15th March 2013
Daily Mail
New lead in hunt for Madeleine McCann: Police look for team of British cleaners in white van who were working in resort•Apartment owners have been asked about six to eight cleaners with van
•Cleaners advertised on cards in Portuguese supermarkets nearby
•New line of enquiry comes as UK detectives review missing girl's caseDetectives investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann believe a team of British cleaners may hold the key to her whereabouts.
Owners of apartments in the Portuguese holiday complex where Maddie and her family were staying when she vanished in 2007 have been asked about cleaners in the area who had a white van.
One property owner said police told him they are looking for a group of six to eight British cleaners who drove around the Praia da Luz area in a white van, working in holiday apartments.
It is the first time the cleaning team has been been mentioned since the hunt for missing Maddie, who was three when she went missing on a family holiday to Portgual, began.
The new line of inquiry came from British officers reviewing all the evidence as part of Operation Grange.
Detectives working to establish who was in the Praia da Luz holiday apartments at the time have asked property owners repeatedly if they had seen a team of British cleaners working there.
One apartment owner called police after he received a letter from them saying they were checking who was in the flats at the time.
He told The Sun: 'The officer said it had been drawn to their attention there were British people that cleaned the apartments who they needed to speak to.
'They said "Who are the British cleaners that are cleaning the apartments in a white van?"'
'They were very interested in who'd have access to those apartments.'
The owner said police asked him about the cleaners four times, and led him to believe that they were looking for six to eight British men or women.
He said that usually the Ocean Club resort's own cleaners worked in the apartments, but several property owners used cheaper British cleaners, who advertised on cards in the local supermarkets.
The new lead is not believed to have come from Portuguese police, but possibly from information gathered during interviews conducted by British police.
A white van has been mentioned in connection with Madeleine's disappearance before, but this is the first time a team of British cleaners has come up.
Three years ago a Portuguese man told police he'd seen a girl he believed to be the missing three-year-old in the back of a white van near her holiday resort.
He said there were a couple of people whom he believed to be gypsies by the van.
A separate report to Portuguese police mentioned a white van and a young, dark-haired man, who was staring at the holiday apartments the McCanns had been staying in.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman told MailOnline: 'Officers are reviewing all of the material in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
'This is routine procedure as part of the ongoing review.'
Operation Grange was set up by the Metropolitan Police two years ago at the request of Prime Minister David Cameron following a plea by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leicestershire.
In May it will be six years since Madeleine disappeared from the Portuguese holiday resort.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2293759/Madeleine-McCann-hunt-Operation-Grange-officers-look-cleaners-white-van.html16th March 2013
The Sun
Maddie: Hunt for 6 Brit cleaners Cops' new lead COPS investigating the Madeleine McCann case are trying to trace six British cleaners working in Portugal when she disappeared.
The group were based in Praia da Luz when Madeleine, then just three, vanished from her family’s holiday complex in 2007.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4842474/New-Madeleine-McCann-lead-as-police-hunt-for-six-Brit-cleaners.html