Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2007 from the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal, just days short of her fourth birthday, and is still missing. The British girl was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and siblings when she disappeared from an apartment in the central area of the resort. Madeleine's parents have said that they left her unsupervised in a ground floor bedroom with her two-year-old twin siblings while they ate at a restaurant about 130 yards (120 metres) away.[1]
The initial investigation by the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) (the Portuguese criminal investigation police) concluded that she had been abducted.[2] After further investigation, the PJ stated that there was a strong hypothesis that she might have died in her room.[3][4] During the investigation there were a number of unconfirmed claimed sightings of Madeleine in Portugal and elsewhere and additional scientific evidence was obtained. The investigation involved the co-operation of the British and Portuguese police and demonstrated the differing methodologies employed by each, with regard to such aspects as the amount of information released to the public and the legal status of those involved in the case.[5][6]
Robert Murat, a local resident, was given arguido (suspect) status on 15 May.[7][8] Kate and Gerry McCann were also named as arguidos on 7 September, but were allowed to fly back to the United Kingdom on 9 September.[9][10][11] All three were cleared, with their arguido status lifted, on 21 July 2008. The Portuguese Attorney General closed the case, without a result, also on 21 July.[12]
The disappearance and its aftermath were notable for the breadth and longevity of the media coverage. This was initially due to the active involvement of the parents in publicising the case and to several awareness-raising campaigns by international celebrities and, latterly, to the interest that arose from the parents being named as suspects. The event generated international media attention with controversy surrounding the Portuguese-led police investigation and the actions of Madeleine's parents. There has also been criticism of the extent and nature of the publicity and of the reporting of the disappearance in both the Portuguese and British media.
may i ask, why would a portuguese kidnapp our lil girl?
Other suspects
The Portuguese police disclosed information, on 25 May 2007, about a possible suspect in addition to Mr Murat: this was a reference to a middle-build Caucasian, approximately 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) tall. However, the height of the man was subsequently corrected to that given on the Portuguese press release as 170 cm (5 ft 7 in). The man, aged between 35 and 40, was seen at 21:30 on 3 May, by a close friend of the McCanns, but this information was only made public two and half weeks later.[87][88][89] According to Chief Police Officer Olegário de Sousa, the man, was carrying a child, or something which might have resembled a child. He fitted the description of a suspect being hunted by Spanish police for the kidnappings of Sara Morales, 14, and 7-year-old Yeremi Vargas, in the Canary Islands.[90]
Detectives tried to trace a British man who left the harbour in his yacht shortly after the disappearance, after having moored there for two years. A witness reported seeing a man carrying a child in his arms down to the marina, hours after Madeleine disappeared. On 29 May, detectives questioned four boat owners, three of them English, whose vessels were moored at the marina in Lagos, a town about five miles (8 km) from Praia da Luz.[91]
A mystery sample of DNA was found, on 1 June, in the bedroom from where Madeleine disappeared. The DNA did not match that of the McCanns, their three children nor that of Murat. The PJ handed the sample over to the national forensic science laboratories, the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal, and stated that there is a new suspect.[92] In early August there was a suggested link with Urs Hans Von Aesch who had been on holiday in the area around the time that Madeleine went missing. Von Aesch, a resident of Benimantell, Spain, who was implicated by Swiss police with the disappearance of five-year-old Ylenia Lenhard from Appenzell, Switzerland, had recently committed suicide.[93][94]
The occupants of the flat above that from which Madeleine disappeared reported an intruder who apparently had entered with a key. There had been a similar burglary in the complex some weeks earlier. On 17 August, search warrants were signed for the home of a new suspect.[95]
and now someone comes up with the "the same parents" post, while their friggin country kidnaps lil briton gals!
no more portuguese mugs in the world, for a free-portugese-world call 1800-port-sucs..
you can make this world beta, just dont let these mugs (like arcane) get around ya. tell portuguese to leave our room, our privacy, and demand them to get our lil girl back, no more portuges crap ..
