MADDIE COPS GIVEN ONE LAST CHANCE
Detectives get six more months with Home Office cash as cost of hunt reaches £11.2m
POLICE have been given another six months to hunt for Madeleine McCann.
But if they fail to come up with fresh leads the probe could be axed.
The Home Office is providing £154,000 of funding until March.
The McCanns are “extremely thankful”.
THE four officers hunting for Madeleine McCann have been given six more months to find new leads or the probe could be shelved.
Their deadline was set as the Home Office agreed to continue funding Operation Grange until March, with £154,000.
Ex-Met Police detective Colin Sutton said: “One would imagine, if they are getting more money, they feel there’s still some viable line of enquiry that needs investigating.
“It would be interesting to know what that is, given the restricted remit of Operation Grange.”
Maddie vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007, aged three. The hunt for her has cost £11.2million so far. Parents Kate and Gerry, who feared it could be axed, yesterday said th e y were “extremely thankful to the Home Office and Scotland Yard”.
The six-year investigation got an extra £85,000 in April from a Special Grants Committee, to last until the end of this month. But it has so far failed to find significant new clues and no arrests have been made, despite it last summer having “one final line of enquiry”. Officers have investigated 60 people of interest and 560 lines of enquiry. The team, led by Det Chief Insp Nicola Wall, insisted there was “still important work to do and focused lines of investigation”. A spokesman added: “The inquiry has not reached a conclusion, we are continuing with determination.” Kate and Gerry, both 49, of Rothley, Leics, had hoped to be granted extra funds. Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “It gives them hope that, after more than 10 years, they may finally find out what happened to their daughter.” The Home Office confirmed the funding and said: “As with all applications, resources required are reviewed regularly and careful consideration is given before any funding is allocated.” Officials have said they will provide more money if significant fresh evidence is uncovered.
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