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Madeleine: Sighting in Belgium raises new hopes 100 days after she disappeared MAIL

No Madeleine match after DNA test



DNA test results from a restaurant in Belgium have not provided a match with missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann.

The DNA - taken from a drink bottle and straw after a girl was seen with a man at a cafe - matched that of a man, prosecutors in Tongeren town said.

It "doesn't mean that the presence of Maddie is excluded", they added.

Meanwhile, suspected traces of blood from the Algarve apartment where Madeleine was last seen are being tested in Birmingham by UK scientists.

It is believed the evidence was found during a search involving at least one sniffer dog from Britain.

Madeleine's parents say they still have faith she will be found alive.

Database search

The Belgian DNA tests were on a strawberry-flavoured milk drink bottle and a straw.


We will work with them and continue to work with them for the breakthrough that we pray for every single day
Gerry McCann

Police were contacted after a girl suspected of being Madeleine was spotted at a roadside cafe with a Dutch-speaking man aged around 40 and an English-speaking woman of around 25.

Prosecutors added that "the man accompanying her may have drunk from the bottle" and that it was strange the couple involved had not come forward to be excluded from the police inquiry.

A prosecution official said although the DNA had not produced any matches in databases, the investigation remained open.

"We are seeing what tip-offs come in, although to date we have not had anything that has led to concrete results."

Some Portuguese newspapers reported on Tuesday that detectives now suspect Madeleine died in the holiday flat in Praia da Luz on 3 May - the night she disappeared.

Detectives in Portugal are refusing to comment officially on those reports.

A police spokesman told BBC News there were "some indications" she had not been alive when she was taken, but the possibility had not been discounted.

He said other people could be interviewed before the end of the week.

If tests in Birmingham confirm the find of traces of blood, police will look for a DNA match with Madeleine.

Breakthrough hope

Speaking on Tuesday, Gerry McCann said he had no reason to think his daughter was dead.

"We're not naive, but on numerous occasions, the Portuguese police have assured us that they were looking for Madeleine alive, and not Madeleine being murdered," Mr McCann said.

The Pauze restaurant in Tongeren, Belgium
A suspected sighting of Madeleine took place at this restaurant

"And I don't know of any information that's changed that."

He and his wife, Kate, from Rothley, Leicestershire, strongly believed their daughter had been alive when she was taken, he said.

Mr McCann said he accepted that police needed to be thorough in all aspects of the investigation, including with his own family and friends.

Over the past 48 hours, police have also re-examined up to 10 vehicles, including a hire car rented by Gerry and Kate McCann about five weeks after the disappearance of their daughter.

Kate McCann said they had an excellent relationship with the Portuguese police.

"We will work with them and continue to work with them for the breakthrough that we pray for every single day," added Mr McCann.

House search

A second search of the home of suspect Robert Murat, 33, in the Portuguese resort in recent days found no new evidence.

Two of the vehicles re-examined on Monday were a car and a van used by Mr Murat, the only declared suspect in the case.

On Monday night, the vehicles were returned to the Murat family villa, which is owned by Mr Murat's mother.

Publicly the police have not commented on the results of the weekend search but the BBC understands it revealed nothing to link Mr Murat to Madeleine.

Mr Murat was declared a suspect 10 days after Madeleine was last seen but has strenuously denied any involvement in her disappearance.
BBC

Maddy was alive when taken

Lori Campbell In Praia Da Luz



Missing Madeleine McCann's favourite pink Cuddle Cat toy was taken from her arms as she slept and placed beyond her reach by her kidnapper. That is why police are certain Madeleine was snatched while she was asleep - and was NOT killed or injured in the holiday apartment.

When her mum Kate, 38, tucked Madeleine into bed, the four-year-old was cuddling the toy - but it was later found placed on a ledge that Madeleine could not have reached.

There is also further "concrete evidence" that Madeleine was still ALIVE when she left the holiday apartment. Her kidnapper had a window of just five minutes to strike - from when dad Gerry last checked on the children until family friend Jane Tanner saw a man carrying away a child she is sure was Madeleine wrapped in a blanket. The new revelations rubbish reports in Portuguese newspapers this week that she was murdered or died in an accident inside the villa. And they come as local police Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa ruled Gerry and Kate out of the inquiry - and admitted for the first time Madeleine could be dead.

Now, the Sunday Mirror can give a true picture of what happened when Kate found her daughter missing. We can reveal:

Police have specific evidence from the apartment that she was still alive

Madeleine was kidnapped as the toy she had fallen asleep with was left on a ledge placed too high for a child to reach

There was a window of less than five minutes for a kidnapper to pounce - not enough time to kill her and clean up

Police do not believe blood found in the apartment was Madeleine's as it was not consistent with signs of a struggle

The patio doors were unlocked but the intruder used the window to escape with Madeleine as the shutters were forced up.

We can also reveal that devastated Kate was reduced to tears several times by the aggressive questioning of Portuguese police this week. And yesterday the parents were hit by further cruel claims in Portuguese papers linking them to Madeleine's disappearance on May 3.

But our dramatic information confirms Madeleine was most likely to have been abducted by a stranger who had watched the family's routine for up to four days.

And it shows Portuguese police from the beginning have had firm evidence Madeleine was still alive when she was taken from the ground-floor apartment.

The McCanns were told in a secret meeting with police within days of Madeleine going missing what this evidence is. They have been unable to discuss it publicly in case it jeopardises the investigation - and have even been banned from telling close friends or family.

Kate has refused to say where she found the Cuddle Cat toy when she returned to the villa in Praia da Luz at about 10pm to find her daughter's bed empty.

But she has hinted the bedroom was left in such a way that she knew almost instantly Madeleine had been kidnapped.

Our police source said: "When Kate tucked Madeleine up in bed earlier in the evening, she had toy tightly in her arms as she did every night. So Kate was terrified when she spotted it had been left in a place too high for her to reach. Kate also noticed the window was wide opened and the shutters jammed up. It was because of these things that she had no doubt Madeleine had been kidnapped and she ran out to scream for help."

The Sunday Mirror has been told there was a window of opportunity of less than five minutes from the last time Gerry checked on their child to the reported sighting by family friend Jane of her being carried away by a man. Our source said: "Although there has been much speculation about a 'lost hour' in which Madeleine could have been taken, it was actually less than five minutes. The kidnapping must have been meticulously planned. Police found no fingerprints or DNA on the Cuddle Cat or in the room, indicating the intruder wore gloves.

There was so little time that whoever took Madeleine must have been watching the family closely for several days so they knew exactly when to strike.

"Kate and Gerry left Madeleine and the twins Sean and Amelie alone every evening of their week-long holiday to eat dinner 50 yards away and followed the same routine of checking on them. The kidnapper would have known this."

The patio doors at the back of the apartment were left unlocked so Kate and Gerry could check on the children easily. But police are unsure if the intruder used them to slip in or if the shutters to the front window were forced open from outside. Our source added: "Whichever way the kidnapper entered, they left by the window because it was left wide open and the shutters were forced up."

Sniffer dogs flown over to Portugal last week by British police were taken into the apartment and found specks of blood missed in an initial search.

The results of DNA tests are expected this week but detectives are convinced it does not belong to Madeleine because if it was fresh, it would have been spotted when they first scoured the apartment.

But that has not stopped the Portuguese media leading a hurtful smear campaign against Kate and Gerry which reached a new low with the suggestion Madeleine was killed inside the apartment and that Kate was somehow involved.

The spiteful rumours forced Kate and Gerry to insist they would not be bullied out of Portugal. But yesterday there were more cruel accusations as they marked 100 days since Madeleine disappeared.

Portuguese newspaper Sol alleged the toddler died in the apartment before her parents went to dinner. It says British sniffer dogs picked up traces of her corpse and signs she was moved.

An "unnamed specialist" told the newspaper: "For the dogs to detect a body, it would have to stay in place where it died for a minimum of two hours."

The report also alleged the McCanns' silver Renault Scenic hire car may have been used to get rid of Madeleine's body.

A McCann spokesman yesterday dismissed the allegations as "complete nonsense".
Sundaymirror

Maddie's parents face the worst

MISSING Madeleine McCann’s father told yesterday how he was having to consider “the worst possible scenario” — that his daughter may be dead.

Heart specialist Gerry McCann and his GP wife Kate have steadfastly remained adamant their girl is alive.

But for the first time they now acknowledge she may be gone.

SUN

Blood found in Madeleine apartment 'not hers'




Blood traces found in the holiday apartment where Madeleine McCann was sleeping the night she disappeared did not come from the missing girl, it was reported today.

Analysis of the tiny spots of blood found smeared on the bedroom wall showed it belonged to a man, according to the Times.

The test results come after a fortnight of mounting speculation that the four-year-old girl was murdered in the Praia da Luz apartment.

The results showed that the blood probably came from a man from the "north-east European sub-group". This conclusion is only 72% accurate, however, due to the poor condition of the sample because of its age and cleaning of the bedroom wall.

The Forensic Science Service in Birmingham is now conducting further tests on the blood traces.

A male guest is known to have injured himself while staying at the flat after Madeleine disappeared. This could explain why the blood was not found when Portuguese police searched the apartment after Madeleine's disappearance.

Recent reports in the Portuguese media have quoted anonymous police sources as saying that detectives believe Madeleine died in the apartment the night she went missing.

A spokesman for the Policia Judiciaria said yesterday that they were now working on the assumption that Madeleine is dead. But Inspector Olegário Sousa said they had not entirely ruled out other possibilities.

Kate and Gerry McCann have clung to the hope that their daughter is still alive during the 105 days since she vanished while they ate dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

But Mrs McCann has said she would rather know if her daughter was dead than remain in limbo for the rest of her life.
guardian

Madeleine police 'to arrest new suspect in Britain' Mail

Maddy: It's over




The father of Madeleine McCann has lost faith in the Portuguese police investigation to find his missing daughter and plans to wind down the media campaign.

Gerry McCann also hinted that he and his wife Kate, 39, were preparing to take the decision finally to return to Britain with their twins.

Gerry, who speaks regularly to detectives, said police seem to be no closer to solving the crime.

He has grown frustrated at the slow pace of the investigation and the lack of information being passed to him.


He said: "We just want to get to the bottom of things, find Madeleine, but obviously, there is no sign of a breakthrough.

"The only way I'll be happy is when Madeleine is found. It's an ongoing trauma." He added that the investigative procedures and style of the Portuguese police made it "very hard" for he and Kate.

"The Portuguese police do things very, very quietly," he said. "They like to do things quietly and not for people to know.

"The way the investigation is being handled is very different to the UK where the police like to give out information."

Gerry, 39, hinted at the frustrations on his internet blog. He wrote: "Unfortunately we have to add patience to our other characteristics."

The couple, from Rothley, Leics, were also angered when police said they believed Madeleine could be dead without informing them first.

It is now 116 days since Madeleine was snatched from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

British ex-pat Robert Murat remains the only suspect in the case, but there is speculation he is going to be cleared.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV festival at the weekend, Gerry explained why he wanted to wind down the publicity campaign and said they could return home soon.

He added: "I do not feel that it is necessary to have Madeleine's image on the news constantly.

"We cannot sustain that level of interest and Kate and I want to withdraw from the campaign. After the first few weeks, we fully expected the media attention to die down but this has just not happened."

He went on: "It is difficult to explain why Madeleine's disappearance generated so much media coverage."

Gerry also sent his sympathy to the family of murdered Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones.

He said: "It is a terrible waste of a young life."

He added that both he and Kate and the parents of Rhys "are in the middle of terrible traumas".
Mirror

Madeleine police interview parents again





Kate McCann will be reinterviewed this afternoon by Portuguese police investigating the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, a family friend said today. Her husband Gerry is to be reinterviewed tomorrow, it is understood.

The development came after Portuguese police yesterday received results from forensic tests carried out by a British laboratory, triggering reports that arrests could be imminent.

Earlier, Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, who is leading the Portuguese police investigation, told Sky News he would meet with the couple today to discuss the test results. It was not clear when the apparent decision to interview the parents separately was made but it is thought this may simply be standard practice.

The couple would be spoken to as witnesses, Sky News said.

Experts at the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham have spent the past month analysing samples from the McCanns' holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

The evidence recovered from the flat includes blood flecks found by British sniffer dogs on the wall in the bedroom where Madeleine was last seen on May 3.

A source confirmed yesterday that information gathered by the FSS had been "regularly fed back" to investigators in Portugal, although the official line remains that tests are "ongoing".

Portuguese police said they were now giving "special attention" to the theory that Madeleine is dead. Their conclusions about this will hinge on the results of the FSS analysis.

Also waiting for details of the tests is the only official suspect in the case, the Anglo-Portuguese expat Robert Murat, 33.

He has denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance and has said he believes the Portuguese authorities will shortly clear him formally.

Mr Murat's spokesman, Tuck Price, said he had not been told about any developments in the case.

The FSS results are understood to have been passed to Leicestershire police, who are liaising with Portuguese investigators.

The McCanns are expected to take part in a religious festival in Praia da Luz this weekend. They will attend an ecumenical service in the village church of Nossa Senhora da Luz on Saturday night as part of the festival of Our Lady of Luz.

There is talk that it could be the family's farewell to the village before returning to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
Guardian

MADDIE: POLICE SET TO MAKE ARRESTS

POLICE investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will make arrests “over the next few days”, it was revealed last night.

Forensic tests by British scientists have uncovered “significant” new evidence in the case of the missing four-year-old, and sources say ­officers are about to swoop.

DailyStar

Madeleine: They're trying to frame me, says mother after eight hour police interview

The mother of Madeleine McCann was dramatically reinterviewed by police yesterday - and is terrified they are trying to frame her.

Late last night Kate McCann was still being questioned at police headquarters in Portimao, 30 miles from Praia da Luz.

It is the first time she has been formally interviewed since May 4, the day after her daughter vanished from her bed in the Mark Warner holiday complex.

ThisisLondon

Maddy parents' suspect claim fears




Kate and Gerry McCann fear they will today be named as suspects over the disappearance of four-year-old daughter Madeleine.

They confided in friends as Kate was yesterday formally questioned by Portuguese police without Gerry.

She was last night still being interviewed nine hours after arriving at Portimao police station. Gerry will be interviewed there today.

Officers refuse to say why they are quizzing them separately.


But a source claimed British tests on forensic samples had highlighted a discrepancy in the McCanns' account of the night Madeleine disappeared.

The samples were taken from the McCanns' holiday flat and a silver Renault people carrier they rented five weeks after Madeleine vanished on May 3.

The source said: "The re-questioning of the McCanns is directly linked to the forensic results.

"There are some crucial issues which need to be resolved." Kate and Gerry have told friends they believe they are being set up.
Mirror

Madeleine: Mother to be named as a 'suspect' after 11 hours of questioning Mail

Police: 'traces of Maddy blood in car' Ch4

Are we allowed to discuss this?

If it's even appropriate to.

I think it's deplorable how the Portuguese Police have (mis-)handled this entire investigation.

IF, and it's a pretty big IF, they believe that either of the McCanns are responsible for the death of their child, then they should arrest them, not issue press statements.

But it looks more like they are adding insult to injury. Not only are the McCanns suffering the ultimate trauma of parents, but they have had to suffer an incompetent police force who have bungled the initial inquiry (the most critical time for the investigation), and who are now covering their own incompetence by blaming the parents! On the flimsiest of evidence.

It's as sickening as it is astonishing.

To say nothing of the hostile press in Portugal and Spain. Instead of taking out their national embarrassment on the parents, they should at least be sympathetic, if they cannot muster support.

Does it never occur to these inhuman, incompetent idiots of police and press that if either of the McCanns was responsible, the last thing they would do would be to devote so much time and money in an international publicity campaign to find out what happened to their daughter?

There's a little girl out there, hopefully alive, and the police should be doing everything they can to find out what has happened to her.