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PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal (AFP) -
The parents of
Madeleine McCann were under renewed scrutiny as they prepared to mark on
Saturday the 100th day since her disappearance.
In a joint interview with Portuguese television TVI, Gerry and Kate McCann said
police had started their investigation from scratch but had not shown them any
concrete evidence indicating their daughter was dead.
"If that means they are saying 'well actually we are not excluding you as
much', if that brings the focus back on us, that is fine," Gerry said.
"As long as it is part of the process of saying lets go back to the
beginning and see what are the scenarios," he added.
The couple believe their daughter was kidnapped from the hotel room in Praia da
Luz in Portugal's Algarve region and have launched a global
campaign to find her that has involved celebrities such as England
football star David Beckham.
But Portuguese media reported earlier this week that police are working on the
theory that Madeleine may have died in an accident or was murdered after
sniffer dogs found traces of blood on a wall in the room from where she
vanished on May 3.
British experts are reportedly analysing the blood found in the room to see if
it belongs to Madeleine. The room has been used by dozens of other guests since
the girl disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday.
Daily British newspaper The Times meanwhile reported on Friday that 33-year-old
Robert Murat, who lives in a house just over 150 metres (yards) from the hotel,
is set to be dropped as the only named suspect in the case.
Police once again searched his house earlier this week with sniffer dogs but
reportedly found no evidence against him. They have also examined his car as
well as vehicles belonging to his friends and relatives.
Murat, a British national, has insisted he had nothing to do with the
disappearance.
Kate and Gerry, who are both doctors, left Madeleine and her two-year-old twin
siblings alone while they had dinner with friends at a restaurant within the
resort complex on the night the girl vanished.
The decision has raised eyebrows, especially after it was reported that the
hotel has a babysitting service, but the couple has said they checked on their
children at half hour intervals and felt safe at the quiet resort town.
"We know we are absolutely innocent, we have had absolutely amazing
support," Gerry said in an interiew with BBC television broadcast earlier
on Friday.
"It's incredibly difficult when people are implying that your daughter's
dead and that you may have been involved in it," he added.
Police are expected to re-interview Kate and Gerry as well as the friends they
were having dinner with on the night Madeleine disappeared.
"We have absolutely no doubt that they are not involved but the important
thing is what the police think and that they are objective about their
evidence," Gerry told TVI.
"What I don't know is what evidence there is now that Madeleine has been
seriously harmed and I don't know of any evidence," he added.
Kate and Gerry are scheduled to attend a mass at a beachside church in Praia da
Luz to mark the 100th day since their daughter went missing. |
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