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Madeleine police team shrinks from 200 to 3

HOMEPAGE NEWS REPORTS INDEX NEWS OCTOBER 2007
Original Source:  TELEGRAPH: 05 OCTOBER 2007
By Aislinn Simpson in Portimao
Last Updated: 7:34pm BST 05/10/2007
 
The number of detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is set to dwindle to just three in the wake of a series of departures.

The inquiry team has already been hit by the sacking of its chief and the expected departure of his deputy, and there is no guarantee that replacements for the politically-sensitive roles will be found soon.

On Friday there were fresh fears that the investigation will stall after it emerged that the four remaining exhausted officers working on the investigation – which in the early days of the four-year-old's disappearance in May saw 200 people from various police and fire departments working round the clock – are legally obliged to take holidays before the end of the year.

Madeleine's parents responded by appealing for all the resources necessary to be deployed in the hunt for their daughter.

But their concerns will be heightened by claims that Portugal's most senior policeman said there seemed to be a "new crisis" every day.

Alipio Ribeiro, head of the Policia Judiciaria in Portugal, has ordered his officers to knuckle down and warned that anyone leaking information to the media will be sacked.

Goncalo Amaral, the head of the Policia Judiciaria in Portimao and investigation coordinator, was kicked off the case after he launched an astonishing attack on the British police, claiming they were being manipulated by the McCanns.

The extent of Mr Amaral's conviction about Kate McCann's alleged culpability has been highlighted in reports that he had sought to have her remanded on charges of "exposition and abandonment" for leaving her Madeleine and her young twins, because she refused to answer questions about forensic evidence.

However, public prosecutor Jose Magalhaes e Menezes refused his request, leading to a rift between the two which contributed to Amaral's demise, Portuguese weekly paper Expresso said.

The paper also claimed that Mr Ribeiro told aides: "There is a crisis every day, this one is resolved let's see what tomorrow's is".

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman said: "We hope there always have been, are now and will continue to be sufficient resources available in the search to find Madeleine."

Six detectives have been working flat out on the case, according to their union head, but under Portuguese law they have to take at least 15 days' holiday before December, on a rotational basis. Until Mr Amaral and Mr Almeida are replaced, that means there could be as few as three inspectors on the case.

Carlos Anjos, president of the police union, told 24 Horas: "Nobody can think clearly if they are exhausted."

A police source conceded the investigation would be compromised by this.

"This is too small a team for the demands of this case, so naturally, from now on, the investigations slow down," he said.

Meanwhile, Portuguese police defended their theory that the McCanns were behind Madeleine's disappearance from their rented apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3.

Sources speaking to the Correio da Manha newspaper said that British police brought in not only sniffer dogs but also equipment used to detect if subsoil has been disturbed, for example to bury a body.

Portuguese police sources claimed this showed the British supported their hunch, although the McCann family have strenuously denied this is the case.

A legal source close to the inquiry said: "The Portuguese police had their suspicions two weeks after Madeleine disappeared.

"At that stage they couldn't do much with their suspicions. It was only when the British got involved that the inquiry began to move on quite quickly."

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