Six weeks on and with no news, Gerry and Kate McCann remove themselves from the public eye.

That was, until the news came through that a national newspaper had received an anonymous letter from someone claiming that Madeleine was dead and buried in wasteland in a small village 9.3 miles from where she was abducted.

Such news is horrendous enough and unimaginable but made worse by how it became known.

The Dutch newspaper on Monday received an anonymous letter from a medium who provided a map and a description where Madeleine's body could be found.

This information was passed to the Portuguese police and within 48 hours published by the Dutch paper.

So why was the letter taken so seriously?

It was apparently from the same person who provided information in 2006 which led to two young girls who had been murdered by a paedophile being found in Belgium.

The truth is that the police were already searching that area and had delayed their search for a day in order to obtain specific equipment.

I can only assume that this letter is being taken so seriously as a result of the Belgian incident.

But what has been lost sight of here is both Gerry and Kate and the investigation.

Not one single case to date has been solved by information provided by a medium or psychic other than when they had had prior third-party knowledge.

As I've said from day one, it is well grounded detective work, the public and a bit of luck that will solve this case, not some psychic fuelled by a Dutch newspaper.