The man featured in two e-fits released
by UK police investigating Madeleine
McCann's disappearance was seen
carrying a child towards the beach.
Police say a family saw the man with a
blond-haired child of three or four,
possibly wearing pyjamas, heading away
from the McCanns' holiday apartment.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leics, was three
when she went missing on 3 May, 2007, in
Praia da Luz, Portugal.
The e-fit images will feature in a BBC
Crimewatch appeal later.
'Other sightings'
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 he could be the man who took
Madeleine but there could be an innocent
explanation.
The Met Police opened up a new
investigation earlier this year and have
been reassessing all the gathered material.
As a result, according to the police, the
timeline and "accepted version of events"
surrounding Madeleine's disappearance
have significantly changed.
Det Ch Insp Redwood said he was now
attaching more weight to the sighting of
the man and the child at 10pm, which was
later than the time it was previously
believed Madeleine was taken.
Madeleine and her brother and sister were
left in the apartment at 8.30pm while her
parents dined with friends at a nearby
restaurant. Her father, Gerry McCann,
checked on them at 9.05pm and her
mother, Kate, raised the alarm at 10pm.
Det Ch Insp Redwood said the child in the
man's arms had not been crying, nor
looked in distress.
He added: "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.
"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."
Overseas appeals
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.
A short clip released in advance by police
shows actors playing Madeleine's parents
leaving their holiday apartment for the
nearby tapas restaurant.
Madeleine e-fit man 'carrying child'
They are then seen seated outdoors at a
large poolside table, greeting friends as
they come to join them for dinner.
In 2008, a Portuguese investigation into
the case was dropped, but Scotland Yard
began a review of the case in May 2011
and opened a formal investigation in July
this year.
Speaking about the review-turned-
investigation, Det Ch Insp Redwood said
detectives had been able to "make massive
steps forward" by drawing together all the
material gathered to date and reviewing it
as a whole.
He said his team 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: "Praia da Luz is a popular
holiday destination for many nationalities
so our requests for help need to be
repeated in many different countries."
An image (right) showing how Madeleine
might have looked aged nine
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".
In Germany, a special edition of the crime
programme Aktenzeichen XY - Ungeloest
which is translated as "File XY - Unsolved",
will be aired on Wednesday night and will
feature an appeal for information from Mr
and Mrs McCann.
'Not to blame'
Former Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre head Jim Gamble - who
carried out a review into the case in 2010 -
said the appeal offered "an opportunity
for everyone to help".
"It doesn't matter that you were not in
Praia da Luz - you may watch something,
you may see an e-fit, you may see some
other information, they may talk about
telephone numbers and something will
click with you," he told BBC News.
"And that you will not know unless you
watch."
Mr and Mrs McCann are expected to make
a live appeal from the studio during the
programme.
Ahead of its broadcast, Mrs McCann said:
"We're not the ones that have done
something wrong here.
"It's the person who's gone into that
apartment and taken a little girl away from
her family."
Meanwhile Robert Murat, the first official
suspect in the case but long since officially
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.
The Crimewatch appeal will be shown in
the UK on BBC One on Monday from
21:00 BST. It will also be broadcast in
the Netherlands and Germany.
by UK police investigating Madeleine
McCann's disappearance was seen
carrying a child towards the beach.
Police say a family saw the man with a
blond-haired child of three or four,
possibly wearing pyjamas, heading away
from the McCanns' holiday apartment.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leics, was three
when she went missing on 3 May, 2007, in
Praia da Luz, Portugal.
The e-fit images will feature in a BBC
Crimewatch appeal later.
'Other sightings'
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 he could be the man who took
Madeleine but there could be an innocent
explanation.
The Met Police opened up a new
investigation earlier this year and have
been reassessing all the gathered material.
As a result, according to the police, the
timeline and "accepted version of events"
surrounding Madeleine's disappearance
have significantly changed.
Det Ch Insp Redwood said he was now
attaching more weight to the sighting of
the man and the child at 10pm, which was
later than the time it was previously
believed Madeleine was taken.
Madeleine and her brother and sister were
left in the apartment at 8.30pm while her
parents dined with friends at a nearby
restaurant. Her father, Gerry McCann,
checked on them at 9.05pm and her
mother, Kate, raised the alarm at 10pm.
Det Ch Insp Redwood said the child in the
man's arms had not been crying, nor
looked in distress.
He added: "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.
"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."
Overseas appeals
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.
A short clip released in advance by police
shows actors playing Madeleine's parents
leaving their holiday apartment for the
nearby tapas restaurant.
Madeleine e-fit man 'carrying child'
They are then seen seated outdoors at a
large poolside table, greeting friends as
they come to join them for dinner.
In 2008, a Portuguese investigation into
the case was dropped, but Scotland Yard
began a review of the case in May 2011
and opened a formal investigation in July
this year.
Speaking about the review-turned-
investigation, Det Ch Insp Redwood said
detectives had been able to "make massive
steps forward" by drawing together all the
material gathered to date and reviewing it
as a whole.
He said his team 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: "Praia da Luz is a popular
holiday destination for many nationalities
so our requests for help need to be
repeated in many different countries."
An image (right) showing how Madeleine
might have looked aged nine
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".
In Germany, a special edition of the crime
programme Aktenzeichen XY - Ungeloest
which is translated as "File XY - Unsolved",
will be aired on Wednesday night and will
feature an appeal for information from Mr
and Mrs McCann.
'Not to blame'
Former Child Exploitation and Online
Protection Centre head Jim Gamble - who
carried out a review into the case in 2010 -
said the appeal offered "an opportunity
for everyone to help".
"It doesn't matter that you were not in
Praia da Luz - you may watch something,
you may see an e-fit, you may see some
other information, they may talk about
telephone numbers and something will
click with you," he told BBC News.
"And that you will not know unless you
watch."
Mr and Mrs McCann are expected to make
a live appeal from the studio during the
programme.
Ahead of its broadcast, Mrs McCann said:
"We're not the ones that have done
something wrong here.
"It's the person who's gone into that
apartment and taken a little girl away from
her family."
Meanwhile Robert Murat, the first official
suspect in the case but long since officially
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.
The Crimewatch appeal will be shown in
the UK on BBC One on Monday from
21:00 BST. It will also be broadcast in
the Netherlands and Germany.
No comments:
Post a Comment