After 3 years and several million £'s - is the investigation going anywhere?

[Sherlock Holmes]

Well,  here's the thing 

After three years,  and seven million pounds,   Scotland Yard are  still,  apparently, no further forward than  'investigating'   petty theft in the area during the period of Madeleine's disappearance 

If the original Portuguese police investigation had really  been  that  inadequate,  then we might have expected  Scotland Yard's finest to come up with  something a bit more significant than that by now,  mightn't we  ?

But what we're saying is that if the PJ has lost, passed over, or not collected information that could have been relevant - I'm not saying that's the case, just hypothetically - then we can't blame SY for a failure to investigate.

Certain information is recoverable or reconstructable after the event, and other things aren't.

[pegasus]

But if you are criticising the original investigation you are criticising Leic police, and CR, and Met analysts, all of whom were working with the PJ in the early days, commencing May.

[Sherlock Holmes]

But if you are criticising the original investigation you are criticising Leic police, and CR, and Met analysts, all of whom were working with the PJ in the early days.

That's true. ( All theoretical as well!)

[icabodcrane]

But what we're saying is that if the PJ has lost, passed over, or not collected information that could have been relevant - I'm not saying that's the case, just hypothetically - then we can't blame SY for a failure to investigate.

Certain information is recoverable or reconstructable after the event, and other things aren't.

I couldn't disagree more 

If,  after three years,  and seven million pounds spent,   Scotland Yard have found no evidence of abduction  then it does not suggest that the Portuguese  police   ...  who also  found no evidence of abduction ...  were somehow responsible 

What it suggests is that there was no abduction

[pegasus]

Well its true in practice IMO, leic police, met analysts, private company CR, harrison, all working with the PJ in 2007, practically not just in theory. 

[Sherlock Holmes]

I couldn't disagree more 

If,  after three years,  and seven million pounds spent,   Scotland Yard have found no evidence of abduction  then it does not suggest that the Portuguese  police   ...  who also  found no evidence of abduction ...  were somehow responsible 

What it suggests is that there was no abduction

But I thought you agreed with my post #334.

We don't have to be talking about abduction. We could be talking about any line of inquiry or potential line of inquiry that for whatever reason was not fully followed through.

The fact that a person or persons investigating this case, at whatever point, made mistakes with something, does not prove that there wasn't an abduction. It just shows there was a mistake.

[Sherlock Holmes]

And you keep repeating the phrase 'seven million pounds'.

The British Taxpayer has spent seven million pounds - not DCI Redwood.

[icabodcrane]

And you keep repeating the phrase 'seven million pounds'.

The British Taxpayer has spent seven million pounds - not DCI Redwood.

It's an awful lot of money  Sherlock  ...  and it bears repeating  ...  an awful lot of manpower too

I wouldn't begrudge a penny of it,  or a man- hour spent  on the case

If the outcome,  though,  which you seem to be suggesting,  is that if Scotland Yard fail to substantiate that Madeleine was abducted at all,  then it  will,  somehow,   be the fault of the Portuguese police,   I most certainly will

[colombosstogey]

But icabod, hasn't this always been one of the shadows hanging over the investigation of Scotland Yard, namely
the fact that much of their work is predicated on old material, which may or may not be completely accurate and may not have been followed though to completion at the time?

Surely it has been a distinct possibility from the get -go that the SY investigation might never bear fruit,  if none of the old leads go anywhere, and new ones are not generated?

The base information SY have to work with is only as good as the PJ left it. And if there were things that the PJ didn't follow up, resulting in possible leads gone cold, there's not much that can be done about that now.

I'm not saying that the PJ did not in general follow up leads properly, or that SY can use the fact that their work is heavily reliant on that of the PJ as an excuse for not getting anywhere.

But the fact remains that if there happened to be any leads not properly pursued by the PJ, for whatever reason,  this could have forever stymied progress in the case.

We knew this when we (the British taxpayer) signed what has become a blank cheque - and we signed it anyway.

Firstly the reason why stuff was left possibly not checked thoroughly was because of the INTERFERENCE by the team McCann and their inexcusably stupid detective agencies. There was so much stuff thrown at the PJ, bogus sightings, suspects etc, that the case just grew and grew until it became so huge the task was almost impossible.

IF you can imagine it has taken a TEAM OF detectives TWO YEARS to trawl through paperwork from PJ, it shows how much stuff there was gathered.

Oh and we were not ASKED to sign a cheque, we were TOLD IT WAS BEING SIGNED and there is a big difference.

I have friends who are disabled and struggling to live, and they cant get money OFF our government. 10 million pounds would go a long way to help a lot of people survive.

In all my life i have never heard of the government intervening in a childs disappearance, and there are many.

This case was thoroughly checked by the PJ, they came to a stand still, because there is simply no evidence for an abduction. The only evidence they really have is from the dogs and some blood samples.

The PJ asked at the beginning for mobile phone information and I believe were turned down.

I think IF the police had been allowed to deal with this case with the help from the British Police at the beginning and there had been no interference I think they may have gotten somewhere.

The truth in the pudding for me was the unclaimed reward which speaks volumes.

[colombosstogey]

I couldn't disagree more 

If,  after three years,  and seven million pounds spent,   Scotland Yard have found no evidence of abduction  then it does not suggest that the Portuguese  police   ...  who also  found no evidence of abduction ...  were somehow responsible 

What it suggests is that there was no abduction

Yes I agree, the fact there was that much paperwork to trawl through shows me the PJ did do a thorough job.

[jassi]

Yes I agree, the fact there was that much paperwork to trawl through shows me the PJ did do a thorough job.

Don't forget that SY have to trawl though all the spurious paperwork of the various defectives as well,

[John]

The comment which someone made that the case has gone cold and consequently may never be solved is very true.  The only chance the police had of solving this case occurred in the hours after Madeleine disappeared and we all know by now why that never happened.

Whoever took Madeleine knew that the police would not be able to react instantly.  I still believe the robbery in Odiáxere was a diversion intended simply to keep the only GNR patrol as far away from Praia da Luz as possible.

[jassi]

The comment which someone made that the case has gone cold and consequently may never be solved is very true.  The only chance the police had of solving this case occurred in the hours after Madeleine disappeared and we all know by now why that never happened.

I do feel the case may be solvable  - may already be solved - but will be very difficult, if not impossible, to prove beyond all possible doubt.

[Carana]

The comment which someone made that the case has gone cold and consequently may never be solved is very true.  The only chance the police had of solving this case occurred in the hours after Madeleine disappeared and we all know by now why that never happened.

Whoever took Madeleine knew that the police would not be able to react instantly.  I still believe the robbery in Odiáxere was a diversion intended simply to keep the only GNR patrol as far away from Praia da Luz as possible.

I'd wondered about that possibility as well.

[Estuarine]

I couldn't disagree more 

If,  after three years,  and seven million pounds spent,   Scotland Yard have found no evidence of abduction  then it does not suggest that the Portuguese  police   ...  who also  found no evidence of abduction ...  were somehow responsible 

What it suggests is that there was no abduction

I agree.
If as we are lead to believe the CPS have visited Portugal on business what would that be for? The CPS would have no interest in swarthy gipsies, tramps and thieves who do not have a British passport.