Maddie cops pull plug on forensics
British cops hunting for missing Madeleine McCann have stopped all forensic work after a five-year probe.
The final scientific tests on the case that has baffled the world were completed three months ago as part of Scotland Yard’s £12million inquiry.
Operation Grange was launched by ex- Pr ime Minister David Cameron more than five years ago in a desperate bid to find Kate and Ger ry McCann’s daughter, who vanished, aged three, during a family holiday to Portugual in 2007.
But it is expected to be shelved in the autumn amid concerns over its spiralling cost while other areas of policing face budget cuts.
A source said: “The final forensics were carried out about three months ago but, sadly, they didn’t take us forward. There are no plans for any further forensic work to take place.”
It had been hoped forensic tests could be carried out on hairs recovered from the holiday f lat from which Madeline vanished.
This is a further blow for Kate and Gerry, who in April lost a £ 434,000 libel payout from a Portuguese cop who wrote a book questioning the couple’s account of what had happened.
The McCanns, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have not updated the Find Madeleine website since May 3.
More than 60 “persons of interest” were investigated – but pol ice privately concede they are no closer to finding Maddie. The Met would not comment.