A
British national newspaper claimed this week that the private
investigators employed by the McCanns had done little to look into a new
witness report. According to the Daily Mail,
the detectives only made preliminary inquiries before announcing their
‘significant’ developments in the search for Madeleine.
Dave Edgar, the lead investigator, had appealed for help in finding the
‘Victoria Beckham lookalike’ who a British tourist approached as she
looked agitated near a marina in Barcelona three days after the
disappearance of Madeleine. The team then released an e-fit of the woman
they believed would now be in Australia.
The Mail revealed that before doing the press conference they had failed
to speak to anyone working at the restaurant near where the Australian
woman was seen.
Neither had they asked whether there was CCTV footage of the woman. It
was also claimed that they were not aware of the Australian yacht that
was docked in the marina that night and only found out when British
journalists informed them of the development.
The investigators were hired by Kate and Gerry McCann after Portuguese
authorities closed the investigation last year.
The McCanns’ spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: “The private
investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is being conducted entirely
professionally and thoroughly under the direction of Dave Edgar.
“Upon receipt of the new witness information, two members of the
investigation team travelled to Barcelona to conduct preliminary
inquiries during a brief initial visit.”
Expenses
Meanwhile, British police have revealed that they have spent nearly
£750,000 looking into the disappearance of
Madeleine.
This follows the revelation that from 2007 to 2008 Leicestershire police
spent £548,477 on their part of the search. In February, the Home Office
said if any local police had extra costs for a government event, its
authority can ask for ‘special grant support’ from the Home Office.
Some of the cost has been reimbursed by the Home Office with a grant of
£525,069.
Also this week, Kate and Gerry McCann were said to be devastated after
leaflets suggesting they are responsible for their daughter’s
disappearance were distributed in their hometown.
Around 10,000 copies of the publication,
Ten Reasons to suggest Madeleine McCann was not abducted,
were posted in Rothley, Leicestershire and the surrounding area.
The leaflet said that the McCanns’ version of events of the night
Madeleine disappeared is a ‘sheer impossibility’ and that it is more
likely Madeleine died in the apartment and the parents then covered up
the death.
The leaflets have been posted around the village by an organisation
called The Madeleine Foundation,
whose members are calling for the case of the missing girl to be
reopened.
The leaflet was delivered to homes in the street where Kate and Gerry
McCann live with their two young children Sean and Amelie but not to
their house.
Clarence Mitchell said: “We do not wish to dignify the actions of the
so-called Madeleine Foundation with any response. We do feel it is
important, however, to make the general public aware that the foundation
has no connection whatsoever with our family or those helping us find
Madeleine or any law enforcement agencies.”
Do you have a view on this story? Email us at editor@algarveresident.com |
