The police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann looked
increasingly desperate last night as detectives revealed they were following
tip-offs from clairvoyants.
Intensive searches and a highly scrutinised police inquiry have failed to
secure a breakthrough in the search for the four-year-old, four weeks after she
was abducted.
Police faced further ridicule last night as it was revealed they were trawling
through hundreds of reports from British and Portuguese psychics claiming to
know the whereabouts of Madeleine. One alleged vision had led them to search in
Seville in Spain.
The Judicial Police, who are leading the inquiry, said they had two dossiers,
3ins thick, of apparent visions of the little girl, and are following them up
on the basis that one could be from the abductor.
Police spokesman Olegario Sousa said: "We can't
put these messages in the bin. We must check them all in case it might be from
the kidnapper."
Mr Sousa said some descriptions were as vague as dreams about a man in a house
with trees and a road. But he said that others include precise locations or
co-ordinates, which they will follow up.
"Just a few days ago we got one address near Lagos but it didn't amount to anything,"
he said. He added that it was only one line of investigation.
In another surprising move, Portuguese police last week instructed their
counterparts in Britain to
raid an address in south London
in the belief that Madeleine may have been inside.
Debbie Seepersad's property in south Norwood was searched but nothing was found.
She said she had never been to Portugal
and had no connections to Madeleine. She said: "I really thought it was a
wind-up."
Criticism has mounted against the police investigation, which local media say
has "stalled".
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former detective who worked on the Sarah Payne murder
inquiry and other paedophile investigations, said: "You have to say that
they made serious errors. They did not do the basics. A major window of
opportunity was lost."
After accusations of initial tardiness, Portuguese police have thrown all their
resources into finding Madeleine. Up to 1,100 officers were working on the case
at one stage.
Robert Murat remains a formal suspect and others are still being investigated.
His friend Sergey Malinka has been assisting police
but is not a suspect.
Mr Sousa said: "We are not sitting here with our arms crossed doing
nothing."
The parents of Madeleine, Gerry and Kate, are expected to meet police chiefs
again in the next few days for an update on the case.
Asked whether he was privy to any information from police which
gave him extra hope, Mr McCann said: "We may have little bits of extra
information. There are points we have. The investigation is as good as it is
ever going to get. It has been four weeks now and it has evolved. We are
hopeful.
"When Madeleine went missing it started off with us thinking in terms of
minutes until we found her. Then minutes became hours, days and now
weeks."
Last night the couple left Praia da Luz for Madrid, in their
continuing campaign to raise awareness of Madeleine's plight.
The Spanish capital is the second in a series of foreign visits the pair have planned, and will be paid for by the Find Madeleine
fund, which has raised £374,000.
The McCanns have left Madeleine's siblings, twins Sean and Amelie, in the care
of relatives Trish and Sandy Cameron, to make the overnight trip.
Early next week the pair will continue their mission to find Madeleine with a
trip to Berlin and Amsterdam. |
