Files: Investigation Inconclusive
1:41pm UK, Tuesday August 05, 2008

The files released by Portuguese police reveal prosecutors in the country thought the investigation uncovered "very little" conclusive about Madeleine's fate. In their final report, prosecutors looking at the case noted detectives had failed even to prove whether Madeleine McCann was dead or still alive.

The 17th and final volume of the files contains the final 58-page report written by public prosecutors Jose de Magalhaes e Menezes and Joao Melchior Gomes.

They said Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, did not "act with intent" in leaving their children alone in their holiday apartment on the night the child went missing.

The report said: "They could not predict that in the resort they chose to spend their holidays they could place the life of any of their children in danger."

And the prosecutors also noted that the McCanns were "already serving a heavy sentence" - Madeleine's disappearance - for going out for dinner without their children.

They added that Portuguese detectives were unable to achieve any proof which would allow "the formulation of any lucid, sensible, serious and honest conclusion" about the
circumstances of the child going missing."

And it added: "This includes, the most dramatic thing, ascertaining whether she is still alive or dead - which seems the most probable."

The prosecutors continued: "The investigators are fully conscious that their work is not exempt from imperfections.

"They worked with an enormous margin of error and they achieved very little in terms of conclusive results, especially about the fate of the unfortunate child...

"This is not, unfortunately, a detective novel, a crime scenario fit for the investigative efforts of a Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, guided by the illusion that the forces of law and justice can always re-establish order."

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Police timeline: Madeleine McCann
1:08pm UK, Tuesday August 05, 2008

Sky News has translated a timeline from the files released by Portuguese police yesterday how the investigation took shape from the time Madeliene was reported missing.1. 3/ 05/07, 2240: Lagos police received call that a British national, a three-year-old girl, called Madeleine McCann was missing.

2. 3/05/07, 2300: Police and army arrive to join searches

3. 3/5/07: It was unclear how she had disappeared while sleeping with her two siblings while her parents dined 50 metres away.

2317: The Lagos police received a call from army saying that the parents were worried that she may have been abducted.

4. 3/5/07:The police chief immediately joined the search and asked the soldiers helping to preserve the apartment, as they joined the search already carried out by the father of the missing girl.

5. 0040: The police asked for additional reinforcements to the searches

6. Overnight the search area widened from the ocean club and neighbourhood to empty plots in the area

7. 4/5/07: As the girl had been missing more than 12 hours Portuguese police sent a police chief to head all searches

8. 4/5/07: Helicopters were included in the search

9. 4/5/07: Searches continued during the day and night of May 4. Due to the vegetation in the area police and army were searching extensively as a small child would not necessarily be visible from a distance

10. 4/5/07: On May 4 additional support was requested from traffic police in Albufeira to join the search

11. 5/5/07: On May 5 due to the lack of result over the previous two days of searches the searches became more systematic as police divided the area into 17 sectors

12. 6/5/07,0800: On the third day of searches, May 6 from 0800 the police had to start considering the hypothesis that the child had been abducted and if this was the case a new scenario would present itself that the child may be alive or dead (the latter being the most likely) and disposed of by an agressor. [P9-10 POINT

UK Release Of Toddler Abduction Film

Matt Smith
Entertainment correspondent
Updated:08:58, Thursday May 29, 2008

A film that was shelved because of its likeness to the Madeleine McCann case is finally getting a UK release.

Plot centres on abducted child

The fictional tale of an abducted four year old, 'Gone Baby Gone' was pulled last September because it was thought too sensitive for British audiences.

The story centres on a girl who gets kidnapped from her bed after her mother leaves her alone in the house.

Madeleine McCann, also four, vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 while her parents ate at a nearby tapas restaurant.

It was that similarity that led bosses at Disney to cancel its UK release until now.

The film's director is former actor Ben Affleck. Although frustrated at the delay, he backed the decision to postpone the release.

"I frankly felt proud to be involved with a company that made a tasteful choice rather than a crass choice. I figured people can eventually see the movie.

"That's not quite as important as making a choice based on discretion, good taste and being respectful," he told Sky News.

In the thriller, two detectives - played by Affleck's younger brother Casey and Michelle Monaghan - search for the abducted girl after she vanishes in Boston.

Ben Affleck directed the film

Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris also star in the drama, which was produced, directed and co-written by Affleck.

At the time of the film's delay, Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann publicly thanked Ben Affleck for postponing the film - even though it had no connection with their daughter's disappearance.

The film and the book it was based on were both produced before Madeleine went missing.

Casey Affleck told Sky News: "The movie was filmed two years ago, way before anything ever happened so obviously it has no bearing, it wasn't based on the case at all."

The film has already been a critical hit in the US - now it has been decided the time is right for British audiences to finally see it.

It goes on release across the UK on June 6.
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Film Held Up By McCann Case Released
A film that was shelved because of its similarity to the Madeline McCann case is finally getting a UK release. The fictional tale of an abducted four year old, 'Gone Baby Gone' was held back from cinemas last September. Sky's Matt Smith reports
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Madeleine Reconstruction Called Off
Updated:23:44, Tuesday May 27, 2008

A reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared has been scrapped after members of the so-called "Tapas Seven" refused to take part.

Missing: Madeleine McCann

Portuguese police had invited Gerry and Kate McCann back to Praia da Luz to take part in the event later this week along with the friends they were dining with when Madeleine vanished on May 3, last year.

The McCanns' spokesman said the decision had been taken by all of the couple's friends.

Clarence Mitchell said: "The friends had a number of serious questions about the value of the reconstruction and what it would do to help find Madeleine.

"After some discussion, they have informed the Portuguese authorities that they do not intend to go back."

He added: "Gerry and Kate have not refused to go back. They were aware of their friends' view and they are now not needed for the reconstruction."

Mr Mitchell said there were questions over the usefulness of a reconstruction more than a year after the event and how it would help find the four-year-old if it was not to be televised.

"Frankly," he insisted, "the police and the authorities in Portugal did not answer the simple question: What will this do to help find Madeleine? And that is why this proposal did not have legs."

It is the second time it has been put off and the McCanns have always been reluctant to take part.

The couple are still considered official suspects or 'arguidos' in the c

Madeleine: Cops Question 'Key' Witness

Martin Brunt
Crime correspondent Updated:18:53, Thursday May 01, 2008

Police have re-interviewed a woman who may prove to be a key witness in the Madeleine McCann case.

Madeleine has been missing for nearly a year

She was quizzed by police in the UK and her new statements passed to Portuguese detectives.

The young British woman, whose identity we are not revealing, saw a man "hovering" around the family's Algarve apartment on the morning of May 3, hours before Madeleine vanished.

She was asked back for more questioning last week, according to Sky sources.

The witness was sitting on a balcony overlooking the holiday complex in Praia da Luz when she spotted the man acting suspiciously.

She thought little of his behaviour at the time and returned to the UK later that day.

When she heard of Madeleine's disappearance she reported it to her local police force and was interviewed for the first time.

She gave detectives a detailed description of the suspect and helped an artist compile a computer-generated image of him.

It is not clear whether that image was ever released.

The woman was among 60 or so names given by the Algarve detectives last month to Leicestershire police, who are conducting interviews on behalf of the Portuguese authorities.

The woman was asked back for a second interview last week in a bid to identify any discrepancies or similarities in witness statements.

The McCanns' friends, the so-called Tapas 7, were among those re-interviewed.
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'Something Like This Could Destroy You'
Updated:17:56, Thursday May 01, 2008

The parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have told Sky News that the disappearance of their daughter has "wreaked havoc" on their family.

Two days before the first anniversary of the four-year-old's disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that without support something like this "could destroy you".

And they told how their "fantastic" twins Sean and Amelie were helping them through the tough times.

"You often wonder where we would be if it wasn't for them," Mrs McCann said.

Madeleine went missing on May 3 last year, while the family was on holiday in Portugal.

The couple say they are now desperate for new leads in the case and they will leave no stone unturned in searching for their little girl.

"We need that key piece of information and we believe it is out there," Mrs McCann said.

"You cannot give up. Madeleine deserves that. There is no evidence she has come to any harm."

The cases of Elisabeth Fritzl and Natasha Kampusch in Austria have also given them hope that Madeleine could be alive - and they can even imagine her growing up in a different place, surrounded by different people, and simply adjusting to her new situation.

But they refuse to give up their hunt, injecting new energy into the campaign with a fresh hotline number and a plan to change tactics in their dealings with the media, adding that the past year's coverage is simply "unsustainable".

"It led to a lot of rumour, myth and innuendo," Mr McCann said. "What we want is responsible reporting."

Madeleine's case sparked an international media storm after she vanished from the family's holiday villa in Praia da Luz.

There has been talk of a possible reconstruction of the events leading up to Madeleine's disappearance - but although the McCanns are not ruling out a return to Portugal, they said they are worried about how helpful it would be for the police investigation, given the immense media interest.

"How can you do a reconstruction with what will be undoubtedly be a media event?" Mr McCann asked.

"It is under discussion. It is back to what additional information will help the search."

The McCanns are still considered suspects - or 'aguidos' - by police in Portugal, and will remain so until someone is charged in connection with the case.

Sky News' crime correspo