[just curious]

Sniffer dogs have been brought in to help search for a three-year-old from Britain who may have been abducted on holiday with her family in Portugal. Madeleine McCann's parents, from Leicestershire, were at a restaurant near the Mark Warner Ocean Summer Club in Praia da Luz when she went missing.

Kate and Gerry McCann returned at about 2145 GMT to find an empty bed and the apartment door and window wide open.
The apartment has been cordoned off and local people are helping with a search.

http://tinyurl.com/ywkp3b

You can also go to Huff's and read up on what has happened on this case since Madeleine went missing. It is being suggested that she "might" have been abducted "to order" for some type of child trafficking ring. Very sad case. Today is Madeleine's birthday. She is, or would have been 4 yrs old today. Huff's link for most of the updates on this case is: http://crimeblog.us/?p=399

[bbbeth18]

[bbbeth18]

http://www.functionpix.com/index.php...Portugal/1369/

"Madeline McCann, 3, has been reported missing by her parents during their holiday in Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve.

The McCanns were having dinner a few hundred yards away from the hotel at the time when their daughter has been abducted. On their return at about 2145 GMT, they found no trace of the girl and the apartment door and window wide open. They informed the Portuguese police of the missing immediately."





While the investigation is being conducted by the police officers, local people have offered their help in searching for Madeline. The consular support has been given to the couple.

[PFT]

http://www.bringmadeleinehome.com/

[bbbeth18]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/st...d=networkfront

Neighbour questioned in Madeleine hunt

"Police searching for the missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann tonight focused their hunt on the house of a British woman whose son had been helping the media as a go-between and translator with the Portuguese police.
The man, who lives with his widowed mother in a villa 150 metres from where Madeleine went missing, is understood to have been taken to a police station in Portimao, although police tonight said no-one had been arrested."

[bbbeth18]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/arti...995103724.html

"Portuguese police have searched a villa up the road from where four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann was snatched and taken a British man to a police station for questioning, local television reported.
Local broadcaster SIC Noticias said a member of the family at the villa often spoke to reporters and had said Madeleine looked like his daughter in England.
Police sealed the villa - located just 150m from where Madeleine was snatched - for forensic tests, SIC Noticias said.
The man who is talking to police is said to have earlier helped Portuguese police and acted as a translator.
He is believed to live in the house" ....Continued with link above

[bbbeth18]

"The man, Robert Murat, was taken to a police station.
His mother told Sky News that he has not been arrested. She said no trace of Madeleine had been found at the villa.
The property is just 150 yards from the apartment where Madeleine's family were staying, in the southern Portuguese resort of Praia Da Luz.
The house, known as Casa Liliana, was sealed off with tape by police while men in white suits and masks began a search inside. They are believed to have drained the villa's swimming pool." Continued:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,272200,00.html

[klm]

I just learned of this sweet little girl on CNN this morning and it just breaks my heart to no ends. God I pray they find this sweet child alive. She is absolutely beautiful! I just can't imagine anyone wanting to harm such a sweet little face. These creeps that do this sort of thing just makes me sick.
It's amazing the reward they are offering now. 5.1 milion already. That's wonderful.

Missing girl suspect held

Police place man under formal investigation in case of missing girl, reports say
• 4-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from Portuguese resort 11 days ago
• Police, forensic experts searched villa, questioned three people Monday
• 2.6 million-pound ($5.14 million) reward fund set up for Madeleine's safe return
http://tinyurl.com/2537xb

[klm]

Dear heavenly father, I ask of you today to help this family in finding this sweet angel of yours and bring her home safely.
IN JESUS NAME, AMEN

[klm]

Missing girl: Police release man


• Portuguese Police release man held over missing girl due to lack of evidence
• 4-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared 11 days ago
• Police, forensic experts searched villa, questioned three people Monday
• 2.6 million-pound ($5.14 million) reward fund set up for Madeleine's safe return
http://tinyurl.com/2537xb

[PFT]

Originally Posted by klm

Dear heavenly father, I ask of you today to help this family in finding this sweet angel of yours and bring her home safely.
IN JESUS NAME, AMEN

Amen

[klm]

WHERE IS MADDIE? (PHOTOS)

http://tinyurl.com/2dma85

[PFT]

Suspect in Madeleine McCann Disappearance 'Feels Trapped'
Buoyed by showings of support across the U.K., Madeleine McCann's family continues to press their desperate search for their 4-year-old girl.

Visiting British parliament, where members wore yellow ribbons, Madeleine's aunt had a plea for her abductors.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3183885

[PFT]

Madeleine's parents still hopeful

Madeleine McCann's parents have restated their belief that their daughter will be found.

(Advertisement)

Family priest, Father Paul Seddon, who is in Portugal to support the McCanns, revealed that mum and dad, Gerry and Kate have never stopped believing that they will see four-year-old Madeleine again.

He said the initial shock of the disappearance lead to a "feeling of helplessness and devastation", but they had overcome it.

"Gerry and Kate would not allow it - they knew it would have simply destroyed them as people and reduced the chance of finding Madeleine," Father Seddon added.

The priest, whose role in "Team McCann" ranges from handling correspondence pouring in from around the world to cooking and doing the dishes, said that the couple were right at the heart of efforts to find Madeleine

"They made a choice to take a control of things. This gave them a positive focus and a conviction that Madeleine could and would be found," he said.

Already more than 60 million people have visited a website dedicated to finding the missing girl.

And campaigner Susan Ansell is using the social networking site Facebook to distribute posters of the youngster across Europe.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/fc/madeleine-mccann.html

[klm]

Police ask for missing girl photos
POSTED: 1:17 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2007

• Police ask tourists who stayed at Portuguese resort to hand over photos
• 4-year-old Briton disappeared from a hotel resort in Portugal on May 3
• Friends, family conducting tireless public relations campaign to find Madeleine
Adjust font size:
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Tourists who stayed at the Portuguese resort where four -year-old Madeleine McCann was abducted were urged on Monday to hand over any holiday photographs which might contain clues to the British child's kidnapper.
British detectives would use advanced facial recognition software to scan the pictures and pass on any useful information to Portuguese police.
British police said they wanted pictures from anyone who had been at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz or the surrounding area in the two weeks before Madeleine's disappearance on May 3.
"Look at your prints and see if there are, for instance, people in the background of the picture that at first you may not have noticed," said Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of the police Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.
"These are the pictures we want," he added.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe...eut/index.html

May God bless Maddie's mum, dad and the rest of her family and friends for what they are going through right now. Someone, somewhere HAD to see something, anything! This child did not just disappear in thin air. I am praying they will find a clue with photos LE collect from other tourist.

[klm]

I guess No news is good news but... I just have a bad feeling about this one.
The reward money for her as of today is at....$L184,152.66UK (which I think is around 5.7 million in US). Please correct me if I'm wrong.
But I feel with that kind of money offered for her safe return, if she were still alive and someone had her... A) they would be trying to figure a way to collect the money by now. Or B) they are kicking themselves in the a** for getting rid of her knowing how much she's worth already. But, I will continue keeping this sweet little angel in my prayers everyday because I want so much for God to prove me wrong and that she is safe somewhere. God bless you little Maddie!

[PFT]

From: The Search For Little Madeleine Mccann
Date: May 25, 2007 6:23 AM


From VIRGINIA WHEELER
and JOHN ASKILL
in Praia da Luz
May 25, 2007



A HORRIFIED mum told yesterday how a stranger tried to abduct her blonde, blue-eyed girl just a short drive from where Madeleine McCann was snatched.

Portuguese Lina Santos said: “When I saw Maddie’s photo I shivered. She is so similar to my daughter Carolina. They are like doubles.”

Lina and husband Abel believe the man who tried to lead Carolina away was from a MOROCCAN community living near the cafe they run.

Just a week ago another woman said she was “99.9 per cent certain” she saw Maddie, four, with a man at a petrol station — in MOROCCO.

The revelation came as police revealed they were following up “new leads” after asking for snaps and videos taken by holidaymakers at the Algarve complex during the McCanns’ two-week holiday.

They are also investigating reports a man was photographing blonde girls on the nearby beach.

Lina, 28, and Abel, 40, recalled how they ran screaming when they spotted three-year-old Carolina walking off with a stranger 300 yards from their Café O Falcao.

Afterwards the crying tot said the man, wearing a hat, asked her to follow him as he had “another little girl for her to play with”.

Lina said: “When I heard of Madeleine’s disappearance my heart leapt. It was only six months ago that a man tried to steal Carolina. Then I saw Maddie’s photo.

“She is almost identical to my daughter — who is unusual for a Portuguese girl because she is blonde-haired and blue-eyed.”

Lina said the nightmare unfolded on Christmas Day near the Algarve town of Silves, just 30 miles from Praia da Luz where Maddie’s parents Gerry and Kate were staying.

She said: “We were working at the cafe. We lost sight of Carolina. Something scared me and I ran outside and saw Carolina walking away with a Moroccan man.

“Abel and I ran after him screaming to let our little girl alone. She turned and ran to us as he walked off. Carolina burst into tears.”

Lina reported the attempted abduction to local police immediately. Two days ago the couple rang cops searching for Maddie after a different Moroccan man — who they believe to be from the same immigrant community — made a threat to steal her.

Lina said: “I was thinking of ringing anyway because Carolina looks so much like Maddie.

“But then another Moroccan man stormed into our cafe drunk and threatened to steal her again.

“I now have nightmares that someone will take Carolina just like Maddie because she is blonde and pretty.”

Maddie detectives yesterday confirmed they were investigating Carolina’s attempted abduction, but said they “were not linking the two incidents at this stage”. Lina described the stranger who walked off with Carolina as 5ft 7ins and aged between 30 and 40.

Last week Norwegian holidaymaker Mari Olli Pollard said the man she saw with a blonde girl in the Moroccan city of Marrakech was between 35 and 40.

Mari, 45, said she became suspicious when the “lost-looking” girl asked a dark-haired man in a petrol station: “Can I see Mummy soon?”

Maddie was snatched on May 3 and Mari’s sighting came six days later. Mari, who lives with her British husband in Fuengirola in Spain, said: “Next day I turned on the news and got a real shock because it was definitely her.”

Morocco can be reached from the Algarve in a day — crossing into Spain for ferries to Tangiers.

Meanwhile Gerry and Kate, both 38, of Rothley, Leics, have been offered the use of a private jet by a mystery benefactor. The couple are thought to want to fly around Europe to publicise the hunt.

[PFT]

From: The Search For Little Madeleine Mccann
Date: May 25, 2007 6:25 AM


The parents of abducted Madeleine McCann are frustrated by the slow progress of the Portuguese police investigation, a source close to the couple revealed yesterday.

Kate and Gerry McCann are also worried that officers are failing to inform them of developments in the case, which is now three weeks old.

Their fears were spotlighted as they released the last photo of their four-year-old daughter - snapped just seven hours before she was snatched from her bed.

Dangling her feet in the pool at the Mark Warner Ocean Club at Praia da Luz, Madeleine is a picture of happy innocence. With dad and little sister Amelie at her side, the photo suggests an idyllic holiday.

The picture was taken by Kate on a digital camera at 2.29pm on May 3.

In a pink top, white shorts and floppy sun hat - and with two white beads in her hair - Madeleine grins as she looks away.

But that night the carefree child - who was then three - was taken from her room in the Algarve resort as her parents ate with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

British police are also said to be annoyed at a lack of communication from their Portuguese counterparts.

Just 30 officers remain on the investigation there - even though the case against chief suspect Robert Murat is on the verge of collapse.

Portugal's "secret of justice" laws prevent police releasing information - even to the McCanns.

The source close to Kate and Gerry said: "They are getting frustrated at the apparent slowness of the Portuguese investigation.

"They want to do positive things. Kate and Gerry are considering how they can move things forward themselves. They feel some processes are taking a long time and they are not being informed on developments.

"The British police have been great but are not fully in the loop either."

A family spokesman said Kate and Gerry - both 38 - "ask on a regular basis what they can do to help the investigation but when it appears things are moving slowly it can be frustrating".

Last night the mum and dad thanked the Portuguese police for their "hard work" in a statement to mark the International Day of Missing Children.

They said: "We would like to thank everyone throughout Portugal and beyond for the overwhelming love, support and hospitality they have shown us.

"For us, this is an important day, as children who are missing around the world are rightly remembered."

Gerry posted his first blog on the find-madeleine.com website yesterday. He described the visit he and Kate, of Rothley, Leics, made on Wednesday to the shrine at Fatima and said: "The trip received a lot of publicity which should help maintain the profile of her abduction."

New leads have emerged from a plea for holidaymakers to send in pictures taken in the Algarve, a source close to the investigation said last night.

Meanwhile there are talks with Warner Brothers on playing a film about Madeleine in its cinemas and England footballers yesterday posed for photos with a banner highlighting the hunt.

The fighting fund to find Madeleine has now received nearly £300,000 in donations - and wristbands went on sale yesterday in Leicestershire to boost it further.

[klm]

Does anyone know how much £300,000 lbs UK, is in US? Just curious. I don't understand pounds in UK. Last I heard it was.... £184,152.66 which I was told was around $5.1 mil US. which is amazing.
Keeping Maddie in my prayers.

[bbbeth18]

"Police hunting for missing Madeleine McCann have issued their first detailed description of a possible suspect.
He was seen walking in the area of Praia da Luz at around 9.30pm on the night that the four-year-old was snatched from her bed in a holiday complex in the resort three weeks ago.
Police described him as white, approximately 35 to 40 years old, of medium build and 5ft 10in tall. They said he was wearing a dark jacket, light beige trousers and dark shoes".....Continued Below

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/s...661005,00.html