Madeleine McCann ~ Little girl missing in Portugal

[Abarth]

Since the rest of the world has adopted the metric system years ago, what's the problem with the USA still using an antiquated system?

Same as the UK, they hate the French

[WangChung]

Since the rest of the world has adopted the metric system years ago,
what's the problem with the USA still using an antiquated system?

There is no problem. I use it daily and thoroughly enjoy it.

Have you crafty Canuck's yet found the metric equivalent of light years?

[Heli]

Since the rest of the world has adopted the metric system years ago,
what's the problem with the USA still using an antiquated system?

There is no problem. I use it daily and thoroughly enjoy it.

Have you crafty Canuck's yet found the metric equivalent of light years?

Funny you should mention that

I was just about to find a vacuum to travel through at the speed of light
for the next year so I could come up with the metric conversion measurement
for a light year. I'm trying to work out what to pack for the journey

[Seraph]

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All road cars – every single one of them – are uselessJeremy Clarkson

HomeNewsWorld NewsEurope NewsMy ProfileOffersSitemapFrom The TimesSeptember 24, 2007

Private security team hired by Kate and Gerry McCann for secret investigation
David Brown in Praia da Luz and Patrick Foster
A private security firm has been secretly investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann for four months because her parents feared that Portuguese police were failing to properly search for their daughter.

Control Risks Group (CRG) is believed to have been checking reported sightings of Madeleine from around the world and building up profiles of likely abductors.

Kate and Gerry McCann turned to the company, which employs former members of the intelligence services and Special Forces, after becoming concerned that officers in the Algarve assumed their daughter was dead.

A source close to the couple’s legal team confirmed that CRG had been working with the family since May but refused to discuss how the company was being paid.

Friends of the couple said the decision showed that they believed Madeleine may still be alive 144 days after she was reported missing from the bedroom of her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

Mr McCann first contacted private investigation companies less than three weeks after his daughter was reported missing on May 3 because of concerns that the Portuguese police were not properly checking out all reported sightings. But he had publicly to deny that they were using private detectives when Portuguese police said it would be against the law.

Detectives from the PolÍcia Judiciária say that have checked out 250 reported sightings in Portugal and a further 150 from around Europe and North Africa. But the McCanns have privately expressed fears that key pieces of information may not have been acted on. A source close to the family said that they were particularly dismayed that officers had failed properly to investigate two reports that Madeleine had been spotted in Morocco six days after she disappeared.

A British tourist from Yorkshire told police that he saw a girl resembling Madeleine outside the Ibis hotel in Marrakesh. His testimony was identical to that of another tourist, Marie Pollard, 45, from Norway, who claimed that she was “100 per cent convinced” that she saw Madeleine at a police station opposite.

Both witnesses have complained that Portuguese officers were not interested in what they believed were potentially key sightings. Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39, spent two days in Morocco in June to seek assurances from the authorities that sightings would be investigated and to promote the hunt for Madeleine.

“Gerry and Kate McCann have always believed the Morocco sightings were vital,” a friend said. “Kate said her instinct from the start has been that Madeleine was smuggled into North Africa.”

Clarence Mitchell, the couple’s spokesman, said: “We have been aware of it for months. It was made known to us when it happened. All I can say is that any possible sightings, if credible, we hope would be examined thoroughly, whether it’s in Portugal, Spain or anywhere else.”

Other sightings reported in Spain, Malta, Belgium and Switzerland have been ruled out after investigations by local police. The McCanns hope that CRG will help to verify such reports as well as provide information on the type of people who might have abducted Madeleine and support networks that might operate in each country.

The company has more than 600 employees, many former members of MI5, MI6, the SAS and Special Boat Service. It is the highest earning British security firm operating in Iraq.

A former intelligence expert who has worked with CRG said: “They can offer advice on personal safety, counter safety. For example, who is watching the McCanns and even advice on hostage negotiation should that be needed. In addition . . . they will most likely offer the McCanns security advice and how to deal with bogus tips.”

A CRG spokesman would only say: “Our policy is simply not to talk about our clients. We promise our clients 100 per cent confidentiality - discretion is our watchword.”

Inconclusive proof

What forensic evidence has been collected?

Dozens of samples were recovered from apartments used by the McCanns and another family at the Ocean Club resort. Police have also searched the McCanns’ hire car. The material has been examined by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham

Is there enough evidence to convict Kate and Gerry McCann?

Portuguese detectives have been briefing the media since the middle of August that there was compelling evidence from hair, bodily fluids and blood. But in the past ten days the briefings have been more doubtful. A police source told 24 Horas newspaper yesterday: “There is no element which can definitively state that the body of the little girl was transported in that vehicle”

What does the FSS say about its results?

The laboratory was reported yesterday to have sent an e-mail to Portuguese police complaining that its findings had been “widely misused”. The Mail on Sunday said that the FSS had criticised detectives for overplaying the results and leaking information – most of it inaccurate – to the Portuguese media

What do the British authorities say?

Leicestershire police say they are bound by the Portuguese laws of judicial secrecy and that releasing any information on the case could jeopardise their delicate working relationship with colleagues in Portugal

The rich list bankrolling the McCanns

Brian Kennedy Made £250 million from double glazing and home improvements and now owns Latium Group plastics and Sale Sharks rugby union team. Offered Latium’s in-house lawyer and is paying the McCanns’ new official spokesman, Clarence Mitchell

Sir Richard Branson Contributed to rewards totalling £2.5 million after Madeleine’s disappearance. Has spoken to the McCanns several times and this month donated £100,000 to a fund for their legal costs. “I trust them implicitly,” he said. Is trying to encourage other wealthy people to contribute to the legal fund

Sir Philip Green The billionaire owner of TopShop and BHS lent the McCanns his private jet for their visit to meet the Pope. Known to have been annoyed when news of his involvement emerged and has refused to comment on his current involvement

John Geraghty A 68-year-old businessman from Leicestershire who now lives on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. Offered to store the McCanns’ hire car so that they could commission independent forensic testing.

© Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd.

[Fashionista]

<center>U.K. Police Release Updated Images of
Madeleine McCann
Originally posted Tuesday November 03, 2009 09:20 AM EST



Age-enhanced photos of what missing Maddie McCann might
look like today
Photo by: Splash News Online</center>


More than two years after then-3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her parents' rented vacation bungalow in Portugal, police are releasing a new rendering of what the girl might look like now.

The video, released by the U.K. Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center, shows Madeleine as she might look at age 6, including a variant, with darker skin, that imagines she may have grown up in northern Africa. Madeleine's parents hope that someone seeing the new image will recognize Madeleine and give authorities information about her whereabouts.

"We need it to be spread far and wide, and for those people to be exposed to this message as many times as possible," Madeleine's father, Gerald McCann, said.
– Michael Y. Park

http://www.people.com/people/article/0, ... 64,00.html


<center>



.

[AC]

Madeleine McCann's death 'covered up by parents who faked kidnap', court hears
Madeleine McCann died in an accident in her family's Algarve holiday apartment and her death was covered up by her parents who then concocted a tale of kidnap, a Portuguese court was told.



By Fiona Govan in Lisbon
Published: 10:30PM GMT 12 Jan 2010




The McCanns arrive at court for libel trial Photo: EPA
Goncalo Amaral : Madeleine McCann's death 'covered up by parents who faked kidnap'
Goncalo Amaral, pictured, claims that Madeleine died in the apartment and he questions her parents' account of events that evening Photo: AFP/GETTY

Kate and Gerry McCann, both 41, were in court to hear how the detectives leading the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance believed they had lied to hide the truth.

“She died in the apartment as a result of a tragic accident and the parents simulated an abduction after failing to care of their children,” Tavares de Almeida, former chief inspector at Portimao police station during the initial months of the investigation, told the court in Lisbon.

“These were the conclusions of a police report signed by me on September 10 2007,” he added.

The allegations against Kate and Gerry McCann, both 41, were presented in court on the first day of a hearing to challenge the publication of a book written by Algarve detective Goncalo Amaral.

Lawyers for the detective, who led the team that made the McCanns arguidos – suspects – in their daughter’s disappearance, called witnesses to support the claims outlined in his book. The McCanns arguido status was lifted after ten months in July 2008 when the Attorney General ruled there was no evidence against them.

The pair, from Rothley, Leics, came face to face with their detractor for the first time since they were officially made argiuidos in September 2007, four months after they daughter vanished days before her fourth birthday.

Mr Amaral, 50, led the initial investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 2007 while her parents dined with friends at a tapas bar nearby. He was sacked from the case, which remains unsolved.

His book, entitled “The Truth of The Lie”, published in July 2008 claims that Madeleine died in the apartment and questions her parents’ account of events that evening.

It became a bestseller in Portugal selling more than 200,000 copies and went on to be published in six languages and made into a documentary film.

After a year long campaign the McCanns succeeded in getting a temporary injunction banning further sales and it was withdrawn from shelves last September. The couple believe that the book is damaging the search for their daughter by asserting that she is already dead and are suing for liable.

They are expected to ask a judge for around £1million in damages which they will use to pay for their own continuing hunt for their daughter, who they believe was kidnapped and could still be alive and being held somewhere.

Mr de Almeida told the court: “We have always spoken of a tragic accidental death – not homicide. The McCanns did not kill her but they concealed the body,”

Mr de Almeida, who worked under Amaral and was also taken off the case in September 2007, said the decision to designate the McCanns 'arguidos' was made by police after sniffer dogs brought to Portugal from England had carried out their searches.

Giving evidence, Mr de Almeida said that the dogs had identified blood and the scent of a human corpse inside the childrens’ bedroom and the dining room of the McCanns’ holiday flat.

The animals also reacted to traces on a piece of cloth in a villa rented by the McCanns after they left the apartment and in the boot of a rental car hired by the family several weeks after Madeleine disappeared.

Mr de Almeida also complained that Portuguese police efforts to investigate the McCanns had been frustrated by their British counterparts. “We were told that the UK would not accept any investigation of the McCanns – there was a lack of cooperation,” he said.

But later he said that the theory that the parents had covered up Madeleine’s death as outlined in Amaral’s book was one reached by British police on the ground in Portugal too.

“This wasn’t something invented by Amaral,” he insisted. “It was a conclusion reached by the team of Portuguese investigators as well as British police.”

Mrs McCann wearing a dark coloured floral dress sat impassively in the front row of the court room beside her husband. The pair held hands and exchanged occasional whispers and nods as they were passed notes by interpreters informing them of court proceedings, which were carried out in Portuguese.

Mr Amaral, dressed in a dark suit and purple tie, was seated at the bench beside his legal team, fifteen feet away from the couple. He spent much of the proceedings with his eyes closed avoiding the direct gaze of the McCanns.

Tuesday’s court hearing in the Portuguese capital was an opportunity by Mr Amaral to have the temporary injunction against publication of his book overturned. Neither he nor the McCanns will be called to give evidence in the hearing which is expected to last a minimum of three days.

A third witness said the turning point of the investigation came following a tearful call from Mrs McCann who, after a dream, told police where to search for her daughter’s body.

Police Inspector Ricardo Paiva, who acted as a liason between the McCanns and Portuguese police in the days following their daughter’s disappearance told the court he had received the phone call in late July 2007.

“Kate called me, she was alone as Gerry was away and she was crying,” he said. “She said she had dreamt that Madeleine was on a hill and that we should search for her there.

“She gave the impression that she thought she was dead – it was a turning point for us.”

The senior detective said the land was searched but nothing was found. “That is when we decided to send the specialist dogs in. British police informed us about how they could detect the scent of death.”

He admitted that the police had been suspicious of the McCanns from the start of the investigation. “They disobeyed our request to keep quiet about the details of their daughter’s disappearance while we conducted our investigation. Instead they turned it into a media circus and that gave rise to some suspicions.”

He said that the McCanns should have faced prosecution for leaving their children alone. “They should have been pursued for neglect. People have been arrested for far less – even in the UK.”

The case continues.

[Black-Tulip]

McCanns To Claim Ex-Cop 'Broke Secrecy Laws'
11:12am UK, Friday January 15, 2010

Jon di Paolo, in Lisbon

Madeleine McCann's parents are to lodge a complaint with Portuguese police claiming that former detective Goncalo Amaral broke his country's strict judicial secrecy laws.



Gerry and Kate McCann's lawyer says they will formally accuse him of passing on information about the police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance before the case was closed - a criminal offence in Portugal.

Isabel Duarte, the couple's Portuguese lawyer, says Mr Amaral broke the law by sending a draft of his book to his publishers several months before the judicial secrecy period in the case was lifted in July 2008.

She said: "It seems that Goncalo Amaral passed information in the case files before the secrecy was lifted."

Earlier, an emotional Kate McCann left court in Lisbon facing the prospect of hearing allegations that she and her husband covered up their daughter's death repeated in courtrooms across Europe for years to come.

Speaking in a low voice, Mrs McCann told waiting reporters she believed in the Portuguese justice system and that bringing the libel action against former policeman Mr Amaral was the right thing to do.

However, Mr Amaral has now declared that if he loses his bid to overturn their injunction on his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie, he will appeal all the way through the country's courts and on to the European Court of Human Rights - a process that could take years.

The book, which was also made into a documentary on Portuguese TV, claims that Madeleine McCann died in the holiday apartment from which she vanished in May 2007.

In it, Mr Amaral - the lead detective on the investigation into the then-three-year-old's disappearance until being removed from the post five months later - goes on to say that the McCanns covered up the death.

Mr and Mrs McCann, who have always strongly denied the claims, launched a defamation case - saying they feared that if people believed their daughter was dead they would stop searching for her.

The past three days have seen a court in Lisbon debate whether an injunction obtained by the McCanns suspending further publication of the book and documentary should be allowed to stand.

Mr Amaral's lawyers have called a series of witnesses who have backed up the claims he made in the book, saying they believed them to be based on the facts of the investigation.

They have also tried to characterise the legal action as an attack on the Portuguese constitution and freedom of speech, a charge the McCanns deny.

The witnesses made many references to the hostile treatment of Portuguese detectives in general and Mr Amaral in particular at the hands of certain sections of the British media.

During the second day of the trial it was reported by the BBC that Mr Amaral had said "F*** the McCanns" - a claim he strongly denies, saying it was a misinterpretation of his Portuguese.

Ms Duarte accused Mr Amaral of trying to put the couple on trial in this week's hearings.

She said: "They are trying to judge in a civil court what they could not judge in a criminal court."

Ms Duarte said the McCanns were not surprised by the witnesses called by Mr Amaral.

"I am sorry my clients had to be submitted to this pain and this distress," she said.

"This is awful, but we knew that Pandora's Box was open. We are prepared to hear what they say."

A ruling in the current series of hearings, which will determine whether the temporary injunction on Mr Amaral's book will stand, will be made following further statements from two further witnesses on February 10.

However, the McCanns must then go back to court to make the ban permanent at a date yet to be confirmed.

They are also fighting a separate case claiming more than £1m in damages from Mr Amaral.

Deleted by YIF to restore margin.

[gwen]

McCanns: 'Please Don't Give Up On Madeleine'
8:35pm UK, Friday February 19, 2010

Alison Chung, Sky News Online

Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed a decision to uphold a ban on a book about their daughter and pleaded with police to continue their search for Madeleine.

Speaking at a news conference in London, the couple said they were "pleased and relieved" at the Portuguese court ruling.

"The judge agreed that there had been significant ongoing damage to the search for Madeleine and to the rights of our family, and we are grateful for that," Kate said.

"The court has demonstrated once again that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to any harm.

"It has also clearly shown that no police force is actively looking for Madeleine even when presented with new information and leads."

A judge in Lisbon rejected an attempt by former senior detective Goncalo Amaral to overturn an injunction halting the sale and publication of his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

After the hearing, Amaral called a press conference where he said he didn't mean to cause the McCanns any harm with the claims.

But he refused to apologise for publishing the book, citing overiding issues of free speech should take precedence.

The book, published in July 2008, alleges that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents faked her abduction - something they have persistently denied.

The couple slammed as "slanderous" the motives of Mr Amaral for "trying to convince the world that Madeleine is dead".

They said they hoped the decision would bring a fresh impetus to the search for their daughter, who has been missing for nearly three years.

Kate said: "Our primary focus has always been to find Madeleine by trying to achieve as effective a search as possible.

"It is important that a meaningful search for an innocent and vulnerable little girl - our dearly loved Madeleine - is properly carried out."

She also implored police in Portugal and the public to "remain vigilant", saying: "Please do not give up on Madeleine".

Asked by Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt whether the couple wanted their daughter's case reviewed, Gerry said "yes".

McCanns: 'Please Don't Give Up On Madeleine'
8:35pm UK, Friday February 19, 2010

Alison Chung, Sky News Online

Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed a decision to uphold a ban on a book about their daughter and pleaded with police to continue their search for Madeleine.

Speaking at a news conference in London, the couple said they were "pleased and relieved" at the Portuguese court ruling.

"The judge agreed that there had been significant ongoing damage to the search for Madeleine and to the rights of our family, and we are grateful for that," Kate said.

"The court has demonstrated once again that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to any harm.

"It has also clearly shown that no police force is actively looking for Madeleine even when presented with new information and leads."


As painful as the slanderous claims are, our primary focus has always been to find Madeleine by trying to achieve as effective a search as possible.

Kate McCann
A judge in Lisbon rejected an attempt by former senior detective Goncalo Amaral to overturn an injunction halting the sale and publication of his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

After the hearing, Amaral called a press conference where he said he didn't mean to cause the McCanns any harm with the claims.

But he refused to apologise for publishing the book, citing overiding issues of free speech should take precedence.

The book, published in July 2008, alleges that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents faked her abduction - something they have persistently denied.

The couple slammed as "slanderous" the motives of Mr Amaral for "trying to convince the world that Madeleine is dead".

They said they hoped the decision would bring a fresh impetus to the search for their daughter, who has been missing for nearly three years.



Amaral lost the court case

Kate said: "Our primary focus has always been to find Madeleine by trying to achieve as effective a search as possible.

"It is important that a meaningful search for an innocent and vulnerable little girl - our dearly loved Madeleine - is properly carried out."

She also implored police in Portugal and the public to "remain vigilant", saying: "Please do not give up on Madeleine".

Asked by Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt whether the couple wanted their daughter's case reviewed, Gerry said "yes".


We want the authorities to work together. It's an international case and we feel that it is fundamental in trying to find Madeleine for a systematic review to take place.

Gerry McCann
"This is a very serious case and there has been a lot of information that has been held by different law enforcement agencies," he said.

"We don't think there has been a systematic review of the information and the leads - that's something that would have been done automatically in the UK.

"We want the authorities to work together. It's an international case and we feel that it is fundamental in trying to find Madeleine for a systematic review to take place."

Meanwhile, Mr Amaral said he would appeal against the judgement and repeated his intention to fight the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

The ex-policeman will give a press conference this evening to officially respond to the court decision to uphold the ban.

http://tinyurl.com/yhoh32l

[Black-Tulip]

MCCANNS BEG CAMERON TO HELP THEM FIND MADELEINE

Kate and Gerry McCann have asked David Cameron to help find their daughter Madeleine

Sunday February 21,2010
By James Murray

KATE and Gerry McCann have asked David Cameron to help find their daughter Madeleine after a private emotional meeting with the Tory leader.


They spent half an hour at his Westminster office explaining their frustration and disappointment with the investigations.

If Mr Cameron wins the election – expected on May 6 – the McCanns hope he would give the case a new priority and order a review of all the evidence.

Mr Cameron, 43, the father of two young children himself, expressed a desire to the couple to do anything in his power to discover what happened to Madeleine, who disappeared from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz on the Algarve on May 3, 2007.


Andy Coulson, the Tory director of communications, and Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’spokesman who hopes to stand as a Conservative in the forthcoming election,were also present.

Last week it was disclosed that Kate and Gerry, 41-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, have had a private meeting with Home Secretary Alan Johnson to request a review of the evidence.

He has been notably silent on the case, seemingly preferring to sit on the fence rather than use his influence to demand a breakthrough and there are no indications he will order a review.

The McCanns’ lawyer has been given a Portugese police file of new sightings which have not been properly investigated. She is particularly interested in information that Madeleine may have been in Spain and Italy.

Last week a judge in Portugal ruled that a book by a former police chief should continue to be banned because his unproven claim that Madeleine died in the flat is damaging the search.

On Friday Kate McCann was close to tears as she spoke of the “heartbreaking” failure by police to probe new leads.

“There’s a little girl still missing and you can’t just write her off and say ‘Well, we’ve tried and that’s just too bad’,” she said. “It’s not good enough.”

Mr McCann said: “Information which we think is very credible and worthy of further investigation has not been actioned. We’re gutted, it’s absolutely shocking.”

http://www.express.co.uk

[pausebreak]

Private investigators searching for Madeleine McCann must have access to previously unseen files which have emerged on the case, a spokesman for her parents has said

The files reportedly comprise hundreds of pages of information, including CCTV images of a young girl who looks like Madeleine being led into a supermarket in New Zealand in 2007.

Several British newspapers have published the image, along with details of other possible sightings from the files.

The footage shows a young girl with blond hair holding hands with a "portly man in shorts". The man's behaviour was deemed suspicious by a female security guard who asked the girl her name.

Although she told the guard her name was "Hailey" the guard reported the incident to local police who filed a report of the sighting and sent it to Interpol who in turn sent it to detectives in Portugal, who didn't follow-up the report.

TV3 reporter Dave Gooselink told Sky News the security guard was convinced the girl had a British accent and that New Zealand police no longer have the original footage.

The new evidence is available because four of the papers applied to the state prosecutor in the Algarve, Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt said.

One report mentions a British man called George who saw a small, distressed blonde girl being dragged along a road to Faro airport in Portugal on the night Madeleine went missing.

Another details how a young girl who looked like Madeleine was seen being held at gunpoint on a French motorway by a half-naked man in August 2008.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell called on the information to be released to the McCann family's investigators.

He said: "Kate and Gerry have made it clear that they were shocked to see the lack of follow-up work done by the Portuguese police since the investigation was shelved.

"All the information in these files must go to the private investigators as they are the only people still looking for Madeleine."

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 major police operation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.

Four months after she disappeared, Portuguese police made both Mr and Mrs McCann "arguidos", or formal suspects, in the case.

Two days later, on September 9, 2007, the couple returned to Britain with their two other children, twins Sean and Amelie.

In July 2008, the Portuguese attorney general shelved the investigation and lifted the arguido status of Mr and Mrs McCann.

The couple insist they will continue to believe Madeleine is still alive until presented with firm evidence to the contrary and have vowed to keep looking for her for as long as it takes

http://tiny.cc/Qs78z

[pausebreak]

A newly released file on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, her parents' spokesman has said.

Clarence Mitchell told Sky News it was disgraceful that information about possible sightings of Madeleine has only emerged now after sitting in a box since 2008, when the case was shelved by Portuguese police.

"The McCanns have been tearing their hair out for a long time, they're very frustrated this information has been sitting in a file since July 2008," he said.

"This information is gold dust to them. Kate and Gerry need all of it and they want a full review of all the information it contains.
"Our investigators are working at times with one hand tied behind their back.

"Any leads must come through Portugal but they must come to Kate and Gerry."Our investigators will now work very hard and three years on it will hopefully lead to the breakthrough Kate and Gerry have been waiting for."

Sky's crime correspondent Martin Brunt said the McCanns first became aware of the file after they won a court battle to ban publication of a book that claimed their daughter was dead.

It was during this case that the detective in charge of the case admitted that new information had come in since the investigation had been shelved but was sitting in a box marked "not relevant".

The new evidence is available because four newspapers applied to the state prosecutor in the Algarve.

Although the McCanns were aware of the file's existence since the court hearing, they were shocked to learn of the extent of it.

One report mentions a British man called George who saw a small, distressed blonde girl being dragged along a road to Faro airport in Portugal on the night Madeleine went missing.

The file also contains details of a sighting in New Zealand of a girl who looks like Madeleine, seven months after her disappearance.

TV3 reporter Dave Gooselink told Sky News the girl had a British accent but that New Zealand police no longer have the original footage.
Shop assistant Taryn Dryfhout, who reported the possible sighting, said she "absolutely believes" it was Madeleine.

"It was her, she was just so much like her. It was quite a recent event at the time, we'd seen her face all over the news and I was just taken aback," she said.

"She had an English accent and told me her name was Hayley.
"She was quite apprehensive to talk to me and stammered over her words when she was trying to think of her name."

Mr Mitchell refused to comment on the New Zealand incident and stressed the McCanns do not want a "media frenzy" surrounding one sighting.
"Any other sightings that have credible information that can be checked, our investigators are working on it," he said.

http://tiny.cc/C6mTu

[gwen]

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[gwen]

Three Years Later: Where's Madeleine McCann?
Parents Say Portuguese Police Not Following Up on New Leads; Criminal Profiler Pat Brown: Girl Should Have Been Seen By Now

(CBS) This is the third anniversary of the disappearance of young British girl Madeleine McCann, who vanished from her family's holiday resort in Portugal in May 2007. She was three at the time.

But, in spite of a huge international police operation, there are still no real leads on what might have happened to Madeleine, according to CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

Over the years, there have been hundreds of supposed sightings of Madeleine, but not one of them has panned out. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, still hope she'll one day be found alive and have released a new video to mark the anniversary.

The video's focus is the McCanns' search for their daughter. Palmer says the family has long been handing out posters and photos, combing the Internet, and responding to tips from the public.

The couple has also spoken out in an interview on Portuguese TV about what they observed the night Madeleine was last seen.

Kate McCann said, "The shutters, which had been down all week, when I went in and there was the gust that blew the curtains open, that's when I noticed that the shutter had been pulled up."

On the night of May 3, 2007, the McCanns left their three children sleeping in the family's vacation condo, and went to dinner at a restaurant 100 yards away.

Around 10:00 p.m., when Kate McCann went to check on the children, she found Madeleine was gone.

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."

If you have information on Madeleine McCann's disappearance, visit Find Madeleine.com.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/ ... a;morenews

[bbeba103]

Cops probe 'Maddie' sighting

COPS in India have taken DNA samples from a young girl after a Brit tourist spotted her and thought she looked like Madeleine McCann.

She was part of a group of holidaymakers in the northern city of Leh who saw the girl with a man and a woman.

Private investigators are looking into the sighting —made by the British woman and two Americans.

They tried to take the girl from the couple who claimed to be her French mum and Belgian dad.

Police confiscated their passports while they probed the claims last weekend.

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann, said: "Our private investigators are aware of the reports from India over the weekend about a possible sighting of Madeleine.

"We are liaising with the Indian authorities over the incident and await the results of the DNA test."

Leh police said it would be a great honour if they had managed to locate Madeleine in their city.

Maddie was three when she disappeared from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

The youngster —who has a distinctive blemish in her right eye —vanished as ex-GP Kate, 43, and consultant cardiologist Gerry, 42, enjoyed a meal with friends at a nearby tapas bar.

Maddie had been sleeping in a bedroom at the flat with twin
siblings Amelie and Sean, now six.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... &ATTR=News

[bbeba103]

Madeleine 'sighting' played down Thursday, 28 July 2011

Madeleine McCann's family has played down a possible sighting of the missing child in India. Local police are said to be investigating after a British woman spotted a six-year-old girl who appeared to resemble Madeleine in a market in the city of Leh in northern India on Friday night.

A French woman and a Belgian man who were with the girl insisted they were her biological parents but police took their passports to check, the Chandigarh Tribune newspaper reported.

It is understood that the private detectives hired by Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, to continue looking for their daughter are not currently planning to travel to India but will liaise with local police.

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "The private investigators currently searching for Madeleine have been aware of this report from India for several days, and have been working to establish its veracity.

"So far unfortunately there is nothing to suggest that this sighting is any more credible than any of the many others we have had over the last four-plus years."

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Portuguese detectives, helped by officers from Leicestershire Police, carried out a massive investigation into her disappearance.

But the official inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008 and since then no police force has been actively looking for the missing child, who would now be eight.

Scotland Yard launched a review of the original investigation in May after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May supported by Prime Minister David Cameron. Hundreds of possible sightings of the little girl around the world have been reported since she went missing, but so far they have all come to nothing.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... 29205.html

[bbeba103]

Madeleine McCann: DNA test taken from little girl in India Brit woman believes is Maddy By Mirror.co.uk

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann face an agonising wait for the results of a DNA test after a young girl suspected of being their daughter was spotted in India.

The girl fitting the description of Maddy, who went missing whie on a family holiday to the Algarve in Portugal in 2007, was seen by a British woman and two Americans in a market in the northern city of Leh.

The trio were so convinced it was Madeleine, who would now be eight years old, that they tried to take the girl away from the Belgian man and French woman who insist they are the child's parents.

Police have taken swabs from the youngster so that a DNA test can be carried out and a team of private investigators working on behalf of Kate and Gerry McCann are liaising with them.

It has also been reported that the passports of the girl's family have been confiscated by the Indian authorities until the results of the DNA test have come back.

A spokesman for Leh police said: "It all depends upon the evidence like DNA for which help from Madeleine's parents and the British police was required."

Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "Our private investigators are aware of the reports from India over the weekend about a possible sighting of Madeleine.

"We are liaising with the Indian authorities over the incident and await the results of the DNA test."

http://m.mirror.co.uk/article?a=m4:23302881

[CSI]

Thanks bbeba - that would be so wonderful it that was her.

[bbeba103]

Thanks bbeba - that would be so wonderful it that was her.

You're welcome CSI, would be great news if this is Maddie after justice failed another little girl perhaps in this case the outcome could be different.

[bbeba103]

Madeleine McCann: Girl spotted in India not our missing Maddie say parents By Mirror.co.uk

Kate and Gerry McCann no not believe a young girl seen in India is their missing daughter Madeleine, their spokesman said.

Local police became involved after a British woman spotted a six-year-old girl who appeared to resemble Madeleine in a market in the city of Leh in northern India on Friday night.

A French woman and a Belgian man who were with the girl insisted they were her biological parents but police took their passports to check, the Chandigarh Tribune newspaper reported.

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry do not believe the child seen in India was Madeleine. They have seen photographic evidence and concluded that it was not her.

"We remain grateful for people's vigilance around the world. Madeleine is still out there and the search for her very much continues."

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Portuguese detectives, helped by officers from Leicestershire Police, carried out a massive investigation into her disappearance.

But the official inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008 and since then no police force has been actively looking for the missing child, who would now be eight.

Scotland Yard launched a review of the original investigation in May after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May supported by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Hundreds of possible sightings of the little girl around the world have been reported since she went missing, but so far they have all come to nothing.

http://m.mirror.co.uk/article?a=m4:23303698

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Why not wait for the DNA results to come back...

[bbeba103]

McCanns' Maddie hopes are dashed

'Sighting' in India is lookalike

MADELEINE McCann's parents had their hopes dashed again last night after a dramatic "sighting" in India proved to be a lookalike.

An elderly British woman and American man spotted a girl resembling Maddie with a couple in the remote Himalayan town of Leh on Friday.

The girl was said to be the spitting image of the youngster, who would now be eight.

In dramatic scenes, the British woman -named only as Carol -accused the parents of having Madeleine. Her American pal even grabbed the youngster to try to get her away from the parents.

Indian detectives arrived and confiscated passports belonging to the mother and father, a Belgian man and French woman. DNA tests are being carried out to establish the girl's identity.

But last night it emerged she is not Maddie after her parents Kate and Gerry, both 43, of Rothley, Leics, were shown photos. Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry do not believe the child was Madeleine. They have seen photographic evidence and concluded that it was not her."

News of the possible breakthrough sparked a massive internet surge with the story featuring highly on Twitter.

A witness to the confrontation, local journalist Jupinderjit Singh, said: "I saw a couple with a little girl walking on the road. I heard the elderly woman, who I later found out was Carol, shouting that the girl was Madeleine and not their daughter.

"The American guy even tried to snatch away the girl from the couple."

Mr Singh added: "She had a striking resemblance to the picture of Madeleine before she disappeared."

Mr Singh said the girl appeared confused and the parents could offer no proof she was their daughter, although the youngster confirmed she was.

Mr Singh went on: "She was hiding her face behind the French lady. She could speak fluent French."

Last night a British High Commission spokesman said "Our teams in Delhi and London are tracking this. We are keeping an eye on the issue."

Maddie was three when she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

Mr Mitchell added: "We remain grateful for people's vigilance around the world.

"Madeleine is still out there -and the search for her very much continues."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... &ATTR=News

------
I would wait for the DNA test to conclusively rule out if this is Maddie I know the parents say its not their daughter from the pictures they were shown, but its been a very long time I am sure Maddie wouldn't look the same as when she went missing...Jmo

[Need2Know]

Just saw this, too bad it was not her. Thanks for posting the articles.

[bbeba103]

Just saw this, too bad it was not her. Thanks for posting the articles.

You're welcome Need2know, I still would wait for the DNA results to come I am still holding out hope its her.

[bbeba103]

THIRTY BRITISH POLICE IN NEW MADELEINE MCCANN HUNT

Friday September 9 2011 by David Pilditch and Tracey Kandohla

A NEW investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was under way last night after senior Scotland Yard detectives flew to Portugal. Officers from a 30-strong squad specially set up to revive the search for Madeleine McCann, who vanished four years ago, met Portuguese authorities for the first time.

The top secret talks took place last month but details emerged for the first time yesterday. Last night Madeleine’s devoted parents Kate and Gerry told how the development gave them fresh hope of a breakthrough in the hunt for their daughter.

Heart specialist Gerry, 42, and former GP Kate, 43, were said to be “extremely pleased” the meeting had taken place. It is the first time any international police force has been searching for Madeleine since the official Portuguese inquiry was shelved in July 2008.

The couple’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Kate and Gerry believed it was “a positive step in the right direction”. Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

Scotland Yard confirmed its officers conducted their first face-to-face “formal meeting” with Portuguese police who led the hunt for her.

The McCanns, of Rothley, Leicestershire, believe vital clues were missed and leads never followed up during the shambolic investigation.

The despairing couple were left to search for Madeleine by themselves and hired a team of private eyes.

They insisted they would never stop looking for Madeleine, who vanished days before her fourth birthday, and were given a huge boost when David Cameron stepped in to help following a personal appeal in May.

Mr Cameron told the couple Home Secretary Theresa May had ordered Scotland Yard to launch a new operation funded by the Government. They were tasked to carry out a review of the investigation from start to finish and bring a new perspective to the case. Yesterday it was revealed the Yard team carrying out the new inquiry consists of 30 officers, the same size as a murder squad.

It is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, of the Met’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command, who has been dubbed Britain’s top cold case detective. The McCanns hope the renewed efforts could unearth a vital new clue in the four-year mystery.

Mr Mitchell said: “Kate and Gerry are extremely pleased that the review is progressing. It is a positive step in the right direction.”

The Portuguese detectives’ investigation, helped by officers from Leicestershire Police, led to hundreds of possible sightings of Madeleine across the world but so far all have come to nothing. A Scotland Yard spokesman said last night: “Officers from the Metropolitan Police travelled to Portugal at the beginning of August and had their first formal meeting with Portuguese authorities to discuss ways to progress the investigative review.”

The McCanns met members of the London-based squad several times before the Portuguese meeting. A source close to the couple said: “They are relieved. Things are finally being done and Kate and Gerry are being kept informed of every move.” The couple, who have six-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, are convinced it is only a matter of time before they get a significant breakthrough.

Their private investigators, headed by former Detective Inspector David Edgar, have also met the new team.

The family source said: “Kate and Gerry have had several meetings with police reviewing their daughter’s case. They know the officers have a difficult task ahead but they feel positive. They have been told that if something has been missed they will find it. They are relieved that something is finally happening.

“Kate and Gerry believe potentially vital clues were missed in the botched Portuguese investigation and their private eyes are hoping the Met will bring a new perspective to the case, which is being conducted in tandem with Portuguese police. The review is still in its very early stages. Officers are busy going through everything from scratch and analysing it.”

When the review was announced, Sir Paul Stephenson, the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, insisted there was “always a chance” it could lead to Madeleine being safely reunited with her parents.

The review team has drawn expertise from Scotland Yard’s specialist crime directorate.

More officers will be drafted in if new evidence is found, including scenes-of-crime experts and forensic scientists.

The team is currently sifting through 20,000 pages of evidence assembled by Portuguese detectives. They will review witness statements, make a fresh appeal for information and carefully re-check alibis.

A police source said: “They will be looking for something that has been overlooked or not developed which could lead to a fresh line of inquiry –a sighting, a tip-off, something that didn’t ring bells at the time but could be vital.”

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/270 ... cCann-hunt

[bbeba103]

9 September 2011 Last updated at 06:46 ET

Madeleine McCann review police holds talk in Portugal

British detectives reviewing the search for Madeleine McCann have held their first face-to-face meetings with Portuguese police chiefs. The Metropolitan Police (Met) confirmed senior officers from a 30-strong squad examining the case travelled to Portugal in early August.

Scotland Yard said officers discussed ways of taking the review forward.

Madeleine, from Rothley in Leicestershire, went missing while on holiday in the Algarve in May 2007.

The review was launched in May at the request of Home Secretary Theresa May, with the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron.

A Metropolitan Police Services (MPS) spokesman said: "MPS officers travelled to Portugal at the beginning of August and had their first formal meeting with Portuguese authorities to discuss ways to progress the investigative review."

The investigation by Portuguese detectives was formally shelved in July 2008 and since then no police force has been actively looking for Madeleine, who was nearly four years old when she went missing.

Hundreds of possible sightings have been reported around the world since she disappeared, but so far they have all come to nothing.

The Met review is being led by Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood from the force's Homicide and Serious Crime Command.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-le ... e-14851170

[bbeba103]

Kate McCann: "We will not stop looking for Madeleine"

The McCann couple in Spain has presented the book 'Madeleine' to raise funds to continue searching for her daughter and distributing pictures and additional information on the possible kidnapper. Four years after his disappearance, the case closed and no official investigation, the 'Madeleine Foundation' still looking for any trace on your own.

Laura Lazarus / Qué.es October 19, 2011

Four and half years ago that Madeleine vanished in the Algarve , while spending the holidays with his family. His parents have been presented in Spain the book 'Madeleine' to keep asking for information to someone who might know something and to raise funds in pursuit of the girl.

"No day without thinking about it and let's not less," said his mother. He adds, "we will not be the same until she appears."

When the investigation in Portugal was stopped in 2008 due to change in the penal code, the McCann couple created the foundation 'Find Madeleine' to investigate on their own with independent investigators the whereabouts of her daughter.

"We are convinced that Madeleine was abducted," said Gerry McCann. "Someone has to know the man who did it because at some point, he has had to go to the supermarket or pharmacy," said the father.

The couple who have been waiting 1630 days is any indication on the whereabouts of Madeleine, clings to the example of the case Kampush Natasha , in which the girl appeared years after being kidnapped. "It seems that the smaller the kidnap, the more likely they are to appear over the years," says the mother.

The McCanns regret having had to deal both with the absence of her eldest daughter, as people who have taken the opportunity to take advantage of their situation. The foundation works both find Madeleine and to collaborate with other cases of missing children. For example, with the request to the European Parliament for the creation of a coordinated warning system.

Gerry admits he was "guilty of everything that happened but this does not change things." He adds, "We remain focused on finding my daughter."

"We have heard the case of children of Cordoba and send all our support to parents, "says Kate. "We hope that you find them safe and sound because we know very well how they feel right now," he says excitedly.

http://www.que.es/ultimas-noticias/inte ... -cont.html

Google translation...