Where Is Madeline McCann ?

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Three more 'Madeleine' sightings in Malta

Reported sightings of the missing Madeleine McCann continue to pour in, as the police have received a further three reports stating that the young girl was seen somewhere in Malta.

In the latest reports, a Maltese man said that he spotted a young girl in a pushchair who resembles the missing Madeleine. The man stated that he had seen the girl in the company of a woman at the Birzebbuga playing fields.

Another Maltese man claimed he had seen a girl who looks like the young British missing girl about a month and a half ago in Ta' Xbiex.

The police received a third report of an alleged sighting in the last hours, with a Maltese woman saying that she noticed a young girl resembling Madeline in a pushchair in Valletta, in the company of a woman who was probably of foreign nationality.

Whilst noting that further investigations are ongoing, the police stated that all search efforts have so far proved futile.

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It's been 50 days since four-year-old British girl Madeline McCann disappeared while on vacation with her family in Portugal. The search may be thousands of miles away, but people in Connecticut and all around the world are paying attention and paying tribute.

Kristi Jenkins came to New Haven's Green with yellow balloons Friday to help find a missing girl she doesn't even know.

"Today is the 50th day she's been missing so we're just trying to raise awareness," Jenkins said.

Fifty days since McCann was abducted while vacationing with her family in Portugal.

Balloon releases are taking place in 50-countries to remind the world Madeline is still missing. Only a small amount were allowed to be let go from New Haven's Green.

"Hopefully we can bring her home," Jenkins said.

The remaining balloons were handed out to kids, and flyers were given to their parents.

"It seems very ambitious to be handing out flyers this far away," Heike Karsch of New Haven said.

"Just trying to gain awareness," Jenkins said. "There are so many people from Yale and the other universities that travel."

The Madeline McCann case may be across the globe, but these balloons remind parents to keep watch on their kids especially when on vacation.

"Just to help him learn his surroundings, show him what happens in life," parent Robert Archie of New Haven said. "Sometimes we can't always trust the people we think we're trusting"

"It's very challenging," Karsch said. "I put (my daughter) in a backpack sack in the airport so she can not go off, but it's really busy so you have to pay attention."

These balloons are getting attention from kids and serving as reminders to parents.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children there are 15 individuals reported missing in Connecticut. The oldest case dates back to February of 1961.

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Arrest in Madeleine McCann case in Sotogrande

Following a report in El Pais in which Spanish police are said to have arrested a man in Algeciras in relation to the Madeleine McCann case the Spanish authorities have confirmed that a man is being questioned.

The man is believed to have been detained in Sotogrande, with police investigating allegations of extortion and other related issues relating to the disappearance of the young girl.

The man is believed to be an Italian national. A woman is also said to have been questioned following a police operation early this morning.

News of the arrest was first released by the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Since the report was issued, the location of the arrest first said to be in Algeciras has now been pinpointed to have been in Sotogrande, a mainly luxury residential area in which many Gibraltarians reside.

Although no connection is known to exist with Gibraltar at present the Royal Gibraltar Police is maintaining a close eye on events, and are believed to be offering their assistance in the investigations.

The woman is said to have been released after questioning, although the man remains held by police as the investigation into his activities continues.

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Two held over plot to extort money from McCanns

Police in Spain have two people in connection with an apparent plot to extort money from the parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann.
The Italian man and Portuguese woman allegedly claimed to have information about the whereabouts of the four-year-old, who went missing in the Algarve eight weeks ago.

Police believe they have no connection with the disappearance of the four-year-old from her parents' holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz.

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2 Accused of Extortion in UK Girl Case

MADRID, Spain -- An Italian man and Portuguese woman who allegedly tried to extort money from the parents of missing British 4-year-old Madeline McCann remained in custody in southern Spain on Friday pending further questioning, a police spokeswoman said.

Police arrested the two in the exclusive Sotogrande district of San Roque town Thursday. A judge in the nearby town of Torremolinos has taken charge of the case and placed a secrecy order on investigations, meaning police will not be able to comment on developments, the spokeswoman said. She was speaking on condition of anonymity in line with police rules.

The detainees were only identified by their initials.

In a statement Thursday, police said the two were suspected of trying to extract money from the McCanns by supposedly offering information concerning their daughter.

However, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Spanish authorities had told them the man had no connection with the girl's disappearance.

Two Portuguese detectives took part in the arrests and Portuguese police inspector Olegario Sousa said it was thought that the two might be involved in the Madeleine case, but there was no concrete evidence yet.

The McCann family has launched a search across Europe for their daughter. She disappeared two months ago during a family vacation in Portugal.

The Italian was arrested on an international warrant _ issued from France, where he was wanted for alleged association with a crime group _ the Spanish police statement said. He had served an 18-month sentence in France for the mistreatment of his daughter, it said. A spokeswoman said his arrest warrant had nothing to do with the McCann case.

The Portuguese woman was detained due to her association with the Italian man.

Madeleine disappeared on May 3 after her parents left her and her brother and sister, 2-year-old twins, alone in their room while they went to a restaurant inside their hotel complex in Praia da Luz, a tiny resort town in Portugal's Algarve region.

Police have identified just one suspect in the case, but made no arrests before Thursday.

A month ago, Portuguese police said they were searching for a suspect _ a white man between 35 and 40 years old _ in connection with the girl's disappearance. They said the suspect had been wearing a dark jacket and beige trousers on the day the girl disappeared, and was spotted possibly carrying the girl near to where she had vanished.

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Vigil takes place in Knock for Madeleine McCann

A special service is being held tonight in Knock for missing 4 year-old British girl Madeline McCann.
Her grandparents, Sue and Brian Healy, have travelled to the shrine in Mayo to take part in the prayer vigil from 8pm to midnight.

Madeleine went missing from the Portuguese resort of Praia de Luz eight weeks ago.

Organiser Breda Welton said "We all feel so much for the family. Our hearts go out to them."

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Day 71 - 13/07/2007

Spent a large part of the day at the Child Exploitation and Online Protecetion (CEOP) headquarters in London. The work they are doing in the prevention and detection of child exploitation is fantastic and I have no doubt they are world leaders in many aspects of their work.

The statistics of child abduction in the UK, both attempted and sucessful cases, are stagggering with over 1000 reported cases in 2003/4 and the figures show a year on year increase. The scale of the problem is much larger than Kate and I ever imagined and worryingly there does not appear to be reliable statistics for many countries in Europe. Clearly a lot of work has to be done to tackle this growing problem.

Kate and I believe that someone, somewhere knows something about Madeleines abduction. The events of recent weeks and the high profile of Madeleine reassure us that when the key piece of information comes in, to any law enforcement agnecy, it will be treated seriously and fed into the inquiry quiickly and actioned.



Day 70 - 12/07/2007

It is ten weeks since Madeleine was abducted and every day has been incredibly hard for our family. No child should be separated from their family in such circumstances. The overwhelming messages of support, thoughts and prayers really help us stay strong. Somebody, somewhere knows where Madeleine is and it may take a single phone call for her to be found. We will not give up searching for her.

I came to London today to meet with the British police and will go to the Child Exploitaion and Online Protection Centre tomorrow to learn more about their role. As I have said previously we want to work closely with the police and child welfare organisations to help us keep awareness of Madeleines and other childrens disappearance high.

I was also invited to attend the National Police Federation Annual Bravery awards tonight. The work of the police is often taken for granted until you really need them. It was a humbling experience to see and meet so many officers who have shown such outstanding bravery in the line of duty and protecting us all. It was a fantastic opportunity to thank officers from all over the country who have been involved with the investigation to find Madeleine. The vast majority of those that I managed to speak to are, like us, very optimistic that we will find Madeleine safe and well.



Day 69 - 11/07/2007

This morning got off to a bad start when we were called, even before the twins were awake, by a reputable press agency saying that a body had been found and asking if it was true. It is very disappointing that this person did not check out the source of this rumour before contacting our representatives. Such calls and rumours are distressing even though we know if it does not come through an official source not to place much emphasis on it.

The Portuguese police interviewed three of our friends again today, to clarify points in their initial statements. As most of you will know, there is a lot of misleading information being published, both in the press and on the internet, about the events leading up to Madeleine's disappearance and the criminal investigation. We would like to give more information, especially about inaccurate and hurtful reports, but cannot for fear of prejudicing any subsequent court proceedings. The Portuguese police have made it clear to us that all witnesses should not divulge or discuss the information they have provided. Kate and I are, of course not party to all of the information coming into the inquiry for sound operational reasons.

Similarly a lot of people have asked to learn more about Madeleines likes and dislikes. This is information which we have been advised not to distribute publicly because of the risk of it being used in potential extortion attempts. The arrests recently in The Netherlands and Spain show that such information could be used negatively in the wrong hands.

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