Police have new leads on missing girl
LONDON — British police say they have launched a full investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and want to trace 38 “persons of interest” in the case.
Detectives say it’s possible that Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort six years ago, is still alive.
Scotland Yard said Thursday that 12 of the individuals of interest are British, and the rest from a variety of European countries. The force says it is working with governments across the continent to find out more.
McCann vanished from a vacation home in Portugal’s Algarve region on May 3, 2007, days before her fourth birthday. The case has generated intense media interest.
Det. Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said police “continue to believe that there is a possibility that Madeleine is alive.”
A team of 37 detectives has spent the last two years trawling through thousands of documents, witness statements and pieces of evidence as part of a Government funded review of the case.
That review has now been upgraded to a fullscale investigation with those in charge admitting they have a number of fresh theories about what happened to Madeleine, who would now be 10.
Those in charge of the investigation have also categorically stated that Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and the group of seven they were on holiday with, are not under suspicion. This March 2007 file photo released by the McCann family shows British girl Madeleine McCann when she was three.