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Madeleine's father: Police are back at start

HOMEPAGE NEWS REPORTS INDEX 100 DAYS MISSING NEWS AUGUST 2007
Original Source: TELEGRAPH: 11 AUGUST 2007
By Richard Edwards in Praia da Luz
Last Updated: 2:43am BST 11/08/2007
 
The parents of Madeleine McCann have voiced their anger and frustration that after 100 days of searching for their daughter, Portuguese police are back at "square one".

Detectives leading the investigation have told them that Robert Murat, the only formal suspect, had been ruled out and would be released from his status of "arguido" shortly.

Friends of Kate and Gerry McCann said last night that the couple felt as if the police had "not got a clue" and they had been wasting their time in the three months since Madeleine's disappearance.

The McCanns also felt that police had changed their "tone" towards them and they were now being treated more "formally".

They had told friends that they did not feel under suspicion, but were frustrated that their questions were going unanswered and that detectives seemed no closer to finding Madeleine.

A friend said: "It looks like they are back to square one. It is very frustrating for Kate and Gerry. They have done and will continue to do all they can to co-operate with detectives but it appears to everyone that police have not got a clue."

Madeleine disappeared from her apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on May 3. But the police have been blamed for a string of blunders from the very start of their investigation.

It is believed that a small team of British officers called in to help their Portuguese counterparts have now finished helping with a second review of evidence and are heading back to the UK.

Privately, one of the Portuguese detectives leading the investigation told colleagues "not to get excited" about evidence uncovered this week by British sniffer dogs, including specks of blood from the apartment bedroom.

British sources were "astonished" that they uncovered potential new clues that had been missed first time, but they fear the evidence will have been compromised because of the delay in calling them in.

Police have finally managed to track down all 490 people who were staying in the Ocean Club complex when Madeleine disappeared, and interviewed them in person. But seemingly no leads have been thrown up.

Mr and Mrs McCann were called to police headquarters on Wednesday for their weekly meeting with detectives. They were taken aback by the officers' "more formal" approach.

Mr McCann said yesterday: "There has been a shift in the investigation and the way it was proceeding previously. If that means we are starting with a new slate, we've always said all scenarios are possible and we have always done everything to co-operate."

But in a separate interview he said: "I think, as parents, if there is evidence then we need to know about it."

Meanwhile, the McCanns continued to push their campaign to raise awareness of Madeleine's plight. The US First Lady, Laura Bush, the rugby player Jonny Wilkinson and the footballer David Beckham recorded messages of support for a new YouTube channel devoted to missing children. It attracted 15,000 hits in the first two hours.

In a video on the site, at uk.youtube.com/dontyouforgetaboutme, Mrs Bush appealed for people to watch the videos of missing children and look out for them in their communities.

A message of support from Wilkinson will also be played at England's international against France today and appeals will be screened before every Premiership match as the new football season starts.

Meanwhile, speculation continued in the Portuguese press yesterday. It was claimed that police wanted to question a British man who was on holiday in Praia da Luz at the same time as the McCanns and helped in the initial search for Madeleine.

The man arrived in Portugal on April 28, the same day as the McCanns, and left on May 6, the day they should have flown home, according to the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias. Police have recovered an Opal Corsa the 40-year-old rented in Faro, about 60 miles from Praia da Luz, it was claimed.

A Portuguese police spokesman refused to confirm or deny whether the man was a potential suspect. But sources close to the family said they believed he had been ruled out weeks ago.

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