Met: 'We still hope to find Madeleine alive', inquiry may continue next year

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/madeleine-mccann-detective-we-still-hope-to-find-her-alive-a3227561.html

Madeleine McCann detective: we still hope to find her alive

JUSTIN DAVENPORT CRIME EDITOR 29 minutes ago

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann believe she could still be found alive, a senior Scotland Yard officer said today.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, the head of the Yard’s homicide squad, said officers were pursuing “justifiable and reasonable” leads in the investigation into the missing three year-old.

He was speaking weeks after the Home Secretary Theresa May granted police £95,000 to extend the five year old inquiry for a further six months.

Mr Duthie, who is in overall charge of the investigation Operation Grange, said: “There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive.

“That’s what we want and that’s what the family and the public want and that is why the Home Office continue to fund it. There is work that needs to be done still. “

The police chief admitted detectives did not have a “full understanding” of what happened to Madeleine or why she was taken but added: “That is why the work continues. “

He told the Standard: “There is a missing girl and if she has been murdered and if we think we have got justifiable and reasonable lines of inquiry to pursue then they should be dealt with.”

Madeleine disappeared in May 2007 just days before her fourth birthday while she was on holiday with her parents Kate, 48, and Gerry, 47, in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal.

Scotland Yard launched an investigation codenamed Operation Grange in 2011 at the request of the family and the Home Secretary after the Pourtugese authorities closed down their inquiry into the case.

Since then the Met detectives have taken more than 1,338 statements and investigated more than 60 persons of interest in an inquiry which is estimated to have cost £12 million.

Officers have interviewed a number of suspects, including three former workers at the Ocean Club, where the McCanns were staying, and carried out an eight day search of scrubland close to where Madeleine disappeared.

However, in October last year Home Office funded investigation was dramatically scaled back from 29 to just four officers with little sign of any breakthrough.

The McCanns, whose daughter would be turning 13 next month, feared the inquiry would be shut this year and said they would pay for private detectives to search if the police case closes.

Today Mr Duthie raised the possibility that the police inquiry could continue into next year.

He said: “The investigation continues. We go to the Home Office every six months. We have a smaller team dealing with it because we have less inquiries to deal with but we still have a job to do.

“I imagine that if we have not completed our inquiries within six months we will go back to the Home Office and ask for more money.”

He refused to give further details about the inquiry but confirmed that detectives were still examining possible links to a series of burglaries in the Algrarve area at the time Madeleine went missing.

A spokesman for the McCanns said: “Kate and Gerry remain incredibly grateful to the officers working on Operatin Grange and to the Met in general.

They have always said that in the absence of any evidence that would suggest that Madeleine has come to serious harm, it is perfectly logical to believe that their daughter may still be alive. They are encouraged by the continuing work of the Met.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/7084207/We-hope-well-find-Maddie-ALIVE-British-detective-claims-they-are-chasing-reasonable-leads.html

'We hope we'll find Maddie ALIVE': British detective claims they are chasing 'reasonable' leads

Top Maddie cop says 'there is work that needs to be done'

DETECTIVES hunting for Madeleine McCann believe she could still be found alive and "there is works that needs to be done", the top Maddie cop has said.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, the head of the Scotland Yard’s homicide squad, said officers are pursuing "justifiable and reasonable" leads in their search for the missing girl.

Mr Duthie, who is in charge of the search for Maddie, was speaking after police were granted £95,000 from the Home Office to fund their investigation for another six months.

He said: “There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive.

“That’s what we want and that’s what the family and the public want and that is why the Home Office continue to fund it.

"There is work that needs to be done still."

Mr Duthie confirmed his detectives were still looking into whether a series of burglaries in the Algarve area at the time Madeleine disappeared are relevant to the case.

Despite a five-year investigation he admitted detectives still don't have a “full understanding” of what happened to Maddie, and added: “That is why the work continues."

He told the Evening Standard: “There is a missing girl and if she has been murdered and if we think we have got justifiable and reasonable lines of inquiry to pursue then they should be dealt with.”

Madeleine vanished in May 2007 while on holiday with parents Kate and Gerry McCann in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal.

Met cops launched Operation Grange, the investigation into her disappearance, in 2011 after the Portuguese authorities stopped their search.

In five years Brit detectives have investigated more than 60 persons of interest and taken more than 1,338 statements.

The search is thought to have cost £12million.

Officers have also visited the resort where she vanished to scour the area for clues.

In October last year the number of officers investigating the case was cut from 29 to four, and the McCanns fear Operation Grange will stop this year.

They have said they will pay for private detectives to investigate her disappearance should the police case close.

Mr Duthie said: “The investigation continues. We go to the Home Office every six months. We have a smaller team dealing with it because we have less inquiries to deal with but we still have a job to do.

“I imagine that if we have not completed our inquiries within six months we will go back to the Home Office and ask for more money.”

In 2014 Kate McCann launched the Child Rescue Alert system - which sends out texts and emails to raise the alarm if a youngster is missing or thought to be in danger.