Britain reopens Madeleine Mccann case
London—investigators with Britain’s largest police force said on Wednesday that they believed that Madeleine Mccann, the British toddler who vanished while on vacation with her parents in Portugal, could still be alive. Madeleine’s story reverberated across the globe, and as the years have passed most have given up hope of ever finding her.
But a week before the anniversary of her disappearance, the Metropolitan Police released a statement saying its investigators had uncovered what they believed to be “genuinely new material,” as well as nearly 200 new opportunities for further inspection. Investigators said that they “now believe that there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive,” and have called for the investigation by the Portuguese police to be reopened after a hiatus of almost four years.
Along with the statement, the Metropolitan Police, commonly known as the Met or Scotland Yard, released an age-progression image ahead of what would have been Madeleine’s ninth birthday on May 12. The haunting image of a wide-eyed 3-year-old, relayed worldwide in the weeks after her disappearance on May 3, 2007, has been replaced by that of a 9-year-old with her blond hair swept in a side-part, created in collaboration with her family.
While the initial investigation by the Portuguese authorities was roundly criticized, the British inquiry has been aided by the fact that, for the first time since Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom in the family’s rented apartment in the Algarve region of Portugal, investigators have been able to review material generated by three independent investigations in one location.
The detective leading the review said that having access to the Portuguese investigation, inquiries by British law enforcement agencies and the work of private investigators hired by the Mccann family presents the team with “best opportunity” of finally solving the mystery of what happened in the seaside resort of Praia da Luz.
Officers have so far identified 195 new items for investigation within the historic material, as well as having developed the new material.