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Forensics officers will use
ground-penetrating radar equipment to
aid the search at three Praia da Luz
sites. |
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[VIDEO
in link above] The
beach area will be one of
the dig sites |
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Scotland Yard detectives are in Portugal
to oversee the excavation of a number of
sites as part of the investigation into
the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The digs for evidence are set to take
place at three principle locations
around the resort in Praia da Luz where
the youngster vanished in 2007.
Scotland Yard detectives believe the
sites were not properly explored at the
time of her disappearance. |
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Three principle dig sites:
road, waste ground and beach
area |
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One is
a road just below the apartment block
where trenches were dug before Madeleine
went missing, that were filled in the
day after she vanished.
There is a waste ground to the side of
the apartment block where a man was seen
carrying a child, according to some
witnesses, soon after Madeleine
disappeared. |
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Officers from Scotland Yard arrive at
Faro Airport. Pic: EXCLUSIVEPIX |
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And
there is the beach area where over the
years there have been reports of
activity, of people seen there acting
suspiciously.
British detectives have been meeting
their Portuguese counterparts, and
forensics officers are due to use
ground-penetrating radar equipment to
aid the search at the three sites.
It is not known exactly when the
excavations will begin.
Madeleine disappeared from the apartment
she was staying in with her parents and
two siblings on May 3, 2007. She was
three years old at the time. |
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They will oversee
excavations at three sites.
Pic: EXCLUSIVEPIX |
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Officers from the Metropolitan Police
have also identified three potential
suspects they want to talk to, not
necessarily around Madeleine's
disappearance, but who had been involved
in break-ins in the area.
However, they have reportedly been
refused permission by Portuguese
authorities to search the homes of these
burglary suspects, who used to work at
the Ocean Complex at the time Madeleine
vanished.
Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt,
in Praia da Luz, said: "That's a blow
for Scotland Yard." |
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Madeleine was three years
old when she vanished |
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Brunt
said disagreements over leaks to the
media may delay British police in their
efforts to scour areas they will be
given access to.
"I'm not sure that those searches are
going to begin quite so quickly," he
said.
"The Portuguese are making it very clear
that they were not happy with
journalists being briefed. It's not
something that happens in this country
and in fact, the Portuguese authorities,
according to the Scotland Yard message
last night, had threatened to stop any
of the work once it begins if they hear
that Scotland Yard are talking to
reporters, or indeed if reporters are in
any way disrupting the work. |
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The investigation is based
from Faro |
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"I get a sense that because
of this developing row, that
may put off what is going to
happen soon, but maybe not
in the next couple of days
as we anticipated."
Kate McCann told Sky News
last week, on the seventh
anniversary of her
daughter's disappearance,
that she needed to know what
happened - even if it was
the "worst-case scenario".
"Madeleine's either alive or
she isn't and we can't
change that," she said. |
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