MADELEINE ABDUCTION - REVIEW OR RE-OPENED? (merged)

greenink211 wrote:

crazytony wrote:Wow!!!!!

I am really not placing any reliance on these headlines. I bet a fiver that they are simply rehashes of the Portuguese stories which did NOT promise that new information had actually been found or that the case was being re-opened. This looks like old style sensationalism to me.

I hope I am proved wrong but I really can't see where any other information will have come from unless SY are now leaking like sieves and I don't see that happening.

This is just, in my view, journalists who have even less knowledge of the case than me and certainly less than many of you, facing the welter of PT press reports today and plucking the juiciest phrases from them.

greenink211 wrote:Sky News Australia covering the story.

MADELEINE MCCANN PARENTS' JOY AS PORTUGUESE POLICE START FRESH HUNT



This year marks the fifth anniversary of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance

Saturday March 10,2012
By Tom Worden

KATE and Gerry McCann were given fresh hope last night as Portuguese police said they were reviewing clues about missing daughter Madeleine.

Almost four years after the investigation was “archived”, a team has been drafted in from the northern city of Porto to go over exhibits and thousands of pages of case papers.

They are working in tandem with Scotland Yard, which launched its own review last May after the intervention of Prime Minister David Cameron.

Pedro do Carmo, deputy national director of Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria (PJ), said: “British authorities have set up a team to review the investigation. They have been to Portugal and agreed to collaborate with the PJ.”

The fresh impetus comes as the McCanns prepare for the fifth anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance from their Algarve holiday apartment, on May 3, 2007.

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British authorities have set up a team to review the investigation. They have been to Portugal and agreed to collaborate with the PJ
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Pedro do Carmo, deputy national director of Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria (PJ)

Mr do Carmo said the archiving “does not mean we have less interest in establishing what happened”.

But he stressed that the case has not been formally reopened.

A spokeswoman added: “In Portugal only the attorney general’s office can order the reopening of a case and it would only do that if there was strong new evidence.

“At the moment, that has not happened.”

The McCann’s Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves described the review as a “very positive sign”.

He said: “More than anything Kate and Gerry want to discover what happened to their daughter, whilst of course harbouring the hope of finding her alive.

“For that to happen, the police need to carry on looking for her and carrying on following leads at their disposal.”

He told Portuguese TV: “I can’t go into any sort of detail, but there is something that aroused enough interest from the Portuguese and British police to warrant this review in search for new clues.”

He said it could be a first step to eventually reopening the case.

Madeleine was days short of her fourth birthday when she went missing during a family holiday in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal. She disappeared from a rented holiday apartment while her parents dined with friends a few yards away.

In December last year, up to eight “very important” leads in the hunt had been handed to Scotland Yard’s McCann squad – Operation Grange – by the Barcelona-based private investigators Metodo 3.

The four-strong British police team had detailed discussions with the private detectives and later took possession of 30 boxes of documents about Madeleine.

Francisco Marco, Metodo 3’s director, said at the time he believed it was “very possible” the little girl was taken to North Africa.

The McCanns, both doctors, who live in Rothley, Leicestershire, with Madeleine’s younger twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have declined to comment. But in the past they said they were pleased British police appeared to be making progress.

On their website, set up to keep the hunt for Madeleine alive, the McCanns insist there is no evidence she has been harmed. A message on the site reads: “Madeleine is still missing and someone needs to be looking for her.

“We love her dearly and miss her beyond words.”

MADDIE CASE RE-OPENED

ABOVE: Kate and Gerry McCann are pleased the inquiry has been reopened into the disappearance of Maddie

It comes almost four years after the probe was formally shelved as an unsolved mystery

10th March 2012
By Jerry Lawton

POLICE in Portugal have set up a new team of detectives to look again into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

It comes almost four years after the probe was formally shelved as an unsolved mystery.



The outside squad of officers will have had no previous involvement with the case and have been told to go over the thousands of pages of case files in a search for new clues.

Madeleine’s parents Kate, 44, and Gerry, 43, are convinced their daughter, who would be nine in two months, is still alive and have long campaigned for the case to be re-opened.

Last night their spokesman Clarence Mitchell told the Daily Star: “Kate and Gerry welcome this as a positive development.”

News of the reopened Portuguese inquiry comes after Prime Minister David Cameron, 45, ordered Scotland Yard detectives to conduct a similar review, which is ongoing.

A source close to the case said there was now “good cooperation” between the Portuguese and British police.

The source added: “There are new officers with fresh eyes looking at this case for the first time.”

Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the Algarve on May 3 2007 while her parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas bar.

The officer in charge of the original probe Goncalo Amaral, 51, pictured above, was sacked after five months.

He is facing a £1million libel suit from the McCanns after claiming in his book that he believed Madeleine, then three, died accidentally and her parents covered up her death.

The couple, from Rothley, Leics, furiously deny his claims and have insisted their daughter was abducted.

rhodes wrote:If the reason this has come out now is because of Gonzo and his big mouth, and the investigators don't want to tip anybody off about what they have come across,I hope Gonzo rots in hell.

Hope for the McCanns as Portuguese police launch fresh Maddy probe into 'fresh, specific information'

Kate and Gerry McCann were said to be “pleased” and “grateful” after police in Portugal pledged to look into the case again with British detectives


New probe: Police are reviewing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann New probe: Police are reviewing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann PA

Madeleine McCann’s parents have suffered nearly five years of ­heartache since she vanished – and frustration as the police inquiry ground to a halt.

But yesterday Kate and Gerry were said to be “pleased” and “grateful” after police in Portugal pledged to look into the case again with British detectives.

And their lawyer Rogerio Alves believes a review into how Madeleine disappeared from their Algarve holiday apartment was sparked by a fresh “specific” lead in the hunt.

A crack Policia Judiciaria cold case unit has been assigned to the ­investigation to work alongside Scotland Yard murder squad officers.

Mr Alves said: “It’s not certain, but what’s happening at the moment is that some of the information passed to the authorities could lead to a reopening of the case.

"There is something that aroused enough interest from the ­Portuguese and British police to warrant this review in search of new clues.

“The most plausible explanation is that information passed to or acquired by the Judicial Police has put them on the trail of something specific.

“More than anything Kate and Gerry want to discover what happened to their daughter, whilst, of course, harbouring the hope of finding her alive.

“For that to happen, the police need to carry on looking for her and carrying on following the leads at their disposal.”


Portuguese lawyer Rogerio Alves, poses in his office in Lisbon Hope: Lawyer Rogerio Alves believes there is fresh information Getty


Kate and Gerry McCann hold a press conference in the Merrion Hotel Anguish: Parents Kate and Gerry are said to be pleased at the development PA

The McCann’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell added: “Kate and Gerry welcome this review. They see it as a positive development.

“Eventually they hope it will lead to the case being fully reopened by the Portuguese authorities.

“They are also pleased by the clear co-operation between the Metropolitan Police and the Policia Judiciaria.

“They hope the review will establish what happened to Madeleine and they remain grateful for the time and resources being put into the search.”

It is the first time Portuguese ­authorities have looked at the case since shelving their much-criticised ­original probe in 2008.

Crucially, the new team, from Porto, have never worked on the Madeleine hunt before.

They have been instructed to go over the thousands of pages of case files. The team will work with more than 30 Scotland Yard detectives conducting their own cold case investigation.

The Portuguese review is being carried out by the Policia Judiciaria’s Regional Section of Criminal ­Investigation and Prevention.


Madeleine McCann in an Everton Football shirt Missing: Madeleine vanished in May 2007 PA


The hotel in Algarve, Portgugal where Madeleine McCann went missing (Pic: PA) Scene: The hotel in Algarve, Portugal where Madeleine went missing

Sources said police, led by senior investigator Helena Monteiro, went to the Algarve for a high-level meeting this week.

Policia Judiciaria deputy chief Pedro do Carmo said: “Despite having been formally archived, we continue to have an unexplained disappearance.

"The archiving does not mean the PJ have less interest in establishing what happened or finding answers.

“The British authorities have set up a team to review the ­investigation. They have been to Portugal and agreed to collaborate with the PJ.

"We are doing the same. The Porto team is very ­experienced in these cases.”

He stressed the case had not been reopened. A Policia ­Judiciaria ­spokeswoman said: “The PJ leadership wants to have another look at the case and to work with British authorities.

"Only the attorney general’s office can order the reopening of a case and only if there was strong new evidence.

“At the moment that has not happened.”

The Scotland Yard review, called Operation Grange, was launched after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May. Detectives have already made at least four trips to Portugal and Spain.

Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, have repeatedly called on Portugal to resume the search for their daughter, who would now be seven.

Madeleine was just days short of her fourth birthday when she vanished from Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 as her parents ate in a tapas bar nearby with friends.

The couple were made suspects but later cleared of any involvement in the youngster’s disappearance.


Timetable of tears


Madeleine McCann (Pic: PA) Madeleine was just days short of her fourth birthday when she vanished

May 3, 2007: Madeleine, three, vanishes from her family’s ground-floor apartment at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

May 15, 2007: British-born Robert Murat is made a formal suspect, or arguido, following a search of his mother’s home in the resort.

September 7, 2007: Portuguese police declare Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann are also formal suspects in the disappearance.

September 9, 2007: Kate and Gerry return home to Rothley, Leics.

July 21, 2009: Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and clear the McCanns and Mr Murat.

May 23, 2011: Home Secretary Theresa May announces a Scotland Yard review of the McCann case.

greenink211 wrote:For three reasons I am absolutely convinced this news came out today because Goncalo Amaral let slip the Porto information deliberately or accidentally (and I have my suspicions which).

Firstly this was not a leak from the PJ. This was a seriously co-ordinated Policia Judiciara PR job to get this in as many papers as possible as fast as possible.

Secondly there is absolutely no other logical reason why the PJ would have released this information that I can think of. The team has been working quietly for about a year we are told.

And thirdly there is a little hint in the Mirror piece this morning about Monteiro the PJ review co-ordinator being in PDL recently. So was Amaral. Is that when he learned of the Porto connection I wonder? Was he possibly even called to a meeting there by Monteiro?

crazytony wrote:I am confused here. I thought Isabela Duarte was the McCanns Portuguese Lawyer not
Rogerio Alves?

rhodes wrote:I wonder when exactly that meeting was?

Patsie Brown might have been in town at the same time, I'm sure she could have enlightened the Porto PJ on how to solve the case, what with her being such an expert............