Madeleine McCann: Timeline Of Key Events

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9:54am UK, Monday 14 October 2013


Madeleine McCann: Timeline Of Key Events

A look back at the key developments from the night Madeleine went missing, to the ups and downs in the police investigation.

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.
2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.
2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.


2009
:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.



2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.



2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.
They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.
Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.




2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.




2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter’s disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.



2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.
:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was later wound down.

:: June 30 - The British team return to Portugal and plan to speak to a key witness and several suspects the following day.



http://news.sky.com/story/1092354/madeleine-mccann-timeline-of-key-events

The BBC version of events...

Timeline of events

2007

5 May: The McCanns issue a statement saying they "cannot describe the anguish and despair" they are feeling. Portuguese police say they have a suspect in mind. They believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal.

12 May: The couple make a fresh appeal for help on their daughter's fourth birthday.

15 May: British-born Robert Murat is made an official suspect - or "arguido" - following a search of his mother's villa. Casa Liliana is 150 yards from the McCanns' holiday apartment.

26 May: Police issue a description of a man seen on the night Madeleine went missing "carrying a child or an object that could have been taken as a child".

Kate McCann was questioned by Portuguese police as a suspect in September 2007

17 June: Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa admits vital forensic clues may have been destroyed in the hours after Madeleine's disappearance as the scene was not protected properly.

Late July: British sniffer dogs flown out to Portugal. Keela, who can detect minute quantities of blood, and Eddie, who is trained to detect bodies, work in the apartment and several cars, including the hire car the McCanns had rented 25 days after Madeleine disappeared.

11 August: One hundred days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge she could be dead. Police say Mr and Mrs McCann are not being considered as suspects following newspaper speculation that they are under suspicion.

31 August: The McCanns launch a libel action against Portuguese newspaper Tal & Qual which claimed "police believe" they killed their daughter. The McCanns say they are "deeply hurt" by the allegations.

6 September: Portuguese police interview Kate McCann for 11 hours as a witness in the presence of her lawyer.

7 September: During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos". Later, a family representative says officers believe they have found traces of Madeleine's blood in the McCanns' hire car.

9 September: Kate and Gerry McCann return home to Rothley, Leicestershire.

11 September: Portuguese police play down reports that DNA evidence with a 100% match to Madeleine was found in her parents' hire car.

Jane Tanner, one of the "tapas seven" said she saw a man carrying a child

19 September: Portuguese prosecutors rule there is "no new evidence" in police files to justify re-questioning Gerry and Kate McCann.

3 October: Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

9 October: Paulo Rebelo, deputy national director of the Portuguese police, is appointed to take over the Portuguese inquiry.

18 November: Gerry McCann, in a personal video, speaks of his belief that his family was watched by "a predator" in the days before his daughter's disappearance.

2008

20 January: The McCanns release sketches of a man they believe may have abducted their daughter. The drawings are based on a description by a British holidaymaker of a "creepy man" seen at the resort.

19 March: Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

7 April: Portuguese police fly to the UK to sit in on interviews conducted by Leicestershire Police of the so-called "tapas seven".

14 April: Portuguese police deny leaking details of statements given by the McCanns early in the investigation. Spanish television broadcasts quotes, including some made by Mrs McCann, supposedly telling officers that Madeleine had been upset the night before she disappeared that her mother had not come to her when she cried.

3 May: A tearful Mrs McCann urges people to "pray like mad" for Madeleine as the family mark the first anniversary of the little girl's disappearance.

7 May: Alipio Ribeiro, the Portuguese police chief criticised for his handling of the case, resigns.

1 July: Portuguese police say they have submitted their final report on the case, which the attorney general says "will be the object of careful analysis and consideration".

15 July: British expat Robert Murat accepts a £600,000 damages settlement over allegations in 11 UK newspapers that he was involved in Madeleine's disappearance.

21 July: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

24 July: Mr Amaral publishes a book about the case, entitled The Truth of the Lie, in which he alleges that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat.

2009

16 May: The McCanns say they will sue Mr Amaral over comments he made in the media.

3 November: A one-minute video message - produced in seven languages - is launched by Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, showing new images of how Madeleine might look more than two years older.

The McCanns wrote a book about the search for their missing daughter

2010

6 March: The McCanns criticise the release of previously unseen Portuguese police files on their daughter's case to British newspapers. The 2,000-page dossier details dozens of possible sightings of Madeleine since her disappearance.

28 April: Near the third anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, Gerry McCann says it is "incredibly frustrating" that police in Portugal and the UK had not been actively looking for Madeleine "for a very long time".

August: Kate and Gerry McCann hold private talks with Home Secretary Theresa May.

November: The McCanns sign a publishing deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance. They also launch a petition calling for a full review of the case by the UK and Portugal.

2011

12 May: In an open letter in the Sun newspaper, the McCanns ask the prime minister to launch an "independent, transparent and comprehensive" review of all information relating to Madeleine's disappearance.

They publish a book, entitled Madeleine, which they hope will prompt people holding vital information about what happened to Madeleine to come forward. Sale proceeds will go towards the Find Madeleine fund.

13 May: Prime Minister David Cameron writes to the McCanns telling them the home secretary will be in touch to set out "new action" involving the Metropolitan Police.

6 September: The McCanns are among alleged victims who request to be "core participants" in the first part of the Leveson Inquiry into the phone-hacking scandal.

9 September: British detectives reviewing the search for Madeleine hold their first face-to-face meetings with Portuguese police chiefs.

16 November: Lawyer David Sherborne tells the Leveson Inquiry the treatment of the McCanns by the press was a "national scandal".

23 November: The McCanns tell the Leveson Inquiry they were left distraught by press suggestions they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

Age progression techniques show how Madeleine might look aged nine

2012

12 January : Daily Star editor Dawn Neesom tells the Leveson Inquiry that she regrets the paper's coverage of Madeleine's disappearance.

24 April: The detective leading the UK review of Madeleine's disappearance says they have the "best opportunity" yet to find her. Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood tells BBC's Panorama his team are "seeking to bring closure to the case".

25 April: Detectives reviewing evidence issue a computer-generated image of what she might look like aged nine.

26 April: Portuguese authorities say they are not reopening their investigation.

2013

17 May: UK detectives reviewing the case say they have identified "a number of persons of interest".

The e-fit images feature in a BBC Crimewatch appeal

4 July: The Metropolitan Police says it has new evidence and has opened a formal investigation. It says it is investigating 38 "persons of interest".

12 September: A £1m libel case against former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral begins in Lisbon.

4 October: Scotland Yard detectives say mobile phone records may hold the key to solving the case. There are 41 potential suspects, they say.

14 October: A BBC Crimewatch appeal features e-fit images of a man seen carrying a blond-haired child of three or four, possibly wearing pyjamas, in Praia da Luz at about the time Madeleine went missing. It also shows a detailed reconstruction of events on the night she disappeared.

24 October: Portuguese police reopen their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance, citing "new lines of inquiry". The Scotland Yard inquiry will run alongside the Portuguese investigation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13386785