Met Police say they are still confident of finding the missing girl 10 years after she went missing as a three-year-old in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with officers 'working on all leads'.
BRITISH cops hunting for Madeleine McCann today insist they are still confident of finding the missing girl after more than 10 years as their “investigation is continuing with focus and determination.”
Scotland Yard detectives are carrying on vital work on home ground insisting: “We don’t have to be in Portugal to find Madeleine.”
A Met Police spokesman said: “A lot of potentially significant images and material were captured on previous trips to Portugal and we are still working on all leads.”
Due to inquiry cutbacks there have been far fewer recent trips to The Algarve’s Praia da Luz from where three-year-old Maddie was snatched in May 2007.
The spokesman added: “We have spent less on flights and hotel accommodation because we haven’t needed to be in Luz to carry on our work. If there are policing reasons we need to be there we will.”
Police have just 11 weeks of funding left to try and crack the case. If they need more time and resources they will be plead with Home Secretary Amber Rudd to approve an extra cash boost for the second half of this financial year.
Met officers were given an £85,000 Home Office special grant injection in April to extend their £12 million inquiry codenamed Operation Grange until the end of September amid speculation they were closing in on a suspect.
It came as the Yard’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said they were still “critical leads” to pursue. Speaking to mark the milestone 10th anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance the top cop said there were “significant investigative avenues” that are of “great interest” to both the UK and Portuguese teams.
Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry are said to be “buoyed up” and “extremely grateful” by the Met’s continuing efforts to find their daughter. They cling onto a glimmer of hope that their daughter – who would now be aged 14 – could still be alive.
A source close to the couple from Rothley, Leics, said: “It is heart breaking for Kate and Gerry to still not know after a decade what happened to Madeleine. But to know there is still an active police investigation doing their very best to help find her gives them a strength and comfort.
“It buoys them up and gives them hope particularly at a time when they have lost a long and bitter court battle against former Portuguese police officer Goncalo Amaral who is free to continue making ludicrous and hurtful claims about Madeleine’s disappearance.”
World renowned heart doctor Gerry and ex GP Kate, both 49, who has recently taken up a new medical job, still have regular updates from police working tirelessly on their daughter’s case.
The family source said: “Met police keep them informed of all developments and they remain very grateful and upbeat.”
Scotland Yard today took an unusual step of denying “a speculative non story” that the Maddie inquiry was grinding to a halt. A website claimed cops were struggling based purely on a Freedom of information request showing they had only make two flights to Portugal in the past year.
Flights reportedly cost £500 and £100 was spent on overnight expenses by senior investigating officer DCI Nicola Wall.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, the SY spokesman said defiantly: “We should not have to explain or justify how many times we are going to Portugal. Whatever we do, and we are doing our very best, someone always wants to criticise the actions of the police regarding Madeleine McCann.
“If we make two trips people say that’s not enough. If we make more that’s seen as being too many so whatever we do we can’t win! But seriously if we need to be in Portugal, in particular Praia da Luz, for policing reasons we will be there immediately. But right now we are working here, in London, on material captured as a necessary and essential part of the inquiry.
“The investigation continues with focus and determination. It is not winding down, it is not grinding to a halt. It is on going.
“And as Assistant Commissioner Rowley said in April we want to solve it, we want a breakthrough.”
Maddie vanished from her family’s holiday apartment while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas bar with pals. She had been left alone sleeping with her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie.
AC Rowley vowed three months ago that his diminished team of officers on the Maddie inquiry would do “everything we reasonably can do to try and find an answer.”
He said: “All the different hypotheses have to remain open and we've got some thoughts on what we think the most likely explanations might be.”
They include that Maddie fell prey to a sex fiend or become the victim of a “burglary gone wrong.” One thing, for certain, he said is that the little girl did not simply wander out of the ground floor flat on her own accord as some criminal experts have suggested.
Mr Rowley said there was “no definitive evidence” proving Maddie is alive or dead.
The McCann’s, speaking to mark the painful 10th anniversary of their daughter’s abduction in May – “a decade of pain” – said: ““Thankfully there is an active police investigation to try and find Madeleine and bring her abductor to justice. “
Four un-named suspects identified in 2013 and among 600 people of interest to the investigation were ruled out after extensive interviews and searches.
But Mr Rowley remains confident that “significant investigative avenues” are still of “great interest” to his force and the Portuguese police, who are assisting them.
He added: “We’re doing a critical piece of work and we don't want to spoil it by putting titbits of information out publicly. It’s very much a live investigation.” He refused to discuss in his April interview if any arrests were imminent.
Since May 2011, when Op Grange was set up in orders of then Prime Minister David Cameron, detectives have sifted through a huge pile of 40,000 documents in the inquiry paid for by the taxpayer through Home Office funding.
It has previously been blasted for being “a ridiculous waste of public money” by watchdog The Metropolitan Police Authority.
The team, which has been cut from 30 officers at the peak to now just four, continue to receive information each day and occasionally some extra useful nuggets.
Despite failing to unearth any significant clues leading to Maddie’s whereabouts, Mr Rowley insists they have achieved “an awful lot.”
He said: “I think people get seduced perhaps by what they see in TV dramas where the most complex cases are solved in 30 minutes or 60 minutes. What we started with here was something extraordinary.
“We've achieved a complete understanding of it all. We've sifted out many of the potential suspects, many of the people of interest and where we are today is with a much smaller team focused on a small number of remaining critical lines of inquiry that we think are significant.”
He defended the vast amount the controversial hunt has cost, saying: “Big cases can take a lot of resources and a lot of time. We've tried to be careful about public money and as we've started with that massive sifting we've reduced the number of resources and the funding's reduced accordingly.”
He continued: “But we will stick with it as long as the funding's available and as long as there are sensible lines of inquiry to pursue.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4029785/maddie-mccann-cops-insist-search-hasnt-ground-to-a-halt-but-admit-they-only-have-11-weeks-left-to-find-her-before-their-money-runs-out/
BRITISH cops hunting for Madeleine McCann today insist they are still confident of finding the missing girl after more than 10 years as their “investigation is continuing with focus and determination.”
Scotland Yard detectives are carrying on vital work on home ground insisting: “We don’t have to be in Portugal to find Madeleine.”
A Met Police spokesman said: “A lot of potentially significant images and material were captured on previous trips to Portugal and we are still working on all leads.”
Due to inquiry cutbacks there have been far fewer recent trips to The Algarve’s Praia da Luz from where three-year-old Maddie was snatched in May 2007.
The spokesman added: “We have spent less on flights and hotel accommodation because we haven’t needed to be in Luz to carry on our work. If there are policing reasons we need to be there we will.”
Police have just 11 weeks of funding left to try and crack the case. If they need more time and resources they will be plead with Home Secretary Amber Rudd to approve an extra cash boost for the second half of this financial year.
Met officers were given an £85,000 Home Office special grant injection in April to extend their £12 million inquiry codenamed Operation Grange until the end of September amid speculation they were closing in on a suspect.
It came as the Yard’s Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said they were still “critical leads” to pursue. Speaking to mark the milestone 10th anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance the top cop said there were “significant investigative avenues” that are of “great interest” to both the UK and Portuguese teams.
Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry are said to be “buoyed up” and “extremely grateful” by the Met’s continuing efforts to find their daughter. They cling onto a glimmer of hope that their daughter – who would now be aged 14 – could still be alive.
A source close to the couple from Rothley, Leics, said: “It is heart breaking for Kate and Gerry to still not know after a decade what happened to Madeleine. But to know there is still an active police investigation doing their very best to help find her gives them a strength and comfort.
“It buoys them up and gives them hope particularly at a time when they have lost a long and bitter court battle against former Portuguese police officer Goncalo Amaral who is free to continue making ludicrous and hurtful claims about Madeleine’s disappearance.”
World renowned heart doctor Gerry and ex GP Kate, both 49, who has recently taken up a new medical job, still have regular updates from police working tirelessly on their daughter’s case.
The family source said: “Met police keep them informed of all developments and they remain very grateful and upbeat.”
Scotland Yard today took an unusual step of denying “a speculative non story” that the Maddie inquiry was grinding to a halt. A website claimed cops were struggling based purely on a Freedom of information request showing they had only make two flights to Portugal in the past year.
Flights reportedly cost £500 and £100 was spent on overnight expenses by senior investigating officer DCI Nicola Wall.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, the SY spokesman said defiantly: “We should not have to explain or justify how many times we are going to Portugal. Whatever we do, and we are doing our very best, someone always wants to criticise the actions of the police regarding Madeleine McCann.
“If we make two trips people say that’s not enough. If we make more that’s seen as being too many so whatever we do we can’t win! But seriously if we need to be in Portugal, in particular Praia da Luz, for policing reasons we will be there immediately. But right now we are working here, in London, on material captured as a necessary and essential part of the inquiry.
“The investigation continues with focus and determination. It is not winding down, it is not grinding to a halt. It is on going.
“And as Assistant Commissioner Rowley said in April we want to solve it, we want a breakthrough.”
Maddie vanished from her family’s holiday apartment while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas bar with pals. She had been left alone sleeping with her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie.
AC Rowley vowed three months ago that his diminished team of officers on the Maddie inquiry would do “everything we reasonably can do to try and find an answer.”
He said: “All the different hypotheses have to remain open and we've got some thoughts on what we think the most likely explanations might be.”
They include that Maddie fell prey to a sex fiend or become the victim of a “burglary gone wrong.” One thing, for certain, he said is that the little girl did not simply wander out of the ground floor flat on her own accord as some criminal experts have suggested.
Mr Rowley said there was “no definitive evidence” proving Maddie is alive or dead.
The McCann’s, speaking to mark the painful 10th anniversary of their daughter’s abduction in May – “a decade of pain” – said: ““Thankfully there is an active police investigation to try and find Madeleine and bring her abductor to justice. “
Four un-named suspects identified in 2013 and among 600 people of interest to the investigation were ruled out after extensive interviews and searches.
But Mr Rowley remains confident that “significant investigative avenues” are still of “great interest” to his force and the Portuguese police, who are assisting them.
He added: “We’re doing a critical piece of work and we don't want to spoil it by putting titbits of information out publicly. It’s very much a live investigation.” He refused to discuss in his April interview if any arrests were imminent.
Since May 2011, when Op Grange was set up in orders of then Prime Minister David Cameron, detectives have sifted through a huge pile of 40,000 documents in the inquiry paid for by the taxpayer through Home Office funding.
It has previously been blasted for being “a ridiculous waste of public money” by watchdog The Metropolitan Police Authority.
The team, which has been cut from 30 officers at the peak to now just four, continue to receive information each day and occasionally some extra useful nuggets.
Despite failing to unearth any significant clues leading to Maddie’s whereabouts, Mr Rowley insists they have achieved “an awful lot.”
He said: “I think people get seduced perhaps by what they see in TV dramas where the most complex cases are solved in 30 minutes or 60 minutes. What we started with here was something extraordinary.
“We've achieved a complete understanding of it all. We've sifted out many of the potential suspects, many of the people of interest and where we are today is with a much smaller team focused on a small number of remaining critical lines of inquiry that we think are significant.”
He defended the vast amount the controversial hunt has cost, saying: “Big cases can take a lot of resources and a lot of time. We've tried to be careful about public money and as we've started with that massive sifting we've reduced the number of resources and the funding's reduced accordingly.”
He continued: “But we will stick with it as long as the funding's available and as long as there are sensible lines of inquiry to pursue.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4029785/maddie-mccann-cops-insist-search-hasnt-ground-to-a-halt-but-admit-they-only-have-11-weeks-left-to-find-her-before-their-money-runs-out/
