SCOTLAND YARD detectives released a picture of what Madeleine McCann might look like today, and they also said yesterday they had uncovered new information to suggest she could be alive and living with her abductor.
The senior officer leading an investigative review into the disappearance of Madeleine five years ago is calling on Portuguese police to reopen their inquiry.
Releasing an age-enhanced image of Madeleine – as she nears her ninth birthday on May 12th – Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood, of Scotland Yard’s homicide and serious crime command, said: “We genuinely believe there’s a possibility that she is alive. I want to make a direct appeal. If you know where Madeleine McCann is or if you have any direct information or evidence about what happened to her, then please make contact.”
Mr Redwood and his 37-strong team have identified 195 missed investigative opportunities in the 40,000 pieces of evidence they have examined from the Portuguese inquiry, the family’s home force in Leicestershire and the information gleaned by private detectives hired by the McCanns since Madeleine went missing, aged three, from the resort of Praia de Luz on May 3rd, 2007.
“We are in a unique position seeking to draw together the three key strands of information about her disappearance,” said Mr Redwood. He dismissed the theory – promoted by the original Portuguese investigator – that Madeleine’s parents had anything to do with her disappearance. Kate and Gerry McCann worked closely with detectives to produce the new image of their daughter.
It is understood that key areas being investigated by Scotland Yard – which Portuguese police failed to pursue – include analysis of a huge amount of mobile phone cell site evidence that was gathered but never analysed. Officers are also focusing on men in the area with criminal convictions, and the background of resort staff.
The decision on whether to reopen the inquiry in Portugal is in the hands of its attorney general.
– (Guardian service)