Madeleine McCann investigation police vet every phone call made from resort
DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann raised hopes of a breakthrough yesterday after revealing a major new line of inquiry.
By: David Pilditch
Published: Fri, October 4, 2013
A Scotland Yard squad is trawling through mobile phone calls made in the days before she vanished.
Officers are building up a detailed picture of who was in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz at the time and the contact between them.
They believe the investigation could be the key to solving the six-year mystery.
The Yard yesterday revealed new evidence has been uncovered about the fate of the youngster and announced that three more suspects or “persons of interest” have been identified.
Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry will take part in a Crimewatch special and make a new appeal for information in the light of the “fresh, substantive” material unearthed.
Investigators will reveal a new theory that they say will give a “different understanding” about the case.
The programme, which will be screened on October 14, will ¬feature a reconstruction of events in the Portuguese resort on the night of May 3, 2007. And it will highlight a series of new leads found by the team of 37 Yard detectives.
The squad has identified 41 potential suspects – up from 38 – including 15 UK nationals. Three of the British suspects are expected to be cleared in the next few days.
Senior officers revealed yesterday that any person who was in Praia da Luz on or around May 3 could receive a phone call from the Metropolitan Police. Last night detectives appealed for anyone who was in the resort in the days running up to Madeleine’s disappearance who has never before been contacted by police to come forward.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the inquiry, said: “We are trying to establish precisely who was nearby when Madeleine disappeared.
“A lot of the sources of information we would use to solve a crime in London are not available to us in Portugal. There is no CCTV footage so we are having to do it the hard way.
“We are working outwards from the spot where Madeleine was last seen. It is like peeling the layers of an onion.
“Everything is designed to bring us to that core moment when she disappeared. We hope to speak to everyone who was in Praia da Luz at the time.
“The majority will be entirely uninvolved in what happened but some will be witnesses and others may be suspects. This is not just a general trawl. This is a targeted attack on the mobile phone database. It has not happened before.”
A lot of the sources of information we would use to solve a crime in London are not available to us in Portugal. There is no CCTV footage so we are having to do it the hard way
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood[/li]
The vast log of mobile phone traffic is made up of thousands of calls from people who live in 31 countries.
In an international operation, detectives have contacted police forces around the globe in their attempt to identify everyone who was in the resort at the time Madeleine disappeared.
Police say 99.9 per cent of those who left their phone footprint will be innocent residents, holidaymakers or workers. But they could lead to new witnesses and potentially unearth an abductor.
Officers have established the majority of foreign nationals in the resort are from the UK, Ireland, Holland and Germany.
Madeleine was three when she vanished from her family’s Ocean Club apartment while her parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas bar.
When worldwide appeals failed to produce any positive sightings, Portuguese police named her parents as suspects but later backtracked, lifted the couple’s “arguido” status and closed the investigation.
Since then Kate and Gerry, both 45, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have fought for the case to be re-opened.
A direct appeal to David Cameron prompted the launch of the UK police review which uncovered so many new leads it has turned into an active investigation.
Last night the couple’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “Kate and Gerry remain very grateful to the Met for the work they are doing in liaison with the Portuguese authorities.
“Their forthcoming appearance on Crimewatch is an important stage in that process. Naturally, they hope it will lead to information that will provide the breakthrough to finding Madeleine.”
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the revelations in the Crimewatch documentary would throw a “substantially different” light on the case.
He said: “It’s not just a bland ‘can you help us’ appeal. There is different material and a different understanding to be presented. There is new information not previously presented – fresh, substantive material.”
Mr Rowley said the documentary was “significant” for the McCanns because it would show the couple working with police.
He said: “In view of the history of this case and how the McCanns were presented originally this is the first time they will have sat alongside police officers. From their perspective it is quite significant.”
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http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/434211/Madeleine-McCann-investigation-police-vet-every-phone-call-made-from-resort
