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  • Madeleine McCann Ruled Out as Body in Suitcase in Australia

    Madeleine McCann Ruled Out as Body in Suitcase in Australia

    Madeleine McCann hasn’t been found. A body of a deceased female child found in Australia isn’t the daughter of Gerry and Kate McCann. Their daughter, Madeleine, went missing back in 2007 when the family was vacationing in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

    Earlier in July, Australian authorities discovered an abandoned suitcase. Inside the case was the body of a young, fair-haired girl, whom they estimated to be between two and a half and four years old. Madeleine McCann was three at the time she was abducted.

    South Australia Police had warned British authorities that a match was “highly unlikely,” and Detective Superintendent Des Bray extinguished all possibility on Wednesday when he announced, “Madeleine McCann has been totally excluded as a potential victim.”

    Since Madeleine McCann went missing back in 2007, there have been countless sightings of the little girl in countries all around the world. No one has ever been charged with her disappearance and the case remains open.

    It is no doubt painful for the parents of Madeleine McCann to learn this wasn’t their daughter’s body found in Australia. Her discovery would have allowed them some closure. On the other hand, since it wasn’t Madeleine McCann’s body, they likely hold out some hope that she will one day be found alive.

  • Madeleine McCann Investigators Contact Australian Authorities After Body of Child Found in Suitcase

    Madeleine McCann disappeared from Portugal back in 2007 while her family was vacationing in Praia da Luz. No one has ever been charged with her disappearance.

    Earlier this month, Australian authorities discovered an abandoned suitcase. Inside the case was the body of a young, fair-haired girl, between two and a half and four years old. Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted.

    A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police told NBC News that officers have contacted Australian authorities about the little girl’s body.

    “We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities,” a spokesman said.

    No further details have been provided.

    South Australia Police Detective Superintendent Des Bray said in an earlier statement, however, that it was highly unlikely “that the victim is Madeleine McCann.”

    What kind of sick person dumps the remains of a child in a suitcase?

    In Massachusetts last month, the remains of another little girl were discovered on a Boston Harbor peninsula in a trash bag. Authorities speculate she was placed there and didn’t wash up onto the shore. Now referred to as ‘Baby Doe,’ this little girl is estimated to have been about four years old.

    Surely the parents of Madeleine McCann and those who have investigated her disappearance for more than eight years now jump at every possible lead that might tell them what happened to that beautiful child.

    In Boston, authorities believe ‘Baby Doe’ may have been killed by a family member, and that if there are additional children in the family, they may be in danger, too.

    Why has no one come forward to identify either this little girl found in Australia or the child near Boston?

    People like Madeleine McCann’s parents won’t rest until they learn what happened to their daughter. Where are the parents of these little girls?

  • Madeleine McCann: Questioning in Disappearance to Start in Portugal

    Madeleine McCann was abducted from a vacation villa in Praia da Luz, Portugal seven years ago, when she was just three years old. Portuguese police, while observed by their British counterparts, will soon begin questioning 11 people to see what–if anything–they can share about the little girl’s disappearance. She went missing while her parents were dining at a tapas bar nearby.

    Portuguese police closed their initial investigation back in 2008 after 14 months. At one point they implicated Madeleine McCann’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, in her abduction. They have long since been cleared.

    After two years studying the case, Britain officially opened its own investigative review of evidence in the Madeleine McCann case in July of last year. Portuguese authorities reopened their case shortly afterwards.

    Among those being questioned will be British expat Robert Murat. He was first questioned when the toddler was reported missing by her parents, according to reports. Employees of the holiday complex at the time Madeleine McCann disappeared on back on May 3, 2007 are also among those who will be questioned.

    A source close to the investigation says four women and seven men will be questioned. BBC correspondent Christian Fraser said the authorities would be looking for “inconsistencies” with any answers given seven years ago.

    Do you think there is any chance, now seven years after Madeleine McCann went missing, that investigators will discover what really happened to the little girl? For the sake of her parents, who have long been haunted by their daughter’s abduction, one can only pray they find some answers.

  • Madeleine McCann Abducted By Mystery Predator?

    Madeleine McCann was probably the victim of a mysterious child predator, claims a new book on the Madeleine McCann case.

    Authors of the book Looking For Madeleine, Anthony Summers and Robynn Swan, present startling information on the goings-on at the resort she was abducted from.

    They say that a man knocked on the door of a woman who was staying near Madeleine McCann and her family. He said that he was taking donations for an orphanage. The woman then noticed that he was staring intently at her three-year-old daughter.

    Summers said, “She later saw that man watching her place during the afternoon. The next day she went upstairs to fetch something for a moment and as she started to come downstairs she saw what she thinks was the same man in the room where her child was and as soon as she started to come into the room he (fled).”

    Three years earlier, a strange man reportedly got into the bed of a young girl at a nearby resort. When the girl woke up, she ran and he began chasing her while her sister asked if he was their father or their uncle.

    Swan said of the girls, “What they noticed about this man was that he was wearing what seemed to be a surgical mask and he had wound laundry around his feet, seemingly to keep from making prints or leaving marks,”

    “He disappeared without interfering with the two girls.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNI5up44Nho

    That is creepy, but the authors present even more suspicious evidence that the man had Madeleine in his sights. Apparently the same man that pretended to be collecting money for an orphanage a few days earlier was spotted spying on the McCann’s apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

    “Two separate witnesses apparently saw a man, whom both described as very ugly or with a spotty or pimply face, staring fixedly at apartment 5A. They both described him being in the same position in the street,” Swan said.

    “That’s combined with the fact that on the very day Madeleine disappeared, a lady visiting the apartment upstairs saw from her balcony a man behaving very oddly in the lane between the apartments and the pool. The man was going out of an adjacent gate, closing the gate repeatedly to see if it was creaky. He seemed to be looking around and generally acting very peculiarly before leaving.”

    There had been a recent history of child abductions and sexual predators in the area when Madeleine McCann’s family arrived. The authors speculate that, had there been a warning posted somewhere in the apartment, Madeleine’s parents wouldn’t have left the door unlocked as they dined nearby and checked on the kids every 30 minutes.

    This possibility seems fairly likely to be the simplest explanation of what could have happened to poor Madeleine McCann. What do you think? If these facts are true, do you think the authorities should have taken more care to warn families that were vacationing in the area?

  • Madeleine McCann Book Claims She Was Being Watched

    A new book about the case of young Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has garnered eyewitness accounts of a man who was reportedly watching the villa where her family was staying while on vacation, and several people have come forward with stories of a man behaving strangely around the area during the week she vanished.

    Looking For Madeleine, by Anthony Sands and Robbyn Swan, tells of a man who was seen testing a nearby gate to see if it creaked and two separate stories of an intruder who broke into the rooms of young girls in the same area within a three-year period. In addition, a child saw a man watching the vacation apartment that belonged to the McCann family twice, once on the day before she disappeared.

    “Two separate witnesses apparently saw a man, whom both described as very ugly or with a spotty or pimply face, staring fixedly at apartment 5A. They both described him being in the same position in the street. That’s combined with the fact that on the very day Madeleine disappeared, a lady visiting the apartment upstairs saw from her balcony a man behaving very oddly in the lane between the apartments and the pool. The man was going out of an adjacent gate, closing the gate repeatedly to see if it was creaky. He seemed to be looking around and generally acting very peculiarly before leaving,” Swan told Sky News.

    A new report was recently released which claims that so many agencies got involved in the search for Madeleine just after she was reported missing that it hampered the investigation. Because the McCanns were from the UK and the child went missing in Portugal, Scotland Yard began working with police there.

    “All of us, including myself at CEOP at the time, your first gut reaction is you want to help, a child has gone missing … so everyone came with best intention, that created a sense of chaos and a sense of competition, people putting their hand up and wanting to help and in many instances in my opinion wanting to be seen to help. If we look at it honestly there were some in leadership roles who wanted to represent their organization to be seen to take a lead role and be seen to provide critical input in this and that made it difficult for a small, regional force like Leicestershire. It was unhelpful … I’ve no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long term negative effect on the investigation and I think to this very day the Met investigation team that’s engaged now are still having to manage and massage that relationship and perhaps to be fair to the Portuguese, mend some fences that were trodden on in the early days,” wrote former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center Jim Gamble.

    Currently, the investigation is focused on a known sexual predator and three burglary suspects.

  • Madeleine McCann Case Reviewed in New Book

    In May 2007 a three-year-old British girl named Madeleine McCann disappeared. She was vacationing with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal at the time. Her parents had put Madeleine and her siblings to bed one evening and walked to a nearby tapas restaurant to dine with friends. Madeleine’s mother discovered that the girl was missing when she later went to check on the children.

    McCann’s disappearance sparked a manhunt throughout southern Portugal. The girl’s parents quickly went to the media for help, leading to the incident becoming one of the most reported-on missing person stories of the new century.

    Now, more than ten years on from McCann’s disappearance, a new book is raising more questions about what may have happened the night the girl went missing.

    According to a Sky News report, the book, titled Looking for Madeleine, is due out in bookstores next week. it was co-written by Anthony Summers, an author well-known for his takes on historical topics popular with conspiracy theorists. His previous works include Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover, The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden, and Not in Your Lifetime: The Defining Book on the J.F.K. Assassination.

    In Looking for Madeline Summers and co-author Robbyn Swan reveal that a door-to-door charity collector may have had something to do with McCann’s disappearance. Such a person was described by a British woman who was staying in an apartment near where the McCann family was vacationing. The woman told Summers and Swan that the man had come to her door begging donations. She later saw the man watching her apartment, then happened upon someone she believed to be the man in her apartment, in a room with her child.

    The woman stated that the man ran when he saw her, but that he was dressed suspiciously, She recalls that he was wearing a surgical mask and had clothing wrapped around his feet.

    What exactly this incident has to do with the McCann case isn’t entirely clear, other than it occurred just hours before the young girl disappeared. According to Sky, Scotland Yard interviewed the woman in the wake of McCann’s disappearance. Detectives still looking into the McCann case have stated that burglars or a sexual predator are the most current theories on the case.

  • Madeleine McCann Investigation Hampered By Police?

    Madeleine McCann went missing back in 2007 and captured the world in heartbreak for her family. We watched as the search turned up next to nothing and wondered how there couldn’t be more.

    Well, now we might know the answer to why the investigation wasn’t as productive as we’d all hoped.

    According to a report written back in 2009 by Jim Gamble, who is the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre for the UK, the police that swarmed from the UK to help in the search may have hampered the investigation.

    Mr. Gamble said that UK agencies the CEOP, the Metropolitan Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and the National Police Improvement Agency were all involved in the immediate aftermath of Madeleine going missing.

    This mass involvement, along with the attempt to run things by agencies that were ill-equipped to do so, led to “frustration” and “resentment” among Portuguese police, according to Gamble’s unpublished report on the Madeleine McCann case. It also led Portuguese authorities to warn Britain not to act like “a colonial power”.

    He said, “All of us… your first gut reaction is you want to help…so everyone came with best intention, that created a sense of chaos and a sense of competition…and in many instances in my opinion wanting to be seen to help. It was unhelpful…I’ve no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long-term negative effect on the investigation.”

    The UK authorities weren’t the only ones that caused delays and possible missed opportunities, however. Gamble stated that the response of the Portuguese police was “haphazard” and that potential clues had been neglected.

    Looking For Madeleine authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan have their own take on what went wrong with the case.

    Summers said, “It was a case of too many cooks… spoiling the broth of the initial investigation,” while Swan added, “The problems that grew out of the race to help… those things have not been fundamentally addressed.”

    What a nightmare for her family. Will Madeleine McCann ever be found, and if so, will she be alive? Only time will tell.

  • Madeleine McCann Report Shows New Investigation Info

    Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family’s vacation home in Portugal seven years ago, and now that the case surrounding her disappearance has been reopened, a new report has been released that says the investigation may have been hampered.

    The issue, the report says, was that so many different police agencies got involved from the UK that their relationship with Portugal was damaged, which had a negative effect on the investigation. Published by former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center, Jim Gamble, the report actually had a hand in the reopening of the case last year.

    Because the McCann family was from Leicestershire, the police force there got involved in the investigation. The case quickly became international as the search for the toddler grew, with more and more agencies getting involved.

    According to the Telegraph, Gamble says the Leicestershire Police were not prepared to handle such a large case, but wanted to help in any way they could.

    “All of us, including myself at CEOP at the time, your first gut reaction is you want to help, a child has gone missing … so everyone came with best intention, that created a sense of chaos and a sense of competition, people putting their hand up and wanting to help and in many instances in my opinion wanting to be seen to help. If we look at it honestly there were some in leadership roles who wanted to represent their organisation to be seen to take a lead role and be seen to provide critical input in this and that made it difficult for a small, regional force like Leicestershire. It was unhelpful … I’ve no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long term negative effect on the investigation and I think to this very day the Met investigation team that’s engaged now are still having to manage and massage that relationship and perhaps to be fair to the Portuguese, mend some fences that were trodden on in the early days,” he wrote.

    Scotland Yard released a statement last year when the case was reopened, saying they were working with every agency involved and remained committed to leave no stone unturned.

    “The Home Office remains committed to supporting the search for Madeleine McCann. We have agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with the resources they need to investigate her disappearance,” the statement said.

  • Madeleine McCann: Detectives to Interview Suspects, Key Witnesses

    Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she disappeared from a hotel room in Portugal back in 2007. Today–more than seven years later–detectives from Scotland Yard arrived back in Portugal to help Portuguese detectives interview both suspects and key witnesses in the little girl’s disappearance. Sources believe that some of those to be questioned include former employees at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, where the McCann family was staying while vacationing from England.

    Four people of interest–all men–will be interviewed by both police forces. It is said that each is attending the interrogation of his own free will. Three of the men are Portuguese and one is a Russian national.

    When Madeleine McCann disappeared in May of 2007 her parents–Kate and Gerry McCann–were dining at a nearby restaurant. They came under great scrutiny following their daughter’s disappearance, with many believing they were directly involved. The McCann’s are presently involved in a lawsuit against ex-police chief Goncalo Amaral. He wrote a book about the case and in it stated that Madeleine McCann was dead and that Kate and Gerry McCann lied about her disappearance. The case goes in front of a civil court on July 8th in Lisbon.

    Kate and Gerry McCann issued a statement regarding these new steps in the investigation of their daughter’s disappearance.

    “We are very pleased that significant activity has taken place in Praia da Luz over the last 8 days with police officers and support teams from the UK working closely with the Policia Judicial and the Guarda Nacional Republicana,” the statement on their website reads.

    Locals in Portugal have criticized this most recent facet of the Madeleine McCann investigation. Some tourists have, too.

    “The next three months are when the entire village earns its keep,” town mayor Victor Mata said in an interview with the BBC. “The timing couldn’t be worse. Summer essentially starts today. The people of Luz are not against the searches for Madeleine but seeing as it’s been seven years, they would have appreciated it if they could have started in a few months’ time.”

    A little girl has been missing for seven years and the key to her disappearance could lie with the people who are being questioned in the coming days. What a crass and heartless comment for the mayor of this town to make. It would seem the curiosity factor–as wrong as such a thing may be–would serve to draw even more people to the area.

    It would be a blessing for all involved–most especially for Kate and Gerry McCann–for information leading to the discovery of their daughter, or sadly even her remains, to result from these upcoming interviews. At the very least this poor family could lay their little girl to rest.

    Do you think Madeleine McCann is still alive?

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  • Madeleine McCann Search Yields No New Evidence

    Madeleine McCann has been on the minds of many over the last several years, since she disappeared without a trace from her family’s vacation villa in Portugal in 2007. She was not quite four years old at the time, and police feared she may have been taken by a man who had reportedly sexually assaulted several girls in the area. But searches of the resort and the surrounding land gave investigators nothing new to work from, and the case was essentially closed until last year, when Scotland Yard requested that the investigation be reopened.

    The McCann family–who are from the U.K.–have not given up hope that Madeleine will be found alive, but Scotland Yard believed she may have been killed in the same area they were vacationing in and buried somewhere nearby, prompting a massive dig that began earlier this month. On Wednesday, investigators packed up their equipment and left the dig site, saying no new information had been discovered.

    “At this time no evidence relating to Madeleine McCann has been identified. However it has given us an essential understanding of the activity on and people that have used this piece of land. This recent work is part of ensuring that all lines of inquiry are progressed in a systematic manner and covers just the one hypothesis that she was killed and buried locally,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.

    The case was officially reopened last year, with Scotland Yard saying they had enough new leads and possible evidence to move on with the case; police in Portugal were widely criticized for their handling of the investigation, with some saying they weren’t thoroughly following up leads and allowed the case to grow cold.

    The McCann family were staying at a resort in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing. Her parents said they were out at dinner while Madeleine slept with her siblings; the mother, Kate, said she went to check on the children around ten p.m. and discovered Madeleine was missing. There have been witness descriptions of a man who was in the area at the time, but no definitive suspects have been taken into custody.

    Anyone with any information about Madeleine’s disappearance is urged to contact investigators at investigation@findmadeleine.com or call the investigation line at +44 845 838 4699.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Madeleine McCann: Search For Missing Girl Reopens In Portugal

    The search for Madeleine McCann is reopened once again.

    About 30 searchers will be digging in the area where the girl disappeared seven years ago.

    British police will be spearheading the search for the girl, who was only a few weeks shy of celebrating her fourth birthday when she went missing.

    On Monday, press people gathered outside a restricted section of Praia da Luz, the beach resort town where Madeleine was last seen. A source has mentioned that a blue tent will be covering the area and dogs are going to be brought in to aid in the search.

    “It should not be assumed that this substantial upcoming phase of work in Portugal will immediately lead us to the answers that will explain what has happened. What you will see is normal police activity you would expect in any such major investigation,” mentioned Assistant Commissioner, Mark Rowley, who is head of specialist crime and operations about the search for Madeleine.

    On May 3rd 2007, Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, left her and her twin siblings sleeping inside their apartment as the couple went to dinner with their friends at a nearby tapas restaurant. The couple took turns checking on their children every 30 minutes, but at around 10 pm, Kate found out that her eldest daughter was missing.

    Police sources also mentioned that it’s highly likely that the search will be expanded to other areas of the resort within this week. However, there is a chance that the search might be called off if there are no significant discoveries by Friday.

    Eight months ago, a TV appeal was done and spurred a lot of phone calls about new leads regarding possible suspects and some potential clues that sparked the interest of detectives to rekindle the case once more.

    In 2008, Portuguese police closed the case, stating that no crime has ever taken place. However, last year, a judge in Lisbon decided to reopen the investigation, as new leads that emerged might finally solve the case.

    Image via YouTube

  • Madeleine McCann: Could She Been Found At Last?

    Nearly seven years ago, a blonde-haired little three-year-old vanished from a hotel in Praia da Luz, Portugal, never to be heard from again.

    Madeleine McCann was only a few days shy of turning four when she went missing. That birthday and every one since has passed with seemingly no progress made in her case.

    Prior to her disappearance, she and her younger twin were sound asleep in their room. McCann’s parents left the children unattended, but presumably safe, while they went out to eat and socialize with friends.

    When the couple returned at around 10:00 pm, it was her mother who discovered that the little girl was nowhere to be found.

    Since May 3, 2007, the date of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, there has been a great deal of speculation as to her fate.

    Some suspect she was kidnapped by someone who had been stalking the family.

    As with the late JonBenét Ramsey, there is even a strongly held belief that the parents themselves are responsible for her death and disappearance.

    Now, nearly seven years from the date of McCann’s vanishing, British authorities plan to begin digging for possible remains in a wasteland not far from where she went missing.

    CNN reports that the digging operation is to be headed by the London Metropolitan Police.

    So much time has passed since McCann’s disappearance that British authorities are now working under the assumption that McCann is dead. Officials are hoping this project will lead to the discovery of remains or clues as to her fate.

    It has been noted that British authorities are not acting in conjunction with Portuguese police and intend to keep the media at bay during the operation.

    “We have made it clear to colleagues in Portugal that we will not be giving operational updates,” said Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley. “If media interfere with police work, that work will stop.”

    Members of the press are gathered outside the section of beach that has been cordoned off for digging.

    It is likely nothing will be said to the media about the operation unless something significant to the case is recovered.

    Should a body be found, Portuguese authorities have indicated they will likely take over the investigation into McCann’s death.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Madeleine McCann: Search Begins With Dig In Portugal

    Madeleine McCann was not quite four years old when she disappeared from her family’s vacation villa in Portugal in 2007. As the years have gone by, her parents–who were at one time suspects in her disappearance–have not stopped searching and hoping that a new lead would turn up; something, anything, to give them closure. Last June, Scotland Yard reopened the case after a 2-year review, and now they say they will begin a dig soon in what is being called a “wasteland” in Portugal, an area of abandoned terrain near the resort where she was last seen.

    “The Home Office remains committed to supporting the search for Madeleine McCann. We have agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with the resources they need to investigate her disappearance,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement last year.

    The dig will make use of radar equipment and dogs, although officials haven’t released an exact start date. Authorities in Portugal have been conducting an investigation into whether Madeleine may have been abducted and taken out of the country, but Scotland Yard believes she was killed. However, they were quick to press the fact that the dig may not yield the answers they’re hoping for.

    “It should not be assumed that this substantial upcoming phase of work in Portugal will immediately lead us to the answers that will explain what has happened. What you will see is normal police activity you would expect in any such major investigation,” said Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley.

    The dig itself is under tight security, and officials say they have advised local police not to speak to the media or give updates on what is found, if anything. If they do so, or if the media interferes in any way, the search will come to a halt.

    The initial investigation has been widely criticized after Portugese police reportedly failed to follow up on potential leads while the case was still hot. As for the McCanns, they believe their daughter is still alive.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Madeleine McCann Suspect Wore Distinctive Shirt

    Madeleine McCann is a name that most of us are familiar with by now; she was just three years old when she was taken from the vacation home she was staying in with her family in Portugal. That was back in 2007, and so much time has gone by that the case has been closed and reopened. Now, investigators want to find the man responsible for several sexual assaults on children in the same area around that time because he could be the break they need in the case.

    The man is described as being tan with short dark hair and a heavy accent, and reportedly broke into at least 12 vacation homes in and around the area the McCanns were staying in. Girls between the ages of 7 and 12 report being assaulted by the man in at least four cases.

    “Whilst not identical, there are many similar aspects to each of the incidents in that in most cases there were no signs of forced entry to the property, nothing was taken, and the intruder appeared in the early hours of the morning,” police said in a statement. “The suspect may have been in the villa or looking round the villa for some time before committing the offenses or being disturbed either by a parent coming in, or the child waking up. He remained calm, even when disturbed.”

    Two of the attacks occurred at Praia da Luz, where the McCann family was staying. The assaults weren’t connected to Madeleine’s disappearance at first because they were spread out over such a wide area–and length of time–and no attempts at an abduction were ever made during those times. The man was never found, but investigators say he was described by more than one victim as wearing a very distinctive shirt, as seen here.

    “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,” Detective Redwood said. “While I completely accept that there are differences (between the break-ins and the McCann case), there is no abduction that we can see, but the assumption from that is that Madeleine McCann has been abducted. That may not necessarily follow with all our thinking about what may have become of Madeleine McCann. It is really critical for us to identify this offender and prove or disprove whether he was involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.”

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Madeleine McCann Case: Police Hunt Sexual Predator

    Madeleine McCann disappeared four days before her fourth birthday back in 2007 while vacationing with her family in Portugal. British investigators have recently reopened the case and say they’re now actively pursuing a sexual predator who broke into vacation villas in Portugal and sexually abused five little girls between 2004 and 2010. Police say there are incredible similarities between these break-ins and Madeleine McCann’s abduction.

    In most of these aforementioned cases there were no signs of forced entry into the vacation villas. The break-ins occurred between 2:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. Two of these break-ins took place in the resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was taken.

    Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood says the suspect has “an unhealthy interest in young white female children.”

    “These offenses are very serious and no one has been charged in connection with them,” he said. “We also need to eliminate this man from our enquiries and ascertain whether these offenses are linked to Madeleine’s disappearance.”

    Redwood’s team is working in conjunction with Portuguese investigators and together they have 38 “persons of interest” in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. They are also sifting through information about 530 known sexual offenders whose whereabouts are presently unknown. Of these 530, 59 are said to be “high priority,” and some of them are British.

    Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann have never given up hope of finding their daughter. Initially thought to have been involved in her disappearance they have long been cleared of anything to do with the crime.

    In 2008, the Madeleine McCann case was closed. London’s Metropolitan Police subsequently spent two years reviewing evidence at the request of the British government. They opened their own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance about a year ago.

    It would indeed be a miracle if British investigators could find out what actually happened to Madeleine McCann, and even if their findings aren’t happy ones, at the very least they could provide some closure for the little girl’s family.

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  • Madeleine McCann Disappearance: Police On The Verge Of Making Arrests

    Madeleine McCann Disappearance: Police On The Verge Of Making Arrests

    Scotland Yard (London police) may travel to Portugal this week to make arrests in the in the case involving the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Madeleine was a little girl who vanished 7 years ago while on a Portuguese vacation with her parents. She was 3 when she disappeared from the hotel room where she was sleeping.

    The authorities have indicated they intend to interview three suspected burglars who had been actively committing burglaries in the neighborhood during or about the time of Madeleine’s disappearance. The authorities say the rate of burglary had significantly increased in the resort where the McCanns had been staying, peaking in 2007. Two burglaries even took place in the apartment block where the McCanns were staying as recently as April of last year. In both cases, entry was through the window.

    The family has refused to comment on the case. A spokesman for the McCann family told ABC News that the matter should be left to the investigators instead of speculating.

    “I’m afraid we are saying nothing about any aspect of Operation Grange whilst the police work continues, least of all about any tabloid speculation surrounding it,” said the spokesman.

    The spokesman further said that the latest development could be significant because it will eventually either rule in or out the involvement of the three men. He also said the family is keeping its expectations low in regard to this development.

    Police reviewed records of hundreds of mobile phone numbers from calls made during the time Madeleine disappeared and discovered that a high number of calls were made between the three suspects. The calls apparently raised a red flag.

    Had Madeleine not vanished from her bed that night, she would have celebrated her fourth birthday just a few days later. Her parents, Gerry McCann and Kate McCann, who were dining at a nearby restaurant at the time their daughter went missing, have been engaged in a campaign to find her ever since.

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  • Madeleine McCann Case: Arrest Imminent

    An arrest is imminent in the Madeleine McCann case. Madeleine was just three years old when she disappeared from a Portuguese vacation with her family seven years ago. The case was reopened three years ago. Authorities are seeking three burglars who were active in the area during the time Madeleine was abducted, in a sting called Operation Grange.

    “I’m afraid we are saying nothing about any aspect of Operation Grange whilst the police work continues, least of all about any tabloid speculation surrounding it,” a spokesperson for Madeleine McCann’s parents–Gerry and Kate McCann–said during a recent press conference.

    The burglars in question were allegedly involved in crimes in the actual apartment block from which Madeleine was abducted. Investigators have pored over cell phone records from the region, during the time of Maddie’s disappearance. They especially concentrated on those coming from three burglars.

    Scotland Yard’s Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said during the summer when the case went from a simple inquiry back to a full-on investigation that he believes it is possible that Madeleine McCann could still be alive.

    ”There is no clear, definitive proof that Madeleine McCann is dead, so on that basis I still genuinely believe that there is a possibility that she is alive,” he said.

    It would indeed be a miracle if Madeleine, now 10 years old, is found.

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  • Madeleine McCann: Suspect Sketch Leads To Thousands Of Responses

    Madeleine McCann: Suspect Sketch Leads To Thousands Of Responses

    Madeleine McCann disappeared from a vacation resort in 2007, and because her parents never stopped trying to find her, the case has been reopened despite the passage of time in the hopes that someone saw something, anything, that might lead police to her captor. Now, a set of computer-generated images–based on witness descriptions–have been released to the public, and thousands of people have responded with phone calls and emails to investigators.

    Scotland Yard detectives have teamed up with police from Portugal–where Madeleine was last seen–for the past two years to comb through piles of evidence and witness testimony in order to build a new case, and say they definitely have new leads. Unfortunately, it will take time to go through it all, and the same can be said for the public response to the suspect images. The pictures are a composite of the same man, described by two different witnesses who say they saw him carrying a young blonde girl away from the area where Madeleine’s family was vacationing.

    “Detectives are now trawling through and prioritizing that material. This will take time,” Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said.

    Investigators stress that this man–who is described as white, between the ages of 20 and 40 and possibly speaking with a German accent–may be completely innocent. However, they need to track him down in order to rule him out.

    “Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us. We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance,” said Redwood. “This is far from our only line of inquiry and there will be e-fits released of other sightings as well, who we are equally keen to trace. These people were seen on the day of Madeleine’s disappearance and the days leading up to it.”

    Image: Metropolitan Police Dept./CNN

  • Madeleine McCann: Image Released Of Suspect

    Madeleine McCann’s family is hopeful that new images released by Scotland Yard over the weekend will lead to some new information regarding her whereabouts.

    The images are computer-generated sketches of a man who was seen by witnesses on the night Madeleine disappeared, carrying a young blonde girl near the apartment she was taken from in Praia da Luz in 2007. Authorities say the man is white, between 20 and 40 years old, and may have a German accent.

    “Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us. We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood. “This is far from our only line of inquiry and there will be e-fits released of other sightings as well, who we are equally keen to trace. These people were seen on the day of Madeleine’s disappearance and the days leading up to it.”

    The images were released in conjunction with a BBC Crimewatch reenactment, which portrayed the McCann family and the events leading up to Madeleine’s disappearance. The then-3-year old was taken from the vacation apartment her parents were staying at while they ate dinner not far away; at the time, local police in Portugal conducted their own investigation but found no helpful leads. Earlier this year, Scotland Yard announced that they had been working with Portugal to reopen the case and have found multiple leads in the past two years. However, as six years have gone by since the disappearance, it’s been difficult to follow up on once-hot leads.

    Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, were at one time considered suspects. In an interview, Kate McCann once again claimed innocence and said she and her husband just want their child back.

    “We’re not the ones that have done something wrong here. It’s the person who’s gone into that apartment and taken a little girl away from her family,” she said.

    Image: Thinkstock

  • Madeleine McCann: New Theory Linked to Thefts

    Six years after Madeleine McCann went missing in Praia de Luz, Portugal, Scotland Yard has a new theory, according to the Daily Mail. They now think that Madeleine may have been taken after disturbing burglars at The Ocean Club, where they were staying. They have a theory that her disappearance could be connected to a series of thefts at The Ocean Club and elsewhere around Praia de Luz.

    Therefore, Scotland Yard said they would like to hear from anyone that was on vacation and was burgled around Praia de Luz prior to Madeleine’s disappearance. Any information would be helpful to the investigation into who took Madeleine.

    Detectives have also been collecting an extensive list of phone records for calls made and received in the area, in order to be able to tell who was around. As detectives continue to pour over these phone records, Scotland Yard has said anyone that was around Praia de Luz on May 3, 2007 could receive a phone call from them. From this new line of investigation, that has gone on for two years, came the information about the break-ins and also began the phone record blitz. The new inquiry has yielded 41 new “people of interest“.

    Because of these new findings, the Kate and Gerry McCann are going on T.V. with the new information to make another plea to the public for help in finding Madeleine. The McCanns will appear live in the studio during an episode of BBC Crimewatch on Monday next week, which will also feature a reconstruction. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, of the Metropolitan Police, described the program’s content as “substantially different. It’s not just a bland ‘can you help us’ appeal, there is some different material and a different understanding to be presented,” he said.

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  • Madeleine McCann: Phone Records Yield New “People Of Interest”

    Madeleine McCann, who was just 3-years old when she disappeared from her parents’ apartment in Portugal in 2007, is now the subject of a new investigation that might involve a ring of pedophiles.

    McCann’s case was reopened earlier this year after detectives put together a new case based around all-new leads, and now police say they want to look into a massive database of phone records that might show who was new to the Praia da Luz area that weekend. Scotland Yard–working with Portuguese police–say they have about 41 leads from those records and for anyone who was vacationing in Praia da Luz in 2007 to expect a call from them.

    “This is not just a general trawl,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood. “It’s a targeted attack on that data to see if it assists us to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann at that time.”

    More information about the new leads in the case are expected on October 14th, when Madeleine’s family and the lead investigators during a BBC Crimewatch appeal. Although Portuguese police ended their investigation into the case in 2008 after finding nothing but dead ends, Scotland Yard remained committed to the case and spent two years building up a new file before reopening the investigation formally in June of this year.

    “The Home Office remains committed to supporting the search for Madeleine McCann. We have agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with the resources they need to investigate her disappearance,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement.

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