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Posted: 17-07-2013 15:12 Post subject:

So you mean where the kid was left alone on the steps rather than in an apartment without an adult present?

Posted: 04-10-2013 08:22 Post subject:

Madeleine McCann: Phone records may hold key, UK police say
By Danny Shaw, Home affairs correspondent, BBC News

Mobile phone records may hold the key to solving the Madeleine McCann case, Scotland Yard detectives believe.
Three-year-old Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished on holiday in Praia de Luz, Algarve, in 2007.

Police are analysing data from thousands of phones belonging to people in the village at the time. There are 41 potential suspects, they say.
A major appeal based on "substantive" new information will be broadcast on the BBC's Crimewatch on 14 October.

Madeleine was days away from her fourth birthday when she disappeared from her family's holiday apartment.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the inquiry, said officers were examining a "substantial amount of data" from mobile phones thought to belong to people who were in the resort of Praia de Luz in the days just before, during and after Madeleine's disappearance.

Police are trying to identify the owner of each phone to build up a picture of exactly who was in the area. More than 3,000 people live in Praia de Luz, while holidaymakers and seasonal workers visit from countries across the world.

"This is not just a general trawl," said Det Ch Insp Redwood.
"It's a targeted attack on that data to see if it assists us to find out what happened to Madeleine McCann at that time."

Det Ch Insp Redwood said officers had so far been unable to attribute a "large number" of mobile numbers and admitted that it was difficult to do so with phones bought six years ago on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The records also contain information on which phone numbers were dialled and when calls were made. It is thought some phone numbers might appear on police intelligence systems or be linked to criminals.

"We can see what the phone is doing, but we can't see the text messages," said the detective. "It shows a timeline of the call data."
According to Scotland Yard, the phone records had been "looked at" during the initial Portuguese police investigation but not in detail.

Asked by reporters if the information held the key to the investigation, Det Ch Insp Redwood replied "It could do."
He said there was no CCTV available - evidence which is often used to help solve missing persons inquiries in the UK.

Scotland Yard announced it was launching an investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in July - after spending two years reviewing the case, under the codename Operation Grange.
At that time, detectives said there were 38 "persons of interest" from five different countries - Portugal, the UK and three others that were not named.
Police said the number had now gone up to 41, of whom 15 were UK nationals.
However, detectives said work was "pretty now complete" on three of the Britons and they were likely to be struck off the list in the near future.

No one has been arrested.

etc...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24386130

Posted: 04-10-2013 12:02 Post subject:

sounds like a fishing expedition but if its not it would indicate there are some strong cases in amongst the 40 or so suspects ... if 15 of them are from the UK draw your own conclusions

Posted: 04-10-2013 19:14 Post subject:

Reminds me of when O.J. Simpson started investigating those murders. He was asked who he really thought had carried out the killings.

Well, at the very least the McCanns left children alone in an unlocked apartment while they went on the piss. If chavs had done that then their other kids would have been taken into care.

But the McCanns are non-stick.

If they lose the libel case then maybe a real investigation will begin.

Edit to fix typo.

Posted: 04-10-2013 20:28 Post subject:

Yup, I agree.

Posted: 13-10-2013 07:45 Post subject:

Madeleine McCann: Crimewatch to show 'fresh version of events'
[Video: A 25-minute reconstruction has been staged for Crimewatch]

The timeline and "accepted version of events" surrounding Madeleine McCann's disappearance have significantly changed, British police say.
The Metropolitan Police said a BBC Crimewatch appeal to be aired on Monday would feature "the most detailed reconstruction" of the case yet.
It will also broadcast e-fits of a number of men police want to find.

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she went missing in Portugal in May 2007.
She disappeared from her family's holiday flat in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined out with friends at a nearby restaurant.

Portuguese authorities dropped their investigation into the case in 2008, but Scotland Yard started a review in May 2011.

The purpose of the Crimewatch appeal, which police are describing as the "most complex and detailed" so far in the case, is to try to identify a number of computer-generated images, or e-fits, of men who were sighted in and around Praia da Luz on or before Thursday 3 May 2007.

As part of that effort, a reconstruction - almost 25 minutes long - of events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine's disappearance will be shown.

A short clip released in advance by police shows an actress playing Madeleine running across a tennis court as two adults, apparently her parents, play a game.
During the search for their daughter, the McCann family released a photograph of Madeleine, believed to be one of the last taken of her during the holiday, holding several tennis balls.

Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood, who is heading the investigation, said: "The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.
"Our work to date has significantly changed the timeline and the accepted version of events that has been in the public domain to date.
"It has allowed us to work with Crimewatch to build the most detailed reconstruction as yet, and highlight very specific appeal points.
"I hope that when the public see our investigative strands drawn together within the overall context of that appeal, it will bring in new information that moves our investigation forward."

DCI Redwood said that police had sought to "try and draw everything back to zero... take everything back to the beginning and then reanalyse and reassess everything, accepting nothing".
He added: "The careful and critical analysis of the timeline has been absolutely key. Primarily, we are focused on the area between 8.30pm and 10pm.
"We know that at 8.30, that was the time that Mr and Mrs McCann went down to the tapas area for their dinner, and we know that at around 10pm, that was when Mrs McCann found that Madeleine was missing."

Madeleine's parents will make a live appeal in the studio during the programme and, ahead of the broadcast, they told the BBC how much they still miss her.
"When it's a special occasion, when you should be at your happiest, and Madeleine's not there, that's when it really hits home," Mr McCann said.
Mrs McCann added: "It's when you have the big family occasions... and you haven't got your complete family."

Earlier this month, police said phone records may be key to the case after it emerged officers were analysing data from phones belonging to people who were in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished.

The Crimewatch appeal, which will be shown in the UK on BBC One on Monday from 2100 BST, will also be broadcast in the Netherlands and Germany.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24509235

Posted: 13-10-2013 07:54 Post subject:

Posted: 13-10-2013 10:30 Post subject:

Posted: 13-10-2013 11:18 Post subject:

The reason I posted that was that I'd just re-read the wiki article to refresh my memory about the case and this sentence stuck in my head:

Posted: 14-10-2013 08:45 Post subject:

Madeleine McCann search: Police release e-fits of man

UK police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance have released two e-fits of a man they want to speak to as a matter of "vital importance".
They will feature in a BBC Crimewatch appeal later over her disappearance on 3 May, 2007, in Praia da Luz, Algarve.

Police said the man "may or may not be key" but had been placed in the area.
The images are based on evidence from two witnesses who saw him on the night three-year-old Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing.
The witnesses said the man was white, 20 to 40 years old and of medium build. He had short brown hair, was clean-shaven and of medium height, they added.

Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood, the senior Metropolitan Police investigating officer, said: "Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us.
"We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

"This is far from our only line of inquiry and there will be e-fits released of other sightings as well, who we are equally keen to trace.
"These people were seen on the day of Madeleine's disappearance and the days leading up to it."

...

On Sunday the Met said the timeline and "accepted version of events" surrounding Madeleine's disappearance had significantly changed, without giving further details.
A detailed reconstruction lasting close to 25 minutes and covering events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine's disappearance will also feature on Monday's Crimewatch.
Police say the appeal is based on "substantive" new material including mobile phone records.

...

[DCI Redwood] added: "Praia da Luz is a popular holiday destination for many nationalities so our requests for help need to be repeated in many different countries."
He said he would travel to the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland to seek public support there, and would repeat the appeals in Portugal - "a key country for us to trace any outstanding witnesses".

He went on to urge anyone, including from the local community, who was in or around Praia da Luz on Thursday, 3 May 2007, to speak to police if they had not already done so.
"We still have a lot of material to investigate and much work to do," he added.

...

Meanwhile Robert Murat, the first official suspect in the case but long since cleared of any involvement, told the BBC he hoped the new appeal would produce results.
"It's gone on and on and every time something new comes up, you know, it brings hope and then it seems to fade away and disappear. So I'm hoping that's not going to be the case again," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24513267

Posted: 14-10-2013 12:14 Post subject:

Those e-fits aren't great.

Posted: 14-10-2013 12:29 Post subject:

Posted: 14-10-2013 14:35 Post subject:

The e-fits are practically generic 20 - 40 year-old males.

Unless the police have someone in mind and this is a way of putting pressure on them, sadly, I don't see this going anywhere.

Posted: 14-10-2013 18:44 Post subject:

I think it's time for a quick recap of the suspects in this case.

First there was blankface

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/BlackRiverFalls/Madblankface_zps5d99493e.jpg

Then there was uglyface

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/BlackRiverFalls/Maduglyface_zps2b3633ad.jpg

And now there's genericface

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/BlackRiverFalls/Madgenericface_zps653d87d3.jpg

I'm sure detectives are scurrying to make an arrest as we speak...

Posted: 14-10-2013 20:39 Post subject:

Now here's an interesting thing. Earlier I was going to make a slightly tasteless comment about the e-fit and description matching Gerry McCann when I heard on the radio that the witnesses were an Irish couple. IIRC if it is the same couple I read about some years ago they were convinced that the man they saw that night carrying a child was in fact Gerry McCann. They only realised when they saw footage of the McCanns walking off an aeroplane and the way he was carrying one of the other kids stuck in their minds.

The way they are talking about it on the news it's as if this evidence is a new breakthrough, but clearly it is not. And have the Irish couple changed their mind about the mans identity? I am interested to see what they'll say on Crimewatch tonight.