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Madeleine
Search: Sky Man Returns To Portugal |
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Sky News Correspondent Ian Woods has reported from Praia Da
Luz for more than 3 weeks after Madeleine McCann was abducted.
He has returned to the Algarve
resort to find out if the investigation is making any progress, and discover
how Gerry and Kate McCann are coping.
The street which was once crowded with reporters and satellite trucks is
deserted. The police officers who stood guard have gone.
The yellow tape which cordoned off the scene of the crime has been removed. The
only visible reminder of what happened here is a fading newspaper poster
offering a huge reward for Madeleine's return.
Even the weather is different. Dark clouds hang over Praia La Luz, gentle rain has been falling regularly. When I was
first here we all baked in the hot sun.
Of course there has been one constant factor over the past 6 weeks. Madeleine
remains missing, and her parents are still here, waiting for news.
So too are millions of people around the world. The extraordinary thing about
this case is how people are still interested in the case, even when there have been so few developments worthy of report.
Gerry McCann is encouraged that stories about
Madeleine are still the most popular items on the Sky News website, and that
many reporters are still in Luz to cover the ongoing inquiry.
"I'm surprised that so many people are still here but I presume the media
wouldn't be kept here if there wasn't a demand for information from people back
home," he told me.
"But we want to keep the interest focused on HOW it is going to help the
search for Madeleine."
On Friday it will be 50 days since she was abducted. And as usual, the McCanns
have organised an event to attract publicity,
Gerry McCann said: "On the 50th day we are going to release 50 balloons
with Madeleine's image on them in 50 countries. We have already got around 50
countries involved through contacts and friends."
A meeting with the Pope and high profile visits to other countries have ensured
that the Madeleine story has maintained momentum.
But the only thing which really gets reporters excited is a potential
breakthrough in the police investigation.
Such moments have been rare, which explains the frenzied activity last week
after an anonymous tip-off became public.
The police and the media have received hundreds of false leads, and hardly any
of them are worthy of reporting.
But when a Dutch newspaper received a map and a note indicating where
Madeleine's body would be found, it seemed to have more credibility than most,
because of its similarity to a previous case involving two murdered Belgian
girls.
The newspaper deployed its reporters to the Algarve, and published the story.
Gerry McCann says it was "terrifying" when the news was broken to
them during a routine meeting with Portuguese police officers.
"The immediate reaction was 'Is there something to this?' and clearly that
is extremely upsetting.
"The thought of a very public, in the media, search with Madeleine coming
out of it dead was extremely upsetting.
"Kate wasn't good. Wednesday was a bad day. When it seemed it may have
some credibility - a body being found - it was very, very distressing.
"I managed to cling on to thinking 'We need to find out first if this is
credible'."
The McCanns used to live in Holland
so contacted their Dutch friends to check out the report, and immediately began
to have doubts about its validity. During the next two days the area was
searched and nothing was found.
"I haven't seen the letter, I don't know if it was a hoax. I don't know
what the intention was of the person who sent it but they may have been trying
to help.
"I don't think that justifies it going on the front page of a respected
national newspaper."
On his website Gerry McCann described the decision to publish the information
as "irresponsible".
When asked is he is happy with the way the Judicial Police are handling the
inquiry, he says, "The PJ are working incredibly long hours and I have
absolutely no doubt they want to find Madeleine.
"I am confident the investigation is making progress but until it actually
delivers Madeleine we aren't happy."
Gerry and Kate still have no plans to return home to Leicestershire, even
though he is due to resume his duties as a cardiologist at the beginning of
July.
He says he will not be going back to work for the foreseeable future. Kate is
even more determined to stay in Portugal.
This week they hope to appoint a campaign manager to oversee how money donated
by well-wishers should be spent, and to co-ordinate the publicity drive.
The McCanns are planning for the long term, while still praying that the
nightmare will soon be over. |
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