April Jones police and sniffer dogs helping with dig in Portugal03 June 2014 11:52 AM
By Alicia Melville-Smith
A dozen British detectives and uniformed police, including two Welsh officers, have descended on the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where the youngster disappeared days before her fourth birthday
British police meet local police at an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine McCann went missing seven years ago, in the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Welsh police officers and sniffer dogs involved in the search for April Jones are in Portugal helping with the search for missing Madeleine McCann.
Two South Wales Police specialist dog handlers, and victim detection dogs, have been deployed to assist with the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine.
Kate and Gerry McCann face new agony as police began digging near the Algarve holiday complex where their daughter Madeleine disappeared seven years ago
In an unprecedented operation initiated by Scotland Yard, officers were concentrating their search on an overgrown area of scrubland as the McCann's were said to be bracing themselves for "significant news".
A South Wales Police spokeswoman said: "The officers are working as part of a small team of British police officers, led by Metropolitan Police Service in conjunction with the Portuguese authorities.
"The dogs are both seven-year-old English Springer Spaniels, called Tito and Muzzy, and both dogs were deployed during the search for April Jones in 2012."
A dozen British detectives and uniformed police descended on the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where the three-year-old vanished in May 2007.
The search team, liaising with Portuguese authorities, spent more than seven hours mapping out the area, just 300 yards from the family apartment where she was last seen.
The Operation Grange team erected three forensic tents in specific spots as part of the most significant development since Madeleine was snatched.
Detectives are expected to start using ground-penetrating radar and begin excavation work for clues that could solve the tragic case.
The McCanns’ Portuguese lawyer, Isabel Duarte, said the distraught couple “just want to know exactly what happened to their daughter”.
She added: “It is my belief that police have some very good information to be carrying out ground searches.
“I believe there is data in the criminal file which has led to this operation because, if not, police would not be performing this very drastic task.
“Kate and Gerry have not been given any information that Madeleine is dead, and until this happens they have to believe she is still alive."
It was the evening of May 3, 2007 – just nine days before her fourth birthday – when Madeleine went missing from the ground floor apartment while her parents dined in a tapas restaurant with friends.
The Portuguese police case - which was criticised after Kate and Gerry, from Rothely, Leics. were named formal suspects – was shelved the following year.
Operation Grange was set up in 2011 to re-investigate the disappearance after David Cameron ordered Scotland Yard to review all the evidence.
UK police have made numerous trips to Portugal this is the first time they have carried out a search.
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/madeleine-mccann-search-april-jones-7208309
