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The
Portuguese Judicial Authorities have
today, 24 October, announced that they
have reopened their investigation into
the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
This development follows the discovery
of new lines of enquiry as a result of
an internal review of their original
investigation by the Portuguese Policia
Judiciaria.
The Portuguese investigation will run in
parallel with the Operation Grange
investigation, and a team of Portuguese
colleagues continue to follow up
enquiries on behalf of the MPS under the
terms of the International Letter of
Request (ILOR
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"Colleagues in Portugal
fully shared with us the
developments in their
review." |
At the
request of The Policia Judiciara, AC
Mark Rowley and DCI Andy Redwood
attended a meeting with senior officers
on 17 October, in Lisbon, to discuss
this significant development, and for a
comprehensive briefing on the new lines
of enquiry which, at this point, are
separate to the lines of enquiry being
followed by the MPS. At the conclusion
of that meeting, the group were joined
by Kate and Gerry McCann who were
briefed on the plans to apply to reopen
the investigation.
Assistance Commander Mark Rowley,
Specialist Crime and Operations, said:
"The meeting was very positive, and we
and the Policia Judiciara have a shared
determination to do everything possible
to discover what happened to Madeleine.
"Colleagues in Portugal fully shared
with us the developments in their
review, and the fact that they were
taking the significant step of applying
for the investigation to be formally
reopened.
"From the near future, MPS detectives
from Operation Grange will travel
regularly to Portugal under the terms of
the ILOR in relation to the UK
investigation.
"This is a welcome development, but both
sides of the investigation are at
relatively early stages, with much work
remaining to be done. This new momentum
is encouraging, but we still have a way
to go, and as with all major
investigations, not all lines of enquiry
that look promising will yield results.
"Last week was a significant point in
the investigation into Madeleine's
disappearance, and I would like to thank
the public across Europe for the
overwhelming response to the appeals
that we made here at home on Crimewatch,
as well as in Germany and Holland.
Today's development is good news.
Combined with the formal re-opening of
the Portuguese investigation today, and
our ever closer working relationship, I
believe that we have the best
opportunity yet to finally understand
what happened to Madeleine."
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