OUR chilling pictures show how shockingly EASY it would have been for a kidnapper to escape with Maddie unnoticed by ANYONE on the night she disappeared.

We have uncovered new evidence at both the BACK and the FRONT of the McCanns' holiday apartment that sheds new light on the four-year-old's disappearance...including new information about the KEY to the flat revealed here for the first time.

Our pictures above show the view both ways from the McCanns' balcony to the tapas bar.

At the back our astonishing pictures prove THERE IS NO CLEAR VIEW either way from the balcony and the rear patio doors of the McCann apartment to the tapas bar where her parents Kate and Gerry were having dinner.

The abductor would have had the cover of TREES in full foliage as he crept around the Praia da Luz flat that night.

And at the front we have discovered that the key the McCanns were given at the start of their holiday is almost certainly a COPY of the original that could possibly point to the kidnapping being an inside job in the complex.

Whichever routes in and out were used by the monster, the risks of him being discovered on his entrance and escape were tragically slight.

From the balcony all that is visible of the restaurant 50 yards away is part of an orange parasol at one of the tables because of the density of the trees.

From the restaurant, foliage blocks the view of the balcony to such an extent that a man of average height could have stood in the middle of it next to the wall holding a child in his arms and still NOT have been seen by the McCanns or any of the Tapas Nine at the

restaurant.
So the kidnapper could have used the patio door to go in and out, safe in the knowledge that no one would spot him.

Escaped

That was made even easier because it was left UNLOCKED by the McCanns who wanted quick access to the flat from the tapas bar side.

The patio door could only be bolted from the inside which would have meant them having to walk around to the front every time they wanted to check on their children. The abductor's access to the balcony from the back was also well sheltered—through a side-street gate where Gerry McCann would later meet fellow tennis player Jeremy Wilkins as the doctor returned from his last check on the children.

The gate opens on to steps that lead straight to the balcony and in through the patio door. The kidnapper could easily have escaped this way too with Maddie.

But Portuguese police have always believed any intruder would have used the FRONT DOOR to enter, knowing the McCanns would

never use it that night. He could also have escaped through the shuttered front window to the children's bedroom. For this he would have needed a KEY to the front door. The one the McCanns had for the Ocean Club apartment is known in the locksmiths' trade as a "crucifix key"—and isvery unusual because it has four sides. Experienced British locksmith John Reeder told us the key used to take us into the flat yesterday is almost certainly a copy. He said: "Most locksmiths would not be able to copy it without great difficulty. The one in the picture is almost certainly not the original."

Supporting the theory that the kidnap could be an inside job, he added: "I would say it is most likely there is at least one other key in circulation as most locks come with at least two spares when they are cut. But there are not many keys aroun like this one."

From our investigations inside the apartment it is possible the abductor left through the back. But it is also possible he used the window in the bedroom to check the coast was clear at the front and either passed Madeleine through the window to an accomplice or left through the front door.

Blood

There is also the evidence of a "partial footwear mark" found just outside Madeleine's bedroom which had traces of blood in it visible to the naked eye,

 according to a forensics report.

Laboratory tests in Birmingham were inconclusive but found there was a "moderate" chance the blood was the youngster's. There were also specks of blood said to be on the walls of the bedroom, but forensic results have been inconclusive.

The evidence of witness Jane Tanner, one of the Tapas Nine, also backs the FRONT DOOR theory. She was on her way back from her flat and saw a man walking quickly across the top of the road, away from the apartments and towards the outer road of the complex.

A little girl wrapped in a blanket hung limply from his arms. She was wearing pink and white pyjamas.

Whichever way Maddie was taken, her abduction was far too easy—and out of sight of anyone who could have helped save her.