Madeleine McCann: New Suspects Identified
UK, Friday 17 May 2013


Police have identified a number of suspects in the case of missing Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard has disclosed.

Officers investigating the case as part of a review have drawn up a list of "people of interest" they wish to speak to in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine in May 2007.

The review was launched in 2011 in an attempt to find out what happened to the toddler who vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve.





Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said:

"The purpose of the review was to look at the case with fresh eyes and there is always real benefit in doing so. The review has further identified both investigative and forensic opportunities to support the Portuguese. There is more than a handful of people of interest which could be explored further if only to be eliminated. The key things are to investigate the case and our work is happening to support the Portuguese."





A spokesman for the McCann family, Clarence Mitchell, said: "Kate and Gerry continue to be encouraged by Operation Grange and are very pleased by the work the police are doing. Beyond that they won't be commenting on any operational matters."

The Portuguese authorities' handling of the original investigation was widely criticised.

The police named Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, as suspects but they were cleared in July 2008 when the attorney general ruled there was nothing to link them to their daughter's disappearance.





Madeleine disappeared from the bedroom of the ground floor apartment that she was sharing with her brother and sister Sean and Amelie, who are twins, on the evening of May 3, 2007, just days before her fourth birthday.

Her parents had been enjoying a holiday meal with friends at a tapas restaurant just 130 yards away.



Mr and Mrs McCann, who have campaigned endlessly to find out what happened to their daughter, recently quietly celebrated her tenth birthday.

Speaking at that time, Mrs McCann, a GP, said: "We still celebrate her and her being part of our lives. I go into Madeleine's room and I don’t even have to talk - I can just think. It's as it was really and I’m not ready to change it. We always include Madeleine in everything. She is in my head and my heart every minute of every day."

http://news.sky.com/story/1092302/madeleine-mccann-new-suspects-identified

Madeleine McCann: New Suspects Identified
UK, Friday 17 May 2013


Police have identified a number of suspects in the case of missing Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard has disclosed.

Officers investigating the case as part of a review have drawn up a list of "people of interest" they wish to speak to in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine in May 2007.

The review was launched in 2011 in an attempt to find out what happened to the toddler who vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve.





Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell said:

"The purpose of the review was to look at the case with fresh eyes and there is always real benefit in doing so. The review has further identified both investigative and forensic opportunities to support the Portuguese. There is more than a handful of people of interest which could be explored further if only to be eliminated. The key things are to investigate the case and our work is happening to support the Portuguese."





A spokesman for the McCann family, Clarence Mitchell, said: "Kate and Gerry continue to be encouraged by Operation Grange and are very pleased by the work the police are doing. Beyond that they won't be commenting on any operational matters."

The Portuguese authorities' handling of the original investigation was widely criticised.

The police named Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, as suspects but they were cleared in July 2008 when the attorney general ruled there was nothing to link them to their daughter's disappearance.





Madeleine disappeared from the bedroom of the ground floor apartment that she was sharing with her brother and sister Sean and Amelie, who are twins, on the evening of May 3, 2007, just days before her fourth birthday.

Her parents had been enjoying a holiday meal with friends at a tapas restaurant just 130 yards away.



Mr and Mrs McCann, who have campaigned endlessly to find out what happened to their daughter, recently quietly celebrated her tenth birthday.

Speaking at that time, Mrs McCann, a GP, said: "We still celebrate her and her being part of our lives. I go into Madeleine's room and I don’t even have to talk - I can just think. It's as it was really and I’m not ready to change it. We always include Madeleine in everything. She is in my head and my heart every minute of every day."

http://news.sky.com/story/1092302/madeleine-mccann-new-suspects-identified

Was this ever on UM? I can't recall. I remember seeing a documentary on this case once and it really left me questioning whether or not the parents themselves could possibly be implicated in this case. The piece was at least slanted that way.

Hope that a resolution to this case is found. Seven years is a long time for parents to wonder what happened to their child.

Missing Madeleine McCann May Be Alive: Police
07/04/13
AP


British police say they have launched a full investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and want to trace 38 "persons of interest" in the case.

Detectives say it's possible that Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort six years ago, is still alive.



Scotland Yard said Thursday that 12 of the individuals of interest are British, and the rest from a variety of European countries. The force says it is working with governments across the continent to find out more.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said police "continue to believe that there is a possibility that Madeleine is alive."



McCann vanished from a vacation home in Portugal's Algarve region on May 3, 2007, days before her fourth birthday. The case has generated intense media interest.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/04/madeleine-mccann_n_3547440.html

Madeleine McCann Update: New Images Released of Man Sought in Girl's Disappearance
10/14/2013


UK police released new sketches Monday of a man they are seeking in connection with the investigation into the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann.

According to Metropolitan Police Inspector Andy Redwood, the two new images are of the same man. They were digitally constructed based on interviews with two independent witnesses, who reported seeing a suspicious-looking man in and around the Portuguese town of Praia da Luz on the night McCann disappeared.



The images show the face of a white man, of medium build, with short brown hair. Authorities estimate he is 20 to 40 years old.

"The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance," Redwood said Monday.







The newly released images are part of a new appeal authorities have launched in an attempt to garner leads in the search for Madeleine McCann.

Investigators are asking the public to look carefully at the images and to contact them if they recognize the man, or if they were in Praia da Luz on or around May 3, 2007, and have "not yet spoken to the police."



This latest appeal in the case comes one week after authorities announced they are examining cell phone records of every number that was used in the Praia da Luz area at the time of McCann's disappearance.

The Metropolitan Police Service is offering a reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the abduction of the girl.







McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was 3 years old in May 2007 when she went on a trip to Portugal with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann. The couple was dining with friends at a nearby restaurant when the little girl vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

There have been no solid leads in the case since that time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/14/madeleine-mccann-update_n_4096496.html

New Leads In Madeleine McCann Case, Portugal Reopens Investigation
by BARRY HATTON - AP
10/24/13


Portuguese prosecutors have ordered police to reopen their investigation into the six-year-old disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann after a review of the evidence found new leads, authorities announced Thursday.

The public prosecutor's office in Lisbon said the decision was made after "new indications" emerged during a case review. It gave no further details.



In London, Scotland Yard said the Portuguese prosecutor's decision "follows the discovery of new lines of enquiry as a result of an internal review of their original investigation" by the Portuguese police.

It said the Portuguese investigation will run parallel with British police efforts to find out what happened to the girl who vanished shortly before her fourth birthday during a family vacation in southern Portugal in May 2007.

Portuguese police closed the case in 2008 because authorities had detected no crime. The case sparked global interest because pictures of Madeleine beamed around the world and because her parents were briefly considered suspects before they were cleared and returned home to England.



Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said in a statement they were "very pleased" about the case being reopened.

"We hope that this will finally lead to Madeleine being found and to the discovery of whoever is responsible for this crime," they said.









British detectives have said it's possible that Madeleine is still alive. British police launched Operation Grange in 2011 to try to solve the puzzle about what happened to the girl.

"This is a welcome development, but both sides of the investigation are at relatively early stages, with much work remaining to be done," Scotland Yard said in a statement about its own case and the Portuguese announcement.

"This new momentum is encouraging, but we still have a way to go, and as with all major investigations, not all lines of enquiry that look promising will yield results."

British police will travel regularly to Portugal, Scotland Yard added.





A team of detectives from Porto, in northern Portugal, began reviewing the evidence in March 2011. British police have also been sifting through the case files in Portugal and say they have identified new avenues of investigation.

Madeleine disappeared from her family's apartment in a resort in Praia da Luz, a coastal town 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Lisbon in May 2007, while her parents and their friends were eating dinner nearby.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/new-leads-in-madeleine-mccann-case_n_4158376.html

Key Suspect in Madeleine McCann's Disappearance Died in 2009, Claim New Reports
11/2/13


The prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance investigation may have been a drug addict who died in 2009, according to new media reports.

Portuguese tabloid Correio da Manha reported this week that the suspect is believed to be a 40-year-old man who was a former employee of the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz. McCann had been staying near the Portuguese resort when she suddenly disappeared in 2007.



The man, identified as Euclides Monteiro by the UK's Daily Mirror, had allegedly been fired from his job in 2006 and police are said to be investigating the possibility that he kidnapped the British girl as an act of revenge.

Correio da Manha reports that Monteiro, who allegedly struggled with drug addiction, died in a tractor accident four years ago.



Monteiro's widow has been questioned by police, the Mirror reports. She, however, stood in defense of her husband's innocence.

“It is disgusting they are now looking for a dead man as a scapegoat," she said, according to the Mirror. “It’s very easy to blame someone who can’t defend themselves anymore. My husband would never be capable of committing such a crime.”





According to The Huffington Post UK, McCann's family has called the new report "pure speculation."

"We are aware of reports in the Portuguese press," said Clarence Mitchell, who represents the girl's parents. "They are pure speculation and the McCanns are not going to give a running commentary on every new report."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/02/madeleine-mccann-suspect_n_4203982.html?

Madeleine McCann Cops To Make First Arrests: Three Burglars Who "Made Many Phone Calls" after her Disappearance Wanted
Jan 12, 2014
by David Collins


British police are poised to make the first arrests in the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann. The Met want to quiz three burglars who carried out raids in the Portuguese resort when the three-year-old vanished.

Officers were last night preparing to fly to the Algarve to make their first arrests since the force set up Operation Grange in 2011 to review the kidnapping.

They hope to speak to the thieves after mobile phone records showed the men made numerous calls to each other in the hours after she disappeared.

The Crown Prosecution Service has sent an International Letter of Request to Portuguese police seeking permission to arrest the trio.







A spokesman for Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry said:

“The letter is a significant development. It is necessary for British police to request the Portuguese authorities allow them to operate on their turf. It means they have the intention of arresting and interviewing X, Y or Z.

We don’t know who they have their sights on but it’s likely it is the burglars. Whether the Portuguese will co-operate remains to be seen. It is a very sensitive issue with differences they have had. Police want to be given a chance to arrest key suspects.

It doesn’t prove they have Madeleine but it will rule them in or out of the investigation and that is important. Kate and Gerry don’t want to build up their hopes too high but they realize it could be a significant new lead.”







Days before Madeleine’s disappearance from Praia da Luz in May 2007 aged three, the gang raided another holiday flat there, disturbing a child. The youngster’s parents interrupted the burglars who fled.

An inquiry source said: “Portuguese police attached no significance to the burglary at the time. British officers regard this as an oversight.”

Met Police have so far been unable to arrest the men as their Portuguese counterparts are reluctant to carry out a joint investigation, instead preferring to follow their own lines of inquiry.

Diplomatic discussions are going on to try to secure agreement for UK detectives to be based in Portugal. Six local officers are working with the Met’s team, making enquiries on their behalf.







The latest development follows a first International Letter of Request allowing Operation Grange to access mobile phone data.

Scotland Yard said: “We can confirm a second International Letter of Request has been sent to the Portuguese authorities by the Crown Prosecution Services.”







No formal arrests have ever been made in the hunt for Madeleine. Early on former GP Kate and heart doctor Gerry, both 45 and from Rothley, Leics, were given the status of arguido. It meant they were formal suspects but they were cleared in 2008.

British-born property consultant Robert Murat was also made an arguido but he was exonerated alongside the McCanns.

Operation Grange has 37 officers and has so far cost taxpayers £4.5million.

In October, a BBC Crimewatch special, featuring a reconstruction and an e-fit of a new prime suspect, sparked 3,500 calls and emails. Two viewers gave the same name for the man seen carrying a child.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-cops-make-first-3016414

Police Seeking Sex Attacker in Madeleine McCann Case
by CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
Mar 19th 2014


British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann said Wednesday they are seeking an intruder who sexually assaulted five girls in the region of southern Portugal where the British toddler was last seen.

Police have linked 12 crimes between 2004 and 2010, in which a man entered holiday villas occupied by British families in Portugal's Algarve region. In several of those cases, the man sexually assaulted young girls.





Det. Chief Insp. Andy Redwood acknowledged there were differences between the characteristics of the 12 incidents and the McCann case - such as time of day and the fact that there were no abductions - but stressed the need to identify the intruder.

"This is an offender who has got a very, very unhealthy interest in young, white, female children who he is attacking whilst they are on holiday in their beds," Redwood said.

"We really need to identify the offender, to bring to a close the trauma and the tragedy that these families have suffered, and then seek to establish whether this is connected to Madeleine's disappearance."





British police haven't released a composite sketch of the suspect.

Portuguese police made no comment. Cases that are under investigation in Portugal are covered by a judicial secrecy law, which forbids the release of information.





Madeleine was nearly 4 years old when she disappeared in May 2007 from her family's resort apartment in Praia da Luz on Portugal's south coast while her parents and their friends dined nearby.

Portuguese police failed to find the missing girl or a culprit, but reopened the case last year.



British detectives are conducting their own investigation and have been sifting through case files in Portugal and pursuing several avenues of investigation.

Madeleine's disappearance sparked global interest as pictures of her and her grieving parents beamed around the world. Her parents briefly met with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square in June 2007, a month after Madeleine disappeared, and the pontiff held a picture of their daughter.

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/03/19/uk-police-seeking-sex-attacker-in-mccann-case/20853090/?