UK police hope to find Madeleine

LONDON - Reuters

Madeleine McCann at age three (L) and her computer generated photo at age 12. AFP photo

British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the three-year-old who went missing in Portugal five years ago sparking a global hunt, still hope to find her alive, the officer leading the inquiry said yesterday.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood told reporters police have identified 195 “investigative opportunities” from existing evidence that have been handed to Portuguese police. Some, he said, included new information.

 “We genuinely believe there is a possibility that she is alive,” he said. “We would like the case to be reopened.”

Madeleine disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, prompting a massive police probe and a search that gripped media across the world. She went missing while her parents Kate and Gerry were dining at a nearby restaurant with seven friends.
 
Despite numerous reported sightings from Belgium and Spain to Morocco, France and Malta and investigations stretching as far as Australia, her whereabouts remain a mystery.