Huge £11m hunt for Madeleine
doing. Offences which may be linked have to be looked at and either ruled in or ruled out.”
Mr Rowley said there was still a “lot unknown” in the case, adding: “All the different hypotheses have to remain open.”
Police have looked at more than 600 individuals who were identified as being potentially significant to Madeleine’s disappearance. In 2013 the team identified four people as suspects in the case. Interviews and searches were carried out but no evidence was found to implicate the four in the disappearance.
Mr Rowley said they are no longer the subject of further investigation and have been ruled out of the inquiry.
Meanwhile, police working on the case continue to receive information on a daily basis.
Mr Rowley said: “Thousands of pieces of information have come forward, some useful, some not, but among that have been some nuggets that have thrown some extra light on the original material. That’s one of the things that’s helped us make progress.”
Mr Rowley said there was no “definitive evidence” as to whether Madeleine is alive or dead. He added: “That’s why we describe it as a missing person inquiry. We understand why, after this many years, people will be pessimistic, but it’s important we keep an open mind.”
The officer added that however Madeleine left the apartment, she was abducted.
“She wasn’t old enough to make a decision to set off and start her own life,” he said.
The assistant commissioner pledged that the investigation team will do all they can to provide an answer for Madeleine’s parents. He said: “I so wish I could say we will definitely solve it but a small number of cases, sadly, don’t get solved. What I’ve always said on this case, and I’ve said it to Kate and Gerry as well, we will do everything reasonably possible to try and find an answer. I just can’t quite guarantee it. It always hurts that you can’t guarantee success but we will do everything we reasonably can do to try and get there.”
Around 30 detectives were working on the UK probe, Operation Grange, when it was established in 2011. The team has now been scaled back to four detectives.
Last month the Home Office confirmed £85,000 was being given to the inquiry to cover operational costs from April until September. More than £11m has been spent on the inquiry so far.
Asked about the cost of the investigation, he said: “We’ve tried to be careful about public money and as we’ve started with that massive sifting we’ve reduced the number of resources and the funding’s reduced accordingly.
“But we will stick with it as long as the funding’s available and as long as there are sensible lines of inquiry to pursue.”