Madeleine McCann's parents to launch new private search with appeal fund's remaining £750k

Mirror     19:06, 19 Dec 2015
Updated 19:11, 19 Dec 2015
By Matthew Drake

Kate and Gerry McCann have set the money aside for another private search for their daughter with the £12million Scotland Yard operation set to wind down

Madeleine McCann’s parents are poised to launch a new ­private search for their daughter with the remaining £750,000 in their appeal fund.

Kate and Gerry, both 47, aim to begin a fresh initiative to solve the nine-year-old mystery as the £12million Scotland Yard investigation winds down.

Plans are under way to use what is left of the No Stone Unturned fund, boosted by sales of Kate’s book Madeleine, to hire private detectives to probe several unanswered questions.

A source told the Sunday People : “There is £750,000 in the account. That money has been ­preserved because Kate and Gerry knew they may want to reopen an ­investigation at some point.

“They have always said they’ll do ­anything they can to keep going. That ­commitment remains.”

The number of British officers working on the ­investigation , named Operation Grange, has been ­reduced from 29 to four.

The operation has cost £10million since it was launched four years ago following intervention from the Prime Minister.

A further £2million has been ­guaranteed by the Home Office until April.

The source added: “We don’t know exactly when Operation Grange will end but while it continues it has the finest technology and analysts.

“Private investigations are expensive and do not have anything like the range and capabilities available to the Yard.

“The McCanns still feel there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered but they still have full confidence in the Metropolitan Police .”

Madeleine disappeared from their ­ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007, shortly before her fourth ­birthday. Since then her parents have campaigned tirelessly.