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Madeleine McCann Case: Portuguese Police 'Are Not Reopening' Investigation

PA/The Huffington Post UK  |  Posted: 26/04/2012 16:05 Updated: 26/04/2012 16:05

Madeleine Mccann
Madeleine's parents believe that their child could still be alive, five years after she disappeared

Portuguese police have said they are not reopening an investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007.

McCann was nearly four years old when she disappeared from her parents' holiday apartment.

The decision came after Scotland Yard urged authorities to resume their investigation and released a new "age-progressed" image showing what she might look like as a nine-year-old.

While British detectives believe Madeleine could still be alive, officers in Portugal insist there is no evidence to warrant relaunching the search.

Despite the Metropolitan Police's announcement that detectives have identified 195 potential leads, Portuguese police sources said the status of their investigation had not changed.

Pedro do Carmo, who is deputy head of the police department, told the AFP news agency: "There are no new elements at the moment that would allow for the reopening of the inquiry."

Next week will mark five years since Madeleine went missing from her family's Algarve holiday flat as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined nearby.

There have been hundreds of possible sightings of the little girl since she vanished, aged three, but each one has come to nothing.

The Portuguese refusal to re-examine her disappearance came shortly after family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the McCanns were "hugely encouraged" by the recent momentum in the case.

McCann was said to be "particularly pleased" with the new image of Madeleine, believing it had a strong family resemblance.

Referring to the 195 potential new leads, Mitchell told BBC Breakfast: "Kate and Gerry welcome this and they are hugely encouraged by what the police have been doing all of this last year since the launch of the investigative review.

"They (Scotland Yard) believe that it is quite possible that Madeleine could still be alive and that is what Kate and Gerry have said throughout the five years and they are hugely encouraged by all of this momentum in the case."

Above: The computer-generated image of Madeleine McCann that has reignited calls for the investigation into her disappearance to be reopened


However, the police refused to say what evidence they had uncovered to suggest Madeleine was alive.

An investigative review was launched last year after a meeting between former Met commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and the Home Office.

Loading Slideshow...

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    A photo of Madeleine McCann that was taken when she was 3 years old.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Kate McCann looks at an inflatable News of the World poster of missing daughter Madeleine measuring approx 800sq ft on the beach in Praia Da Luz, Portugal.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Kate McCann, mother of missing Madeleine, during the recording of a television interview for the spanish television show "Los Mas Buscados" with images of Madeleine on a large TV screen behind her, in the Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    The GPR image that Stephen Birch believes shows a grave.

  • Missing girl in Algarve

    A photo of the May 15, 2007 search of the property in Praia da Luz where Stephen Birch believes he found a grave. The black box indicates the rubble pile he claims police never searched.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An October 2007 photo of the same location. Stephen Birch said this photo indicates the rubble pile had not been touched during the May 2007 search.

  • Missing girl in Algarve

    An overlay of the two photos.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page.

  • Missing Madeleine McCann

    Kate and Gerry McCann in Quorn, Leicestershire, as they launch a petition to lobby the UK and Portuguese governments for a joint or independent review over their daughter Madeleine's disappearance.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Kate McCann, mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann leaves the village chruch in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve, Portugal, following a service.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Kate McCann leaves a church service in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, 2 weeks after Madeleine McCann went missing on the evening of Thursday May 3.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page.

  • Missing Madeleine McCann

    Kate and Gerry McCann give a press conference in central London on their newly published book 'Madeleine' about their daughter's disappearance in 2007.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Business card sized leaflets showing missing girl Madeleine McCann, which were handed out to fans during the Espanyol v Sevilla Uefa Cup final at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

  • Missing girl in Algarve

    Kate McCann leaves the special service for the 100th day of Madeleine McCann's disappearance at the local church in Praia Du Luz, Portugal.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal for their three year old Madeleine's return.

  • Girl missing in Algarve

    An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page.

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Portuguese police have said they are not reopening an investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007. McCann was nearly four years old when she disappeared from her parents' holid...
Portuguese police have said they are not reopening an investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007. McCann was nearly four years old when she disappeared from her parents' holid...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
minicoopersi
tells you how it is or should be in the real world
24 Fans
03:38 AM on 04/27/2012
good i bet the parents are relived got away with that one made a fourtune out of it and conned all the uk into believing they were innocent i hope they rot in hell
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meganclaire
1 Fans
11:50 PM on 04/28/2012
They are NOT relieved. They want the investigation reopened and have asked for it for the past four years. Please get your facts straight. Also, why would two people continue to ask for there to be an investigation if they have anything to hide. They haven't conned anyone. They want Madeleine back and are doing everything they can to make that happen!
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ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
661 Fans
03:02 AM on 04/27/2012
Why not!? Couldn't Scotland Yard make it happen? Shouldn't both governments agree on it?
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woodendlass
3 Fans
01:35 AM on 04/27/2012
I think that , as some one said on here the Portugese Police may have a knowledge of activities that have happened in their country it may be too close to home as they say , it is not unheard of corrupt police and high ranking officials ... look all around the world .. power, greed, sex ,money it is all powerful in a single instance, but all together .. well I think that they were so unproffesional from the start ..
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tonyabl
0 Fans
01:15 AM on 04/27/2012
Sad to say, we have to realise that Portugal and the portuguese Police just do not have the necessary funds to reopen this case...That has to be the bottom line here....
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ronnieince
57 Fans
12:38 AM on 04/27/2012
As the original missing person investigation was formally closed by the Portuguese Attorney General only he can legally re -open it - the Portuguuese Police can't simply decide to re - open the case - all they could do would be to request the Attorney General to formally re- open it and legally that requires NEW evidence for him to act - to date there has been no new evidence sufficent to legally justify his taking action
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ebt3
9 Fans
11:55 PM on 04/26/2012
Am I the only person that believes that theres something just not right about the McCann's whole story. And the photo of Gerry McCann above illustrates my point perfectly. That to me is not the face of a suffering father
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Agdodds
47 Fans
12:16 AM on 04/27/2012
In a word, 'Yes!' What professional qualifications do you hold, as a matter of interest? Can we have a glimpse of your CV please? What academic research have you conducted into suffering and its outward manifestations? Or do you simply dislike people like the McCanns whose lives have been blighted for ever by a simple mistake?
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ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
661 Fans
03:08 AM on 04/27/2012
It is not exactly a simple mistake to leave toddlers alone in a hotel room abroad. I never considered that with mine. And yes, he does show a self-satisfied face not in accordance with a moment of terrible loss.
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chrsanders
21 Fans
12:22 AM on 04/27/2012
You are right! However it is not the McCann's story but the actions of the Portuguese DI who carried out the initial investigation which do not ring true. He was under investigation for brutality and I suspect (as a former member of the Met) that he was incompetent to boot! If the Portuguese had nothing to hide they would re-open the case and investigate the 195 potential leads!!
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Agdodds
47 Fans
12:34 AM on 04/27/2012
The Portuguese Police were horrified that the McCanns could so neglect their children and were so hell-bent that the McCanns should be punished for their unacceptable behaviour (by their own cultural standards) that they even arrested them as suspects! They tried to act as judge and jury without making any serious attempt to gather evidence and hence perverted the course of Justice. Bent coppers!
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jhan596
3 Fans
10:27 PM on 04/26/2012
There is much that should be investigated in this case such as why Kate stated the shutters were jemmied when they were not, or why she deleted phone calls from her mobile, how the parents had the presence of mind to set up a fund just days after the child 'disappeared' a fund that is a plc not a charity and money from which paid some of their mortgage payments. Refusing to do a reconstruction and very conflicting statements.
The pj files are freely available on the internet people have been mislead by team mccann and News International via the media. Here's hoping the Levison inquiry gets to the bottom of what really goes on in our media and helps bring back good investigative journalism reporting the facts and not some whitewash.
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acrylic99
23 Fans
10:54 PM on 04/26/2012
Clarence "this is my big chance" Mitchell gave up a £70,000 a year job to do the PR for this case, which tells you what he must have been promised by the private sources that funded him to do so. Since then he has had other well-paid high-profile jobs, while keeping this story going at the same time.
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ronnieince
57 Fans
12:49 AM on 04/27/2012
jhan - there is no law against deleting phone calls and you phone conversations are in any event legally private - that is why the Levison Inquiry is going on because phones were unlawfully intercepted by journalists allegedly .

Secondly the McCanns were never asked to do a re- construction or return to Portugal - the Tapas 7 were asked and quite legally refused based on legal advice in the UK - so the Portuguese Police dropped the idea..


Refusing to take part in reconstructions and answer police questions are not evidence of any crime or criminal involvement - they are simply evidence of people exercising their legal rights .

And at the end of the investigation the Portuguese Attorney General advised all the parties involved in writing that there was no evidence of any criminal action by anyone in connection with the disappearance of Madeeine McCann .

If you are going to quote the PJ files it is as wel to quote them accurately
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Singh2012
8 Fans
09:57 PM on 04/26/2012
The Portuguesse Police appear to be a subtle version of the South African Police. The socalled Honeymoon murderer has`nt got much sympathy from the public yet the SA Police have nearly beaten to death some of the star prosecustion witnesses.
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acrylic99
23 Fans
09:56 PM on 04/26/2012
I agree with the Portuguese police, they must be totally sick of the McCanns by now. Who can say that she is in Portugal anyway? There are many missing children out there, many of whom aren't missing as a result of neglect by their parents. There can hardly be anyone left who hasn't heard about this case or seen the endless photos, videos, and computer-generated images. Assuming there actually was an abduction, and she is still alive, she would have to be permanently locked up for her not to have been seen or photographed by somebody who could give a credible sighting. So what on earth would be achieved? If there is any new evidence or even a credible sighting, let the British police or private detectives check it out.
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chrsanders
21 Fans
12:25 AM on 04/27/2012
British police forces have no jurisdiction in Portugal. If they wish an investigation to be carried out, it must be done by the local police force (or should I say farce). As for private detectives, they do not have access to police files and the local police can areest them if they are likely to uncover any unpalatable truths in connection with local officers.
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acrylic99
23 Fans
12:47 AM on 04/27/2012
According to the Panorama report, a different force in Portugal were willing to help the British police, it was only the local force who, understandably, did not want to reopen the case. Either way, as I said, it is very unlikely that anything would be achieved, especially after five years. If they had any sort of credible new evidence, rather than the usual 'sightings' which always turn out to be false, I'm sure they would feel obliged to look into it. Obviously, they haven't any.
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chrsanders
21 Fans
12:59 AM on 04/27/2012
Murders have been solved after more than 5 years so there is every chance that this case could be solved, one way or another, provided that the Portuguese police were less worried about tourism and more about solving crime. It seems that Inspector Clouseau has just been promoted to DI.
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mmartini54
Roll on 2015!
325 Fans
09:02 PM on 04/26/2012
Portugeuse Police don't like to be criticised.
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chrsanders
21 Fans
12:26 AM on 04/27/2012
Because they recognise that the investigation was compromised by the original DI.
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avam2009
77 Fans
05:10 PM on 04/26/2012
No no no no no no no no. My god - this has made my heart scream - if I were her parent I would go mad. This cannot be allowed - NO. How can anyone - any country close a case into a missing child after 5 years??? The whole POINT of an investigation is to find someone that is missing - and this is a CHILD a British national taken by a stranger on portuguese soil. Scotland yard says it is 100% into finding her - they have 148 new leads and the leader of the scotland yard investigation has come out and said it was not her parents (which anyone following the case has always known) and that the child was taken. A child was taken in the same area some years before - and her mother, who has always said her daughter was taken is in jail. I think the portuguese authorities in that area have some hand in the case - terrible things happen all the time (look at this link for atrocities committed by those in authority - http://usedfurniturereview.com/2011/04/14/talking-with-women-stella-marr/

This has made my cry - an absolute tragedy all over again.
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carlgarrod
0 Fans
12:03 AM on 04/27/2012
How can they close the case avam2009?... Bluntly, because they know she is already dead. "Taken by a stranger on Portuguese soil?" - There is NO proof of this having happened other than the insinuations by the McCanns that this was the case and we are all expected to take it as gospel? The most likely thing is that the McCanns had more of a hand in this than we realise. Let's be honest, sadly, we all know that the types of creature that kidnap children don't do it because they are lonely and want a lovely little child in their life as a companion, but rather for evil, brutal motives that swiftly end up in the same tragically similar circumstances in nearly every case. Even if we believe the McCanns "abduction" story, are we also to believe that Madeleine was kidnapped so she could be slotted into somebody's family as some kind of illegal adoption of sorts? This just doesn't happen and the theory makes no sense, but is never questioned by the media. The Portuguese police know this and do not see the point in wasting more time, money and resources on it when the sad reality is that she is long dead, we just don't have full confirmation of how and with whose involvement.
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ronnieince
57 Fans
12:55 AM on 04/27/2012
carlgarrod - the reason why the investigation was closed is that " there was no evidence of any criminal behaviour by anyone in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann " that is the official wording of the Portuguese Attorney General in closing the case .

If some new " evidence " is found he can re -open the case - so far none has been found .-
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meganclaire
1 Fans
12:09 AM on 04/29/2012
So you are saying the Portuguese police, who totally screwed up the original investigation, are right and one of the world's best police forces is wrong? I think you are wrong in assuming Madeleine McCann is dead. DCI Redwood has come out and said Gerry and Kate McCann had nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance and there WAS an abduction. But I guess YOU know better than the professionals because YOU have seen all the evidence.
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