The letter was sent to Dutch newspaper
De Telegraaf on Monday and claimed the
four-year-old was buried in scrubland,
"under branches and rocks", nine miles
from where Madeleine was abducted.
Journalists from the newspaper trawled
the land for two days before passing the
information on to Portuguese police and
Mr and Mrs McCann yesterday.
They
had already published the story on their
website. Mr McCann lashed out at De
Telegraaf today.
Writing in his blog on the official
findmadeleine.com
website, he said: “We were extremely
disappointed in the publication of the
anonymous letter in The Telegraaf
claiming to know where Madeleine is
buried.
“Although all information will be taken
seriously, we were very upset that the
credibility of this letter had not been
examined and, more importantly,
published before the Portuguese police
had an opportunity to investigate the
claim, and search the area if
appropriate without massive media
attention.
“We
feel strongly that this was an
irresponsible piece of journalism and
even if it were true it is insensitive
and cruel.
“One
can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate
and I to hear of such claims through the
media and if every piece of information
was published like this there would be
nothing else in the newspapers.”
The
anonymous letter included a map which
pinpointed a dirt track in an area near
Odiaxere, north east of Praia da Luz,
where Madeleine was kidnapped from her
bedroom six weeks ago.
Portuguese police chiefs visited the
area yesterday and took photographs of
the surrounds as they attempted to
pinpoint the area the letter and maps
were referring to.
They
were around four miles from the village
of Odiaxere, north of the main highway,
the Via Do Infante.
Police
spokesman Olegario Sousa said the map,
which includes a large cross marking the
spot Madeleine is allegedly buried, is
“a bit vague”.
He
added: “It is not easy to discover the
place where the body is alleged to be.”
It is
believed sniffer dogs may be used to
scour the scrubland but by 11.30am today
there was still no police presence.
The
only people in the area were
journalists.
Although police are following up the
lead and taking it seriously, they said
it was only one of hundred of tip offs
they have received, including many from
clairvoyants.
It is
believed the tip off may have come from
the same anonymous source who predicted
where the bodies of two murdered
children would be found in Belgium last
year.
The
handwriting on the letter is said to be
similar to that on a map received by the
same newspaper, De Telegraaf, in June
2006, which correctly predicted the
shallow graves of Belgian girls Nathalie
Mahy, 10, and Stacey Lemmens, seven, who
had disappeared while playing in front
of a cafe in Liege.
A
Moroccan man is awaiting trial for the
murder but the anonymous source was
never traced by police.
