described as "wonderful news" the fact that a declaration supporting the couple's plea for action has now attracted sufficient MEPs' signatures to become a formal resolution.
It now has backing from at least 393 MEPs - achieving the minimum required support of half the 785 European Parliament members before a resolution is considered for legislation.
And although the resolution has no legal force it now puts serious political and moral pressure on the European Commission and EU governments to adopt legally-binding measures to increase the chances of finding missing children.
A joint statement issued by the McCanns said: "This is wonderful news and we would like to thank every single MEP who has signed the declaration.
By supporting such a European wide structure (a network of national child alert systems), each and every one is helping to make Europe a safer place for children.
"Hopefully this will mean that far fewer families have to suffer the sort of pain we are continuing to go through. We now urge the Commission to act swiftly in taking this forward in practical terms"
The McCanns visited MEPs in Brussels in April as part of their campaign to mobilise action following the disappearance of Madeleine during a family holiday in Portugal more than a year ago.
By then they had already visited Washington to see how a US "Amber Alert" early warning raised the alarm across state lines and lead to the safe return of hundreds of children.
They asked for a similar network to be extended across the 27 EU countries.
Conservative MEP and European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott, who helped organise the McCanns' visit to Brussels and another to Strasbourg last month to keep up support, formally presented the resolution to EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
He said: I am very pleased that a majority of MEPs have backed this important initiative, started by Kate and Gerry McCann out of their personal tragedy.
Now it has real impetus across the EU.
Four hundred children have been saved in the USA in five years by this system.
Two years ago - before Madeleine disappeared - a similar initiative in the European Parliament failed to attract sufficient support to be taken up by ministers.
But the publicity surrounding the case means the current French EU presidency is now likely to give the issue a big push in the next few months.
Extract From: The Press Association.
MADELEINE McCANN: KATE AND GERRY'S FURY AT 'CLUB' DEVOTED TO PROSECUTING THEM
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter Last Updated: 12:25AM BST 09/07/2008
Gerry and Kate McCann have expressed their anger at the establishment of a fee-paying "club" dedicated to seeing them prosecuted over the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.
Kate and Gerry McCann are determined to do everything necessary to search for their daughter
A retired British solicitor, Tony Bennett, has set up a fund called The Madeleine Foundation, which aims to bring a private prosecution against the McCanns for alleged child neglect.
But Madeleine's parents fear members of the public will inadvertently donate money to it because they may mistake it for the McCanns' own Madeleine Fund, which pays for private investigations into her whereabouts.
Mr Bennett, 60, who has in the past worked with the family of Stuart Lubbock, the man found dead in Michael Barrymore's swimming pool in 2001, described his fund as a subscription-only members' club, charging a 10 annual fee.
Last year he tried unsuccessfully to launch a private prosecution against the McCanns, only to be told by magistrates in Leicester that they had no jurisdiction over the case, because Madeleine disappeared in Portugal. Mr Bennett said: "Some of the money immediately raised will be used to pay for a barrister to give his or her opinion on how best to proceed with a legal action against the McCanns. "
We are a group of people, which is rapidly growing in number, who want to get to the truth of what happened to Madeleine.
"We will also campaign for changes to the law about parents who leave children on their own. "
If you go on the internet and look at some of the forums and blogs about Madeleine, there is a large and significant number of people who feel powerless and who want to do something about it.
Mr Bennett said the official website for the Madeleine Foundation, which will not have charitable status, is about to go live.
He said all the money raised would be used in an above board way and would be openly accounted for.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: It is a great shame that Mr Bennett feels the need to make money out of Madeleine McCann.
He did not seek permission from Gerry or Kate to use Madeleine's name.
This so-called foundation is in no way doing anything to help find Madeleine.
"It purports to be a foundation helping the search for Madeleine but it does nothing at all to help that search and goes against Gerry and Kate. "
Mr Bennett has already tried to take a private prosecution against Gerry and Kate but a court said it has no jurisdiction over something which allegedly happened in Portugal.
Extract From: Telegraph.co
MADELEINE McCANN: JUDGE'S PLEA
Last Updated: 1:23PM BST 07/07/2008
This is the full text of the judge's plea for help in the search for Madeleine:
"I know the police authorities and other official law enforcement agencies in this country, in Portugal and elsewhere have striven and will continue to strive to trace Madeleine. "
I urge anyone who has any information however small or tenuous to come forward now so that further inquiries can be made.
"There is, of course, at least one person who knows what has happened to Madeleine, and where she may be found. "
I ponder about that person: whether that person has a heart and can understand what it must be like for Madeleine to have been torn and secreted from her parents and siblings whom she loves and felt secure with, and whom she no doubt misses and grieves for.
"Whether that person has a conscience or any feeling of guilt, remorse or even cares about the hurt which has been caused to an innocent little girl: whether that person has a faith and belief, and what explanation or justification that person will give to God. "
I entreat that person, whoever and wherever you may be, to show mercy and compassion and come forward now to tell us where Madeleine is to be found.
"I hope and pray that Madeleine will be found very soon alive and well."
The judge added that Madeleine would remain a ward of court until further order.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
MADELEINE McCANN PARENTS GAIN ACCESS TO POLICE FILES
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 2:54PM BST 07/07/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann have been given fresh hope of a breakthrough in the search for their missing daughter Madeleine after police agreed to give them access to some of their files on the case.
To see the video click this Link:
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
McCANNS HIRE NEW TEAM OF BRITISH DETECTIVES
By Nick Britten Last Updated: 4:00PM BST 02/07/2008
Gerry and Kate McCann have hired a new team of British detectives after the Spanish firm they employed failed to find Madeleine.
Gerry and Kate McCann speaking at the Ocean Club Resort in Portugal the night after Madeleine disappeared The couple have been paying Spain-based Metodo 3 50,000 a month for nine months but they have not located Madeleine's whereabouts or found out what has happened to her.
Now it is understood they have been placed in an 8,000 retainer while a new team has been assembled in London, primarily in the hope that the police files into the investigation will be released, giving them new clues to follow up.
The McCanns are expected to have their arguido status lifted in the coming weeks.
When it is, their lawyers will demand access to the paperwork.
The files, thought to run to several boxes, will be passed to a team of private detectives to pour through looking for fresh leads.
They are believed to contain no theory about what may have happened to the four-year-old, but may well throw up new leads.
Details about the new team, and what they are being paid, are being kept under wraps.
A source close to the McCanns said today: "There is a new team working on it, based primarily in the UK although there are elements working abroad. "
They don't want to be identified for operational reasons.
If we get access to any official documentation - either from Portugal or Britain - it will be examined by them.
"Any active leads it is felt the police have not followed up properly or left open-ended, they would move on."
Friends and neighbours of Gerry and Kate McCann this morning vowed to stand by the couple and called for the Portuguese police to leave them alone.
After news emerged that Portuguese police are closing their inquiry into Madeleine's death, residents in Rothley, Leics, accused the police of bungling the investigation and called for the couple's status as suspects to be lifted immediately.
Mr McCann, 39, and his 40-year-old wife have been told they will know their fate by the middle of August.
Technically the public prosecutor could still press ahead with a prosecution but in the light of such lack of evidence and the police shelving their investigation it is virtually inconceivable.
Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk
Portuguese police close the file on Maddie
Last updated at 23:56pm on 01.07.08
Madeleine McCann's parents yesterday demanded their names be cleared amid reports that Portuguese detectives have ended a 14-month investigation into her disappearance.
The inquiry has apparently failed to find any evidence to support the decision to name Kate and Gerry as official suspects, or arguidos.
The McCanns, both 40, hope to be formally exonerated within days.
No evidence: Kate and Gerry McCann, official suspects since last September are finally set to be cleared.
They have always protested their innocence Clarence Mitchell, the family's spokesman, said: 'They should never have been put in this position.
They have suffered long enough.
'We know of cases where people in Portugal have been left arguidos for years.
If that happened to Kate and Gerry, it would be completely immoral.
Missing: Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 last year He said officers should hand over the case files so that the McCanns' private detectives can continue the global hunt for Madeleine.
Three Portuguese newspapers report that police have filed their final dossier to the public prosecutor.
Fernando Pinto Monteiro, the country's attorney general, confirmed the prosecutor was making a decision on whether to close the case.
According to anonymous sources, the investigation will be 'archived' without charges being brought against any of the three named suspects - the McCanns and Robert Murat, a British ex-pat.
The reports suggest Madeleine's parents will not face charges of neglect over their decision to leave their three children alone while they ate dinner at a tapas bar 50 yards from their apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve.
The couple have told of their guilt that they were not with Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie on the night of May 3 last year when they believe an abductor struck.
Jornal de Noticias, a respected newspaper, said detectives could not even find evidence to show whether Madeleine was kidnapped or had died in the apartment.
The judge overseeing the case is expected to shelve the investigation without coming to any conclusion.
The case files would then be opened to the suspects' legal teams for the first time, allowing them to see why they were named as arguidos.
Relief: Robert Murat, the first official suspect in the case, is also due to be cleared Enlarge A second paper, Correio da Manha, said police 'did not have sufficient evidence to allow formal charges to be brought against the McCanns in the disappearance of their daughter'.
Carlos Pinto de Abreu, a lawyer for the McCanns, said he wanted to examine the case files 'from the first to the last page' to find any clues which could have been missed in the police investigation.
He said his clients, both doctors from the village of Rothley in Leicestershire, remained determined to do everything possible to find their missing daughter.
A message written in the sand on a beach near Praia da Luz six months after Madeleine vanished from the McCanns holiday apartment Mr Mitchell said the couple's legal team did not expect a formal decision about their fate until August.
He said: 'The Portuguese prosecutor will make the final decision.
Until we have it officially from him, we won't necessarily believe it to be true.
The search for Madeleine will go on with or without the police's assistance.
Kate and Gerry will never give up the search for their daughter.
Madeleine went missing days before her fourth birthday Mr Mitchell said Portuguese police could have leaked the story to the newspapers to prepare public opinion there for the end of the case.
The McCanns have been the victims of a series of smears in Portugal, where a decision to clear them of any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance would prove unpopular.
Friends of the couple confirmed they were on holiday with the twins.
This will be their first real family break since Madeleine vanished days before her fourth birthday.
Mr Murat, a 34-year-old property consultant, has refused to speak about the case until he is officially cleared.
His lawyer Francisco Pagarete said: 'Robert had nothing to do with this from the beginning and that's what we want to be written.' Mr Murat has begun a libel action against 11 UK newspapers and a television station.
Extract from: thisislondon.co.uk
No decision yet' on Madeleine investigation
PA and AP Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Portugal's Attorney-General Fernando Pinto Monteiro today dismissed claims that the Madeleine McCann investigation is about to be shelved.
He said that police have completed their final report into the disappearance but officials have taken no decision yet on whether to drop the case.
Officials will "determine whether further inquiries are needed or whether the conditions are in place for the investigation to be closed," he said in a statement.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who are official suspects in the case, had been awaiting news after reports in three Portuguese newspapers today that the 14-month investigation has reached a dead end and the case is to be closed.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "As I understand, the attorney general has clarified that the police have effectively dropped all possible lines of inquiry and have handed their files to the prosecutor and he will make the final decision on whether Kate and Gerry are charged or the investigation is closed. "
The attorney general has basically said that the police inquiry is over and they've given all the material to the prosecutor, so the investigation rolls on but the police's bit is now over.
He said that if the inquiry is to be discontinued, then police files should be handed over to the McCanns' ongoing private investigation and that the search would continue.
Madeleine disappeared on 3 May last year.
The three-year-old had been on holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz with her parents, from Rothley, Leicestershire, when she vanished from the family's apartment.
During the investigation into her disappearance, detectives named Mr McCann, 39, and 40-year-old Mrs McCann as formal suspects in the case.
Two Portuguese newspapers reported today that police were dropping the inquiry but could re-open it if new evidence emerges.
The papers cited unidentified police sources.
Mr Mitchell said: "If the reports are true, it is to be welcomed that no charges are to be brought and it is entirely right because Kate and Gerry are innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance and always have been. "
They have suffered for far too long in this process and the Portuguese authorities must now lift their arguido status.
" He continued: "The police themselves must continue looking for Madeleine.
We are concerned that if they are to simply shelve the case then what will happen to all of the information in their files?
"They must be made available to our investigators, who are working extremely hard to find Madeleine. "
If the police feel that they can no longer investigate the case that is a decision for them.
Extract from: independent.co.uk
UPDATE>>>The Article below is an update with reference to the one dated 06/06/08 (shown below)
CHARITY WORKER IN MADDIE SICK JOKE ROW
A charity boss from West Kilbride has been suspended over a sick joke about Madeleine McCann.
Senior manager Lynn McBain was suspended earlier this month after referring in a staff newsletter to the 4-year-old girl who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal over a year ago.
Some readers were left shocked after she joked that McCann oven chips had disappeared from her oven after she left them there for 20 minutes.
The 10-page booklet for Enable Scotland - who campaign for a better life for children and adults with learning disabilities - also allegedly insulted the family of a woman with learning difficulties, who is a client of the charity.
Extract from Largs and Millport Weekly News.
FEARFUL MCCANNS GET PANIC ALARMS
EXCLUSIVE Security beefed up after evil threats
By Tom Latchem And Tracey Kandohla Tom.Latchem@People.Co.Uk
Maddie McCann's anguished parents have installed panic alarms at their home after a wave of vile threats.
Kate and Gerry McCann got offensive and menacing letters and emails - including two that threatened to kill them.
The couple have installed a state-of-the-art security system at their 600,000 detached home.
The gear, costing "several thousand" pounds, is understood to include CCTV and panic buttons in most rooms to alert cops in an emergency.
Police are examining the threats in a bid to track down the senders.
One of the most disturbing messages suggested an intruder would target five-year-old Maddie's bedroom.
Doctors Kate, 40, and Gerry, 3 9, have left the room unchanged since their daughter vanished from their holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, nearly 14 months ago.
Advertisement A source close to the couple said yesterday: "They have had threats made against them which they find both very worrying and upsetting. "
Unfortunately there are some lunatics out there.
There have been lots of offensive and vicious letters, with at least two talking about killing them.
"Security surrounding Kate and Gerry has been reviewed. It means they can sleep better at night. They will not let these people break them down."
There was a surge in abusive mail arriving at the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leics, after they appeared in an ITV documentary last month.
The source said it is feared the couple's high-profile visit to Strasbourg last week will trigger more.
Kate and Gerry were in the French city to campaign for a Europe-wide alert system for abducted children.
The strain of the couple's ordeal was obvious in Kate's gaunt features.
A Leicestershire police spokesman said: Several letters have been passed to us.
We are investigating threats made against the McCanns.
Madeleine McCann: parents' court bid for information
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter Last Updated: 3:08AM BST 21/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann are to ask a High Court judge to order the release of police documents which they hope will kick-start the search for their missing daughter Madeleine, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Kate and Gerry McCann are determined to everything necessary to search for their daughter The McCanns hope their application to Mrs Justice Hogg will result in Leicestershire Police opening their files on scores of reported sightings of Madeleine, most of which have been passed on to them by police in Portugal, where the four-year-old disappeared in May last year.
Until now police in Leicestershire, the McCanns' home county, have refused the couple's requests for information about sightings, saying they are bound by the terms of an agreement with Portuguese police.
But Mr and Mrs McCann, who retain the services of a Spanish-based detective agency, are anxious to make sure that every possible lead has been checked out, which they believe the Portuguese police, whose investigation is gradually being wound down, may not be able to do.
The Telegraph can also disclose that Madeleine was made a ward of court last summer at the request of the McCanns, to empower judges to act in her best interests in any legal dispute such as the case which is about to be heard.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns spokesman, said: I can state that on the instigation of Gerry and Kate McCann Madeleine is a ward of the High Court of England and Wales.
An application has been made on Madeleines behalf by her parents for disclosure of certain documents.
The hearing is currently scheduled for July 7 in the High Court in London.
It has been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate McCann to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary to search for their daughter, as would any parent.
This application is just part of their search for Madeleine.
Madeleines status as a ward of court has never been disclosed by her parents, who quietly made a wardship application in the High Court just weeks after she went missing.
The couples legal team had advised them to ask for Madeleine to be made a ward of court because wardship status gives the courts certain statutory powers to act on her behalf in legal disputes such as the one which has arisen with Leicestershire police.
They still believe their daughter is alive and hope the police files may contain information which could yet lead to a breakthrough.
The case is listed to be heard in open court on July 7 in the Family Division of the High Court in London, and is expected to be contested by Leicestershire Police, according to legal sources.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry have always said that they will do whatever is necessary to find Madeleine and that they will leave no stone unturned in their search for their daughter. "
They will take whatever legal steps are necessary if there is information out there that can assist their private investigation into finding Madeleine.
Beyond that I cannot make any comment.
Mr Mitchell said the hearing would not involve any attempt by the McCanns to clear their names by proving they were not involved in their daughter's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
They remain official suspects, or arguidos, in Portugal.
In recent months the couple have become increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the Portuguese investigation, and they suspect that many possible sightings of Madeleine have not been followed up at all.
If they are given access to the police files on reported sightings, each one will be looked into by private investigators retained by the couple.
For the past year the McCanns have employed Metodo 3, a Barcelona-based detective agency, to carry out an investigation in parallel with the Portuguese police inquiry.
The agency has checked out sightings as far afield as North Africa and South America all of which have proved to be false using either its own staff or affiliated firms, which it says it can do far more quickly than the police.
In one instance earlier this year, the agency ruled out a sighting of Madeleine in Chile within three hours of receiving a tip-off, by employing local investigators to track down the girl concerned.
The agency argues that police would have taken days to achieve a similar result because they would have been hampered by bureaucracy and official procedure.
Earlier this week Portugal's Attorney General suggested that police files may be opened up at the end of July, but the McCanns fear his comments may prove to be another false dawn.
Their case is being heard in the Family Division because it involves the welfare of a child.
Mrs Justice Hogg, a specialist in child welfare cases, is the sister of former cabinet minister Douglas Hogg and the daughter of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham.
Extract from: Telegraph
McCanns' alert proposal wins more support
More MEPs have backed Leicestershire couple Gerry and Kate McCann's call for a European child abduction alerts system.
The McCanns visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg needing another 182 signatures to make up the 393 needed to have their proposal published and sent to the European Commission president.
Now the Rothley couple are just 85 short following a ADVERTISEMENT series of meetings with MEPs.
The extra names, giving them 308 in total, mean they have until september to collect the rest.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry McCann are very pleased with the support of MEPs since their visit.
"Clearly 85 more MEPs need to be convinced and that work will be continuing very much behind the scenes. "
Kate and Gerry are hopeful they can achieve those signatures before the deadline of July 24.
A declaration signed by a majority of MEPs would carry no legal weight but it would indicate a political will to see the alerts system implemented.
Madeleine McCann went missing from her family's holiday apartment, in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 last year and has never been found.
The McCanns believe a European version of the Amber Alert system in the US, which notifies the public via media across the US when police confirm a child has been abducted, would have helped the search for their daughter, then aged three, in the crucial hours after her disappearance.
Extract from Press Association
McCanns gain MEP alert support
The parents of Madeleine McCann are on course to win the vital backing of MEPs for a Europe-wide child abduction alert system.
In the 36 hours since the start of their visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, another 72 Euro MPs signed up to their campaign, said the McCanns' spokesman.
However, in what could be a critically important development, the couple have also been told that the parliament's president is set to give them more time to secure the support required.
Gerry and Kate McCann need the signatures of 393 members - that is more than half the total number - by July 24 to see a written declaration of the cross-border alert published and sent to the European Commission President.
A signed declaration carries no legal weight but suggests a political will to see such a scheme implemented.
The McCanns launched their drive for the US-style Amber Alert in Brussels in April, but travelled to Strasbourg needing another 182 members' signatures.
Officials said they had received a modest 15 additional names by the end of their day-long visit.
But the Leicestershire couple's gruelling series of meetings with leading MEPs throughout the day appears to have paid off with a surge of support.
They needed another 110 MEPs to sign the declaration with the prospect of extra weeks to secure the necessary signatures.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "We are keen to get the number by the end of July but we are extremely encouraged by the number of MEPs who have signed it.
The hard work will continue until we get the required 110 signatures, but there's the possibility of the period being extended under European Parliament rules and that's a major boost.
Extract from The press association
Madeleine McCann: parents appeal to European Parliament
By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 5:04PM BST 17/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann are hopeful that their attempt to set up a European-wide missing child alert system could succeed after a number of meetings with MEPs in Strasbourg.
Gerry and Kate McCann have been speaking to MEPs The couple spent the day trying to convince parliamentarians that they should sign a written declaration which, if it gets enough support, will be sent to the European President and published.
They have now gathered 225 signatures and need a further 168 by the close of the plenary session at the end of July to ensure the declaration is formally recognised.
Although it carries no legal weight, the McCanns believe it will help them win the moral argument over whether such a cross-border system is needed.
Mr McCann said: "This is an important issue and Europe needs to work together.
We want to get as many signatures as possible but there's limited time left.
The couple, 40, from Rothley in Leicestershire, launched the drive for an American-style Amber Alert in April, 11 months after Madeleine went missing from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve.
They believe a European version of Amber Alert - which notifies the public via media across America when police confirm a child has been abducted - would have helped the search for their daughter in the crucial hours after her disappearance.
The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: We are very encouraged by the support that many MEPs have shown by saying they will sign the declaration.
Kate and Gerry believe it is achievable.
In Portugal, the Attorney General Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro told a local newspaper that the couple should find out in July what evidence the police have against them after months of secrecy.
The couple, who are "arguidos" or formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter, should get full access to the police files, he said.
"From July the (Madeleine) case will cease to be covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to consultation by all parties involved," he told 24 Horas. "
I do not know which date, but in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial secrecy.
" Mr Mitchell gave a cautious welcome to the news: "
Despite the attorney general's comment in the Portuguese press, neither Kate and Gerry, nor their lawyers, have heard nothing to this effect.
"They simply will not be commenting until it is known for a fact that the judicial secrecy is lifted. "
If that happens, clearly this is something to be welcomed.
Their lawyers would once again urge the authorities to lift their arguido status as soon as possible.
Judicial secrecy is normally lifted in Portugal after eight months, but investigating judge Pedro Frias has previously granted extensions to the period after state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes argued the case was "exceptionally complicated.
The McCanns still face the possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter and court documents disclosed last month confirmed they could face "abandonment" charges, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
It is understood for such a charge to succeed prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect their daughter.
Extract from: Telegraph
McCanns to finally find out 'evidence' Madeleine police have against them
Last updated at 18:22pm on 17.06.08
The McCanns will be told of evidence against them Gerry and Kate McCann will finally be told what evidence police have against them next month, Portugal's most senior law officer revealed today.
The couple will be given full access to the confidential case files.
The development will be a massive boost to the couple as they arrived in Strasbourg to urge MEPs to back their campaign for a Europe-wide alert system.
Gerry and Kate believe such cross-border co-operation would have helped police find their daughter when she went missing from their holiday flat on the Algarve in May last year aged three.
Attorney general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro told daily newspaper 24 Horas: "From July, the (Madeleine) case will cease to be covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to consultation by all parties involved.
"I do not know which date, but in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial secrecy."
Access to the confidential police files will allow the McCanns to begin building a defence - and demand that they are cleared.
24 Horas speculated the judicial secrecy will end on July 14 - more than 10 months after the couple were named suspects.
The McCanns, both 40-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, were made official suspects last September but have never been arrested or charged and vigorously deny any wrongdoing.
Their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell has previously described the endless delays in the process as "inhumane". Judicial secrecy is normally lifted in Portugal after eight months.
But investigating judge Pedro Frias has previously granted extensions to the period after state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes argued the case is "exceptionally complicated".
Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 last year Madeleine disappeared from her family's rented holiday apartment in the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, on May 3 last year.
Her parents left Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie, now two, sleeping while they dined at a nearby restaurant with seven holiday friends.
The McCanns still face the possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter.
Court documents revealed last month confirmed they could face "abandonment" charges, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
It is understood that for such a charge to succeed, prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect their daughter.
The police inquiry also covers possible abduction, homicide and concealment of a corpse.
Today a source at the court in Portimao told 24 Horas the case was not a priority.
The source said: "The Maddie case is not a priority. Nobody has been arrested. There is evidence of neglect or abandonment of the children, but that prosecution can wait."
The Portuguese authorities have previously been accused of using the secrecy laws to cover up their incompetence.
The President of the Portuguese Order of Lawyers, Antonio Marinho e Pinto, said: "There are strong reasons to fear that judicial secrecy is being used to conceal the fact that the police have gone down a blind alley and don't have a way out."
The McCann's lawyer Rogerio Alves reacted cautiously to the attorney general's statement, saying he understands he will not have access to the files until August. Portugal's courts take a month long summer break from July 15.
Mr Alves told 14 Horas: "I'm not going to comment on the case, but the information we have is that we will only have access to the case in August."
Extract from: thisislondon.co.uk
Many Americans were puzzled when they had a Civil emergency message shown on their television on Sunday, the message showed for a brief time on TVs in Akron and the surrounding six counties at around 10PM.
Emergency alert is a false alarm ... Published on Monday, Jun 16, 2008
Emergency alert
is a false alarm
Never mind.
There was no ''civil emergency'' in Akron or the surrounding six counties, as an electronic message on all television stations showed briefly around 10 p.m. Sunday.
Time Warner spokesman Bill Jasso said the cable company has no control over emergency messages and the mistake was traced to a dispatcher in Tuscarawas County attempting to issue an amber alert for a missing child.
The wrong message was sent out to all six counties.
But the child was found.
We have since heard that the message sent out was the wrong one and its being reported that the child was found.
Did you see this Civil Emergency Message and if so what did you make of it?
Do you think television stations should have a little more control over what is shown or should they still be bypassed when its an emergency?
Extract taken from Ohio.com
McCanns' new Euro MPs plea
By Martin Fricker 14/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will go back to the European Parliament next week in a last-ditch effort to persuade MEPs to back their missing child alert system.
The couple visited Strasbourg in April and begged for support for a scheme that would automatically alert police in all EU states as soon as a child goes missing.
But only a quarter of MEPs have signed up so far - and they need at least half of the Parliament's 785 members if it is to become law.
And they need the signatures by the end of the month.
The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We remain confident we will get them It's normal for MEPs to wait until the last minute to."
The family say Madeleine, four, who vanished in May 2007, may have been found if there had been alert system.
Get your MEP to sign by writing to them at European Parliament, Correspondence with Citizens, GOL03A012, L-2929 LUXEMBOURG.
Extract From: Mirror.co.uk
Charity boss facing sack over Madeleine McCann joke
Jun 6 2008 By Joanne Curran
A CHARITY boss is facing the sack over a sick joke about Madeleine McCann.
Senior manager Lynn McBain has been suspended after referring in a staff newsletter to "McCann oven chips" disappearing from her oven after she left them there for 20 minutes .
Madeleine, four, disappeared 13 months ago in Portugal.
The 10-page booklet for Enable Scotland also insulted the family of a woman with learning difficulties, who is a client of the charity. McBain described the woman's sisters, from Ayrshire, as "witches" who had come to blows with staff.
The family complained to charity chiefs when they were shown a copy of the booklet.
McBain, who is in charge of the content of the monthly newsletter, was then suspended pending an investigation.
A source at Enable said: Lynn McBain is supposed to be a role model on how the staff behave and how they speak to other people.
The jokes she has allowed in to this news letter are beyond belief.
They are totally inappropriate and offensive.
"It was also very clear to Enable's Ayrshire staff which family were being referred to in the story she wrote about 'the witches', which was also bang out of order."
In the newsletter, McBain, of West Kilbride, thanks her "lovely partner" for his "awful jokes" and invites people to send her ideas.
A spokesman for Enable said: "We were shocked and appalled by some of the contents that were inappropriate and offensive".
Our directors and trustees wish to apologise unreservedly to the families concerned for the offensive and unsuitable material in this newsletter."
Extract from The daily record
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Madeleine McCann's family to go on holiday a year after disappearance
By Andy Bloxham Last Updated: 2:15AM BST 04/06/2008
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago.
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago, according to reports.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who are both 40, decided to take the break for the sake of their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, who are two, according to a family friend.
Madeleine was abducted from the family's apartment in the coastal resort of Praia da Luz, on the Algarve in Portugal, last May.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine but this is the reality they are faced with.
"Nothing has been booked yet, but one thing's certain they won't be going to Portugal."
The family have spent only an occasional few days away from their home in Rothley, Leics, since returning from the Algarve on September 9, after Portuguese police made them official suspects.
A friend of the family told the Daily Mirror: "Everyone needs a holiday Kate and Gerry included.
It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken. Behind the scenes, there remains a lot of action to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely to get.
After all they've been through, they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family.
COMMENT FROM ME (Site Administrator): I do not normally make any comments about News reports taken from the media that I put on my website, the reason I am doing so this time is because it is a known fact that they print these articles with out having the information accurately verified.
Or exaggerations (of the facts that are given to them) are made.
But if this article, taken from the Daily Telegraph has any element of truth in it, in my way of thinking, it just about sums up the real reason the Portuguese Police wanted Gerry and Kate to return to Portugal for the alleged reconstruction, could it be so they can find someone to blame and close this case, possibly because they are unable to catch the real perpetrator.
NOTE:
I add that I do not agree with or endorse any of the comments made within this article.
Extract from the Daily telegraph
Madeleine McCann's parents being investigated for negligence
By Laura Clout Last Updated: 11:36PM BST 28/05/2008
Portuguese police are investigating the possibility that the parents of Madeleine McCann were negligent when they left their daughter alone in their unlocked holiday apartment on the night she went missing.
According to the first published court ruling on the case, the investigation covers abduction, homicide, exposure or abandonment of a child, and concealment of a corpse.
The judgment, released by the Evora Supreme Court of Justice in Portimao, gives the first official glimpse into the course of the police inquiry, which has hitherto been guarded by Portugals strict judicial secrecy laws.
The reference to abandonment suggests that detectives are looking for evidence that Gerry and Kate McCann were negligent in leaving Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old siblings unsupervised while they ate dinner with friends on the evening she vanished.
Under Portuguese law, the crime of abandonment carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Mr and Mrs McCann, who are arguidos - or suspects - in their daughters disappearance, have repeatedly denied neglecting Madeleine, who was three when she vanished from the familys holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, have said they were just 50 yards away when their daughter went missing, and had made regular checks on the children throughout the evening.
The court ruling also revealed that the public prosecutor wants access to the content of text, audio and video messages from 10 mobile phones believed to belong to Mr and Mrs McCann and a group of their British friends known as the 'Tapas Seven.
Police also want access to the content of 14 messages allegedly sent to Mr McCanns mobile phone from an unidentified number the day before Madeleine disappeared, and to a further 4 messages from the same number which he received the day after she vanished.
They also want details of all calls between members of the group between 8pm on May 3 and noon the following day.
The judgment was published after Judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso rejected the prosecutors appeal against a decision not to grant the interception of the calls and messages.
It offers the first official glimpse into the investigation for Mr and Mrs McCann, who have spoken of their frustration at being denied access to crucial police files.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns said: Certainly its encouraging that they are investigating whether Madeleine was abducted, because thats what happened, as Kate and Gerry have always said.
Quite frankly, they would like to see them [the Portuguese police] doing more searching on the ground.
He added that according to legal advice which they were given, the actions of the couple on May 3 had been well within the bounds of responsible parenting.
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GERRY AND KATE BACK NEW TRACING SCHEME
Kate and Gerry are backing a scheme to trace missing children using the social networking websites Facebook and Bebo.
Kate and Gerry have welcomed the initiative by charity Missing People, which will mean Facebook users can view details of missing youngsters on their own page.
In a statement the couple said: We strongly support and encourage this new initiative to use Facebook to increase awareness of missing children.
Using the power of social media in this way will undoubtedly capture the attention and hopefully the help of a younger population who are a hugely valuable and resourceful group.
We would urge the millions of Facebook users around the world to keep looking and to do what they can to help bring these children home.
This initiative by Missing People, British Telecom and all those supporting them, is another highly commendable and positive step in protecting and helping children.
Missing People has set up an application for Facebook users to download, which will mean information on current appeals will be displayed on their homepage.
The charity is also joining Bebos Be Cause, an internet site which gives information for young people about charities and campaign groups, to publicise its 24-hour Runaway Helpline.
It hopes to access millions of internet users in its quest to find thousands of youngsters who go missing each year.
The charitys own website has attracted 40 million hits in the year since it was launched, and Missing People already posts film clips on YouTube.
Missing People Chief Executive Paul Tuohy said: If every Facebook user downloaded our BT-powered application, millions of people internationally could see an appeal that could help us to reunite a family.
In the last 12 months Missing People has dealt with 13,000 queries about under-18s who have vanished, including 2,000 about children under 13.
It is launching the new scheme to coincide with International Missing Childrens Day today, which will see a number of cases highlighted including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Other missing youngsters being brought back into the spotlight are Paige Chivers, a 15-year-old who went missing from Blackpool last year, and Andrew Gosden, 14, who was last seen at Kings Cross train station in September.
International Missing Childrens day was created to mark the abduction of six-year-old Etan Patz in New York in 1979, who has never been found.
MCCANNS: IT'S STILL NO TO A RE-RUN
By Marc Baker
Defiant Kate and Gerry McCann have rejected a new plea to help re-create the night their daughter Maddie vanished.
The couple had a tense showdown with Portuguese cops last week.
After refusing to fly back, they have now been told to reply "within days" to yet another request for them to attend a reconstruction in two weeks.
But sources say they will again say no.
Police want Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, and their Tapas Seven pals to return.
But the couple have "grave reservations" about cops' motives.
They fear police aren't interested in finding Maddie and only want to charge them with neglect over the disappearance of Maddie, now five, in Praia da Luz last May.
Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They're still considering what to do."
Extract from: The People
Information from Me (Site Administrator)
Is the world full of heartless people, I say this because the other night the Administrator of another site that I communicate with (KTPH.org) contacted me to tell me that there was a lady talking to him on MSM, who used this hotmail address cheaky.cow@hotmail.com.
She was alleging to be with Madeleine McCann.
The next day she contacted him and said it was a joke.
Well not a very good joke if you ask me, a totally thoughtless careless joke that was totally unnecessary.
This is not the first time that we have had Hoaxers and I am sure it will not be the last, but it makes you think to yourself, how do there minds work.
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Kelvin
'Maddie' spotted on a plane: Date of this article 13.05.08
By STAFF REPORTER, THE SUN NEWSPAPER
INTERPOL is investigating a possible sighting of missing Madeleine McCann on a plane to Sao Paulo in Brazil.
A plane passenger claims to have seen Maddie, who went missing from Portugal on May 3 last year, on a jet about six weeks ago.
Interpols chief in Brazil, Jorge Pontes, confirmed the investigation. He said: "This sighting is still under investigation so we cannot reveal details.
We have a witness insisting they saw the child on a flight to Sao Paulo." The sighting was reported to Interpol by a foreign Embassy in Brazil.
But Brazilian police have refused to reveal which Embassy, claiming it could interfere with investigations.
There have been several sightings of Maddie, who turned five yesterday, in the country.
Brazilia Interpol delegate Marilia Moreira Marques said: "Five leads were followed in Brazil, most of them last year, however, we found nothing leading to Maddies whereabouts".
Their sightings dossier consists of around 40 pages. On May 11, 2007 "a man identified as Mark placed a call to England stating he had seen Maddie at a book fair in Cinelandia, central Rio de Janeiro", Ms Marques said.
The man reported the little blonde girl and a woman had entered a snack bar. The delegate added: "The people in the bar didnt remember seeing them and there were no surveillance cameras, so it could be investigated no further".
Release of Madeleine file 'delayed'
The police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will reportedly stay shrouded in secrecy for at least another three months.
It was hoped restrictions on the release of the file from the inquiry in Portugal, a move pressed for by her parents' legal team, would be lifted on Thursday.
But the Portuguese state attorney has announced a further three-month extension to the period of judicial secrecy, according to news agency Lusa.
It would mean Gerry and Kate McCann, named formal suspects in their daughter's disappearance, face a summer of uncertainty over what police have done to find their daughter.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, became so frustrated at the dearth of information on the inquiry that they urged anyone who came forward as part of the official investigation to contact them
.They had hoped that the police dossier would be made public this month.
According to Portugal's new penal code, the initial period of secrecy for an investigation now lasts eight months, at which point details of evidence and interviews can be made public.
It is understood this period is being interpreted by judges as eight months on from September 15 last year, the date the code was changed.
But the McCanns' lawyers have told them that the Portuguese authorities can grant two three-month extensions.
It is thought this could leave the couple in the dark until November 15, when prosecutors must decide if they are charging them.
The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "We cannot comment on reports in Portugal that the judicial secrecy period has been extended by another three months as Kate and Gerry's legal advisors have yet to be officially informed of any such decision.
However, if it's the case, it's clearly disappointing and Kate and Gerry's lawyers will of course continue to press for the opening of the police file."
Extract from: Liverpool daily post
A reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann went missing may still go ahead, her parents' Portuguese lawyer has said.
Doubts were raised after Kate and Gerry McCann publicly questioned the value of such an exercise so long after their daughter vanished.
But Rogerio Alves said there were "strong indications" that it could take place in the next two weeks.
Speaking at a police conference in Faro in the Algarve, he said: "We have little faith in the benefit of this step and how it can help to discover what happened to Madeleine.
But there are strong indications it will go ahead.
Portuguese detectives want Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley in Leicestershire, to return to the Algarve to re-enact the night of May 3 last year when their eldest child disappeared from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
They have also asked the couples seven friends who dined with them at the nearby tapas bar when Madeleine vanished to go back to Portugal, but they are also thought to be hesitant about returning.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns spokesman, said nothing had been decided.
The discussions about the possible visit by all nine are still ongoing," he said. "It is down to the friends - as well as Kate and Gerry - to decide whether they want to go back.
Of course, Kate and Gerry would do anything they could if they thought it would help find their daughter.
There are some serious questions surrounding the value of the proposed exercise and only when satisfactory answers have come in and all the friends are happy will it happen.
A source close to the McCanns, who are still suspects or arguidos in their daughters disappearance, said the couple could not understand why a reconstruction was being arranged now, more than a year on.
It is not going to be televised, so it wont throw up any new leads outside the police investigation," said the source.
There are physical differences more than a year on, such as the hedgerows are a different height, for example.
And has anyone given any thought to how Kate might feel about taking part in a reconstruction with another child playing her daughter?
The debate over the reconstruction came as the judge in charge of the case decided to extend the secrecy laws surrounding the files for another three months.
This means the McCanns will keep their arguido status until August 15 at the earliest.
Mr Alves said he was not surprised about the extension: "It seems normal to me, I expected it.
What the judicial secrecy means in this case is that a mother and father are forbidden access to the knowledge they would like to have about what the police are doing to discover something fundamental for them - what happened to their daughter.
Extract from the Telegraph
