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Madeleine went missing on May 3rd |
Thursday May 3
• Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children in bed in
their holiday apartment in the Ocean Club resort in the
Algarve village of Praia da Luz and head for dinner with
friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
They check on the youngsters - Madeleine, three, and twins
Sean and Amelie, two - regularly as part of an arrangement
with other couples on holiday with them.
At 10pm Mrs McCann goes to check on the children and finds
Madeleine has disappeared.
Fellow holidaymakers, staff at the resort and police spend
most of the night frantically searching for the missing
girl.
Friday May 4
• Sniffer dogs are brought in, the Spanish and border police
and airports are notified and volunteer teams continue
combing the village, resort and beach for clues.
Fears grow that Madeleine has been taken against her will
and her parents accuse the Portuguese police of not doing
enough to find her.
The McCanns make an emotional plea, directly appealing to
their daughter's abductors and speaking of their "anguish
and despair".
Saturday May 5
• Madeleine's aunt Philomena McCann criticises the
Portuguese police, claiming they had played down her
disappearance and were being "uncommunicative".
Detectives say they do now believe she was abducted but is
still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a
suspect.
Sunday May 6
• The McCanns attend an emotional Mother's Day service in
Praia da Luz at which prayers are said for Madeleine and her
family in both Portuguese and English.
Monday May 7
• It emerges that police are investigating a claim a man was
seen dragging a girl towards the marina at Lagos, a short
drive from Praia da Luz.
Portuguese police hold a chaotic press conference where they
say they cannot give Madeleine's family any firm assurance
that she is still alive or still in the region.
Tuesday May 8
• People in Madeleine's home village of Rothley,
Leicestershire, hold a silent vigil for the family.
Portuguese reports claim detectives are investigating
British paedophiles with links to the Algarve.
Wednesday May 9
• Police examine a CCTV tape from a service station just a
few miles from Praia da Luz showing a woman with a girl
fitting Madeleine's description.
An internet appeal in English, Portuguese and Spanish is
launched while Crimestoppers also creates an international
number for people with information.
Thursday May 10
• Mrs McCann leads villagers and holidaymakers in prayer at
the local church in Praia da Luz one week after Madeleine's
disappearance.
Police say in a press conference that the search for
Madeleine is being wound down.
Saturday May 12
• Madeleine's fourth birthday.
Her parents mark the day by calling for people to redouble
their efforts to find her. After spending most of the day
away from Praia da Luz, the couple attend a special birthday
mass in the village where Mr McCann speaks about the impact
of the abduction on the family.
He also says for the first time that the couple are
convinced Madeleine is alive.
The total reward being offered by business figures,
celebrities and a national newspaper for information leading
to Madeleine's safe return reaches £2.5 million.
Chancellor Gordon Brown expresses his sympathy for
Madeleine's parents and says his thoughts are with them.
Sunday May 13
• It emerges London lawyers from the International Family
Law Group have flown to Portugal to assist the McCanns, and
are setting up a special "fighting fund" to allow members of
the public to make their own financial contribution to the
search.
Monday May 14
• Mr McCann says that "until there is concrete evidence to
the contrary, we believe Madeleine is safe and is being
looked after". Mrs McCann says they cannot consider going
home at the moment.
Police launch a search at the home of Anglo-Portuguese man
Robert Murat, just 100 yards from where Madeleine was
snatched. Mr Murat is taken in for questioning, but is not
formally arrested.
Tuesday May 15
• Police officially class Robert Murat as an "arguido", or
suspect. He claims he is being made a "scapegoat" in the
investigation. Wednesday May 16
Detectives swoop on the Praia da Luz home of Russian
computer expert Sergey Malinka, who designed a website for
Mr Murat, and interview him.
Madeleine's aunt Philomena McCann travels to Westminster to
lobby for support. Gordon Brown pledges to help "in any way
he can".
New video images of Madeleine are broadcast at half-time
during the Uefa Cup Final between Sevilla and Espanyol in
Glasgow.
Thursday May 17
• It emerges that Portuguese police are investigating
telephone calls between Sergey Malinka and Robert Murat on
the night Madeleine was abducted.
The official website set up to help find Madeleine,
www.bringmadeleinehome.com, receives more than 25 million
hits.
Posters protesting Robert Murat's innocence appear around
the Norfolk village where he used to live.
Sunday May 20
• Mr McCann flies back to the UK for meetings about the
Madeleine Fund and to put personal affairs in order.
Monday May 21
• Mr McCann visits Rothley, where he sees thousands of
tributes from villagers. He later returns to Portugal.
Thursday May 24
• Madeleine's family releases the last photograph known to
have been taken of her before she disappeared.
The happy family snap, taken seven hours before she was
abducted, shows the young girl laughing in the sunshine as
she dangled her feet in the swimming pool.
A fighting fund for the McCanns' campaign reaches almost
£300,000 and the number of hits on the www.findmadeleine.com
website reaches 125 million.
Friday May 25
• The McCanns give their first interviews and speak of how
the "guilt" of not being with Madeleine when she was
abducted will never leave them.
Police finally release the description of the man seen
carrying a child on the night of Madeleine's abduction after
pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British
Government.
The man is described as white, approximately 35 to 40 years
old, of medium build and 5ft 10ins tall. He was wearing a
dark jacket, light beige trousers and dark shoes.
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Kate McCann, Madeleine's mother |
Wednesday May 30
• Kate and Gerry McCann attend an audience with the Pope at
the Vatican as they travel around Europe to publicise their
campaign to find Madeleine.
Thursday May 31
• Portuguese police say they are trawling through two
dossiers, 8cm thick, of emails and messages from
clairvoyants who say they know where Madeleine is. They say
they are trying to find out if any of the messages could be
from her kidnapper.
Wednesday June 6
• While in Berlin, Madeleine's parents are forced to deny
any involvement in her abduction when asked by a German
journalist if they had anything to do with her
disappearance.
Thursday June 7
• A mystery phone call from a man claiming to know
Madeleine's whereabouts is received.
The caller provides such detail that Kate and Gerry McCann
temporarily put their European search for their daughter on
hold in case they need to act. The call is later traced to a
mobile phone registered in Argentina.
Wednesday June 13
• An anonymous letter sent to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
claims Madeleine's body is buried in deserted scrubland only
nine miles from where she was abducted.
Sunday June 17
• Portuguese police say Madeleine's friends and family may
have unwittingly destroyed vital evidence in the first few
hours after her abduction, during their search for her.
Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa says their well-meaning
actions could prove "fatal" for the investigation.
Thursday June 21
• The first of a series of reported sightings of a girl
resembling Madeleine is reported in Malta. The initial
reports spark a flurry of interest in the island with dozens
of possible sightings reported in subsequent days and weeks.
Friday June 22
• Hundreds of balloons bearing Madeleine's picture are
released across the world as a tribute to mark the 50th day
since her disappearance.
Thursday June 28
• Spanish police arrest an Italian man and a Portuguese
woman suspected of trying to extort money from Madeleine's
parents by offering them information about the missing girl.
They are not believed to have anything to do with her
disappearance.
Monday July 2
• The McCanns move out of the apartment in the Ocean Club
resort where they have been staying since the abduction to a
private property nearby.
Friday July 6
• Dutch police reveal they have arrested a man in Eindhoven
suspected of attempting to defraud Gerry and Kate McCann
demanding two million euro (£1.35 million) for information
on her whereabouts.
Tuesday July 10
• Mr Murat returns to the police station in Portimao for
further questioning. He goes there again the following day.
Saturday July 14
• On a short trip back to the UK, Kate and Gerry McCann
attend the baptism of two of their godchildren in Skipton,
north Yorkshire.
Monday July 16
• Harry Potter author JK Rowling announces she will use the
worldwide appeal of her boy wizard to help the search for
Madeleine.
Posters of Madeleine are made available to booksellers in
more than 200 countries around the world ahead of the
publication of the long-awaited final book in her
best-selling series on July 21.
Monday July 23
• On a four-day fact-finding visit to the US, Mr McCann
meets US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to discuss
efforts to tackle child abduction.
Friday August 3
• Details emerge of a possible sighting of Madeleine in
Belgium. A child therapist says she is "100% sure" she saw
the young girl at a restaurant in the Flemish town of
Tongeren, not far from the Dutch border, on July 28.
The witness said the girl was with a couple, a Dutch man and
an English-speaking woman, who were acting strangely and not
like "normal parents".
Saturday August 4
• Police launch a second search of Robert Murat's house.
Mrs McCann speaks for the first time of her regret at
leaving her daughter on the night she disappeared.
She also discloses that as she tucked Madeleine into bed
that night, the little girl said: "Mummy, I've had the best
day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun."
Sunday August 5
• The search of Mr Murat's home is completed, with reports
suggesting that no new evidence was found.
Monday August 6
• A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs
have found traces of blood on a wall in the apartment where
Madeleine went missing.
Detectives now believe it is most likely Madeleine is dead,
having been killed accidentally, the Jornal de Noticias
claimed.
Wednesday August 8
• DNA tests on a milkshake bottle used by the girl seen in
Tongeren prove inconclusive.
But Belgian police say the findings do not rule out that
Madeleine was present and say they are still hunting the
couple's black Volvo car.
A friend of the McCanns says she is disgusted at an apparent
smear campaign against them.
Rachael Oldfield, who ate with the McCanns on the night
Madeleine disappeared, said: "I think there are some leaks
coming from the police because a lot of what I have read
recently has been completely untrue."
Thursday August 9
• The McCanns end their daily routine of taking their
two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie to the creche at the
Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz.
The move follows concerns about photographers taking
pictures of their children and disturbing holidaymakers
using the child-minding facility.
Mr Murat's lawyer criticises the McCanns' "strange"
behaviour in leaving Madeleine alone on the night she
vanished.
Francisco Pagarete also claims people in Praia da Luz want
"these bloody McCanns" to return home.
The McCanns insist they will not be "bullied" into leaving
Portugal by the growing backlash against them.
Friday August 10
• The McCanns launch a new section of the internet
video-sharing website YouTube. Called Don't You Forget About
Me, it will be devoted to helping to find missing youngsters
such as Madeleine.
Mr McCann says the police investigation could now be
"starting with a new slate". He tells the BBC: "There has
been a shift in the investigation and the way it was
proceeding previously.
"Now if that means we're starting with a new slate, we've
always said all scenarios are possible, and we have always
done everything to co-operate."
Jornal de Noticias reports that Portuguese police want to
question a British man who was on holiday in Praia da Luz at
the same time as the McCanns and helped in the search for
Madeleine. The man arrived in Portugal on April 28, the same
day as the McCanns, and left on May 6, the day they should
have flown home, the newspaper says.
Saturday August 11
• 100 days since Madeleine disappeared.
The McCanns attend a poignant service of prayers for
Madeleine at a church in Praia da Luz.
Portuguese police acknowledge for the first time that
Madeleine could be dead. Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa
tells the BBC new evidence had given "intensity" to the
possibility she was killed. He says the parents are not
being considered as suspects.
A McCann family friend says it is "extraordinary" the police
had "not had the decency" to tell the couple they now
believed Madeleine could be dead before stating it in an
on-the-record interview.
Sunday August 12
• Mrs McCann tells Woman's Own magazine that she would
rather know her daughter was dead than live in limbo
forever.
She says: "Gerry and I have spoken about this and in our
heart of hearts we'd both rather know - even if knowing
means we have to face the terrible truth that Madeleine
might be dead. We both need to know."
Monday August 13
• A British family caught up in the investigation say
detectives have cleared them of any link to the case.
Solicitor James Gorrod, from Exeter, and his family happened
to be in the resort at the same time, but never met the
McCanns.
Wednesday August 15
• Blood traces found in the bedroom where Madeleine was
sleeping the night the was snatched were not hers, The Times
reports. Forensic results show the blood came from a man, it
adds.
Thursday August 16
• One of the most senior police officers in Portugal says it
is a "strong theory" that Madeleine is dead.
Alipio Ribeiro, national director of the Portuguese judicial
police, tells El Mundo that forensic test results on blood
traces from the holiday flat are due "imminently". But the
quality of the traces found was "not very good" and it was
possible they would be inconclusive.
Monday August 20
• Reports suggest the police inquiry has entered a "decisive
phase" with detectives poised to carry out a series of new
searches. They are also looking again at claims a pensioner
disturbed an intruder in her apartment directly above the
McCanns' holiday flat just two weeks before Madeleine
vanished.
Tuesday August 21
• A friend of the McCanns hits back at smears about him
printed in Portuguese newspapers.
Dr Russell O'Brien, 36, was among the group the couple were
dining with on the night Madeleine went missing. Portuguese
newspapers have printed allegations about him.
In a statement, Dr O'Brien and his wife Jane Tanner said:
"These reports in the Portuguese press are completely untrue
and extremely hurtful.
"We have spoken to the police today, and have been assured
that our status as witnesses has not changed."
Wednesday August 22
• Madeleine may be alive and in Spain, her parents say. The
McCanns give interviews to Spain's three top-selling
newspapers in which they insist there is a "very real
possibility" their daughter has not been killed.
Thursday August 23
• It emerges that police in Spain are investigating a
reported sighting of Madeleine. Two women have reported
seeing a youngster matching her description with a man at a
petrol station near Cartagena, in the south east of the
country.
Friday August 24
• Mr McCann attacks a series of police leaks which have
fuelled "preposterous" speculation about what happened to
his daughter. He says he is disappointed so much information
has made its way into the public domain despite Portugal's
strict "secrecy of justice" laws.
Saturday August 25
• Mr McCann signals a new scaled-down media campaign to find
his missing four-year-old. He says he will be returning to
work but insists his daughter may still be alive.
Wednesday August 29
• Mr McCann urges Madeleine's abductor to end the family's
118-day nightmare - if only to assuage "torment" in his or
her own soul.
Thursday August 30
• Madeleine's would-be classmates say a poignant prayer for
the missing girl on what should have been her first day at
school. The four-year-old was due to start at Bishop Ellis
Catholic Primary School in Thurmaston, Leicestershire.
Friday August 31
• It emerges that the McCanns are to launch a libel action
against a Portuguese newspaper which said police believe
they killed their daughter. The action will be against the
Tal & Qual paper, based in Oporto.
Thursday September 6
• Mrs McCann arrives at a Portuguese police station to
undergo further questioning by detectives.
Mr McCann will be re-interviewed separately by police the
next day. They are being interviewed as witnesses. A family
friend says the McCanns fear Portuguese detectives are about
to name them as suspects in their daughter's disappearance |
