Daily Mail Article suggesting police may probr psychics

Now Maddie police will probe leads from psychics: A £2million police review will examine previously ignored calls

• It is five years since Madeleine went missing in Portugal at the age of three
  
• Kate McCann said the family were 'probably as positive' as they had been in a long time about finding their daughter
  
  
• Met Police released a new age-progression picture of Madeleine last week
  

By Vanessa Allen and Phil Vinter

PUBLISHED:10:22, 2 May 2012| UPDATED:07:18, 4 May 2012

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The £2million police review of the Madeleine McCann case will examine calls from psychics which were previously ignored.

Detectives are studying around 100 logs of calls that were discounted because the callers said they were psychics or had dreamt about the high-profile investigation.

Critics said the decision to include information from ‘supernatural’ sources was a waste of resources.

Scroll down for video


Mystery: The evidence has emerged as Gerry and Kate McCann prepare to mark the fifth anniversary of their daughter's disappearance tomorrow

Police were inundated with calls about Madeleine after she disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal on May 3, 2007.

Crimestoppers set up an international number and sent the information they received to Leicestershire Police, the McCann family’s home force, and to Portuguese police.

But Leicestershire Police reportedly asked Crimestoppers not to forward information from psychics, or calls based on dreams about the case.


More...

• 'I want to be with my mum': Teenager commits suicide two months after his mother lost her cancer battle
  
• Anorexia tragedy of teenage cover girl: Parents tell of their grief over 19-year-old model who 'didn't realise how beautiful she was'
  

Enlarge


Missing: Madeleine aged three, left, and in Scotland Yard's computer-generated age-progression picture of how she might look now, at the age of nine

Some 100 call logs were not passed on because of the request, Sky News reported. But they have now been sent to the Scotland Yard team reviewing the case.


TALE THAT CAPTURED OUR HEARTS




Kate McCann's book about Madeleine's disappearance has sold nearly 400,000 copies and raised up to £1million for the fund to find the missing child.


Mrs McCann thanked supporters for buying her account of how her daughter went missing on holiday in Portugal, which was published in hardback a year ago.


She said: 'The book has done amazingly well. That's thanks to the general public, and I'm really really grateful.


'Not only obviously has it helped Madeleine's Fund, more importantly it's got people engaged again.


'There's more awareness now, there's more information still coming in now.


'For a long time we had wanted to correct things that were incorrect, just so people could be better informed, and therefore the search enhanced.'


Her husband Gerry added: 'It's put everything in the right context. So much in this case has just been taken as snippets and taken out of context.


'It's a properly considered record of what we've gone through, and Kate's done a brilliant job.'


Mr McCann said sales of the book, simply entitled Madeleine, are 'close to 400,000' and it may have generated as much as £1 million for the couple's fund.


A paperback edition with a new epilogue will be published on May 10.

The information will be examined and entered into the police computer for the first time to ensure no detail has been missed.

But it is considered unlikely that any serious investigation will result unless the leads are corroborated by other evidence.

Peter Kirkham, a former detective chief inspector with the Metropolitan Police, said he was sceptical about the ability of psychics to help police investigations.

‘As soon as you have a high-profile case you get a range of people coming forward,’ he said. ‘I’m certainly not aware of any case that’s been solved by psychics.

‘You can’t waste resources no matter how emotive a case may be.’ US crime author Pat Brown said in a Twitter message: ‘This “review” just gets stupider and stupider.’

Madeleine vanished days before her fourth birthday from an apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz while her parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant.

The review team has sifted through more than 40,000 pieces of information, including files from the Portuguese police investigation and from the private detectives used by Madeleine’s parents.

It has identified 195 potential new leads, but Portuguese police have refused to reopen the case because they say there is no new evidence.

Mr and Mrs McCann said the fact the Metropolitan Police were reviewing the case had made their lives ‘much more bearable’.

In a statement to mark yesterday’s five-year anniversary of her disappearance, the couple said: ‘It’s hard to define succinctly how it feels to have reached five years without Madeleine – impossible, heart-breaking, frightening, exasperating, incomprehensible.









‘Sometimes it feels like forever and at other times, just like yesterday.’

Scotland Yard said: ‘We can confirm we are in close dialogue with Crimestoppers to ensure that all material in their possession – from any source – is shared with us.’




TIMELINE OF THE INVESTIGATION




May 3, 2007
Kate and Gerry McCann leave their daughter Madeleine and her two-year-old twin brother and sister Sean and Amelie in bed in their apartment and head for dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant.

9pm
The couple check on them regularly and at around 9pm, Mr McCann finds nothing amiss when he returns to their room in the seaside resort at the Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz.

10pm
Mrs McCann goes to check on them again and finds the shutter slid up, the bedroom window open and Madeleine gone.

May 4
The police begin hunting for Maddie.

May 15
Robert Murat is officially named a suspect by police in Portugal.

June 17
Portuguese police say Madeleine's friends and family may have destroyed vital evidence in the first few hours after her abduction.

September 7
Detectives make Mr and Mrs McCann 'arguidos' in their daughter's disappearance.

April 7, 2008
Three Portuguese detectives 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.


Five years on, the pivotal questions


Is she alive?

There have been no confirmed sightings of Madeleine McCann since she disappeared on May 3, 2007.

The original Portuguese police team believed she died in a ‘tragic accident’.

Kate and Gerry McCann have always insisted there is no evidence to suggest she is dead, and British police now believe ‘there is a possibility she is alive’.


Where is she?


There have been reported sightings all round the world, ranging from the credible to bizarre psychic visions.

Of those investigated, none have been confirmed as Madeleine.


Who is responsible?


Three people were officially named as arguidos, or suspects, in the investigation - Kate and Gerry McCann and British expat Robert Murat.

All three were formally cleared when the investigation was shelved and have won libel cases against newspapers and broadcasters which falsely claimed they were involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.

The McCanns believe Madeleine was taken by an abductor.

Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett allegedly said he saw the girl twice before she vanished and claimed she was stolen to order by a gypsy gang, but denied he was involved.

He died in 2010.

Are there new leads?


British police have identified almost 200 new lines of investigation from the Portuguese case files and the McCanns’ own private detectives.

They have refused to reveal details.


Why was this not done before?


Portuguese officers were convinced Madeleine was dead and have admitted publicly that they did not fully investigate other theories, including many of the sightings.


What else was missed?


Police did not set up effective searches and did not alert the Spanish border for 12 hours, allowing a potential abductor to escape with Madeleine undetected.

Even a basic check of the other guests at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz was not completed for 48 hours, by which time many potential witnesses had left.




Gratitude: The McCanns thanked Scotland Yard for their review and the public for the support they had received for their campaign


What about forensic evidence?


Police did not seal off the McCanns’ apartment until 10am the next day, by which time the McCanns, their friends, resort staff, concerned helpers and police officers had all potentially contaminated forensic evidence.

Samples were taken and tested for blood and DNA but were found to be so degraded and contaminated that the results were inconclusive.



Will the case be solved?


British police want the case reopened but public opinion in Portugal has not been supportive of the McCanns and there may be little interest in raking over a five-year mystery which has already damaged the country’s tourist industry.

Even if the case is reopened, the reality remains that blunders in the first few days after Madeleine’s disappearance may mean the McCanns will never know what happened to their daughter.

Same old.

The End Is Nigh wrote:Same old.

Not quite NBY, now they are supposedly going to chase up call previously ignored and check out the phsychics as well.

Panda wrote:

The End Is Nigh wrote:Same old.

Not quite NBY, now they are supposedly going to chase up call previously ignored and check out the phsychics as well.

Well they've had 8 months since that was published. Wonder how many psychic calls were examined, or was it another unfounded "news" story.

dazedandconfused wrote:

Panda wrote:

The End Is Nigh wrote:Same old.

Not quite NBY, now they are supposedly going to chase up call previously ignored and check out the phsychics as well.

Well they've had 8 months since that was published. Wonder how many psychic calls were examined, or was it another unfounded "news" story.

Sorry, the article was published today



Sunday, Jan 27 20133PM 8°C6PM6°C5-Day Forecast




Now Maddie police will probe leads from psychics: A £2million police review will examine previously ignored calls

• It is five years since Madeleine went missing in Portugal at the age of three
  
• Kate McCann said the family were 'probably as positive' as they had been in a long time about finding their daughter
  
  
• Met Police released a new age-progression picture of Madeleine last week
  

By Vanessa Allen and Phil Vinter

PUBLISHED:10:22, 2 May 2012| UPDATED:07:18, 4 May 2012

• Comments (674)
  
• Share
  
• 
  
  
  
  • 
    
    
  • 
    
  • 
    
  
  

The £2million police review of the Madeleine McCann case will examine calls from psychics which were previously ignored.

Detectives are studying around 100 logs of calls that were discounted because the callers said they were psychics or had dreamt about the high-profile investigation.

Critics said the decision to include information from ‘supernatural’ sources was a waste of resources.

Scroll down for video


Mystery: The evidence has emerged as Gerry and Kate McCann prepare to mark the fifth anniversary of their daughter's disappearance tomorrow

Police were inundated with calls about Madeleine after she disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal on May 3, 2007.

Crimestoppers set up an international number and sent the information they received to Leicestershire Police, the McCann family’s home force, and to Portuguese police.

But Leicestershire Police reportedly asked Crimestoppers not to forward information from psychics, or calls based on dreams about the case.


More...

• 'I want to be with my mum': Teenager commits suicide two months after his mother lost her cancer battle
  
• Anorexia tragedy of teenage cover girl: Parents tell of their grief over 19-year-old model who 'didn't realise how beautiful she was'
  

Enlarge


Missing: Madeleine aged three, left, and in Scotland Yard's computer-generated age-progression picture of how she might look now, at the age of nine

Some 100 call logs were not passed on because of the request, Sky News reported. But they have now been sent to the Scotland Yard team reviewing the case.


TALE THAT CAPTURED OUR HEARTS




Kate McCann's book about Madeleine's disappearance has sold nearly 400,000 copies and raised up to £1million for the fund to find the missing child.


Mrs McCann thanked supporters for buying her account of how her daughter went missing on holiday in Portugal, which was published in hardback a year ago.


She said: 'The book has done amazingly well. That's thanks to the general public, and I'm really really grateful.


'Not only obviously has it helped Madeleine's Fund, more importantly it's got people engaged again.


'There's more awareness now, there's more information still coming in now.


'For a long time we had wanted to correct things that were incorrect, just so people could be better informed, and therefore the search enhanced.'


Her husband Gerry added: 'It's put everything in the right context. So much in this case has just been taken as snippets and taken out of context.


'It's a properly considered record of what we've gone through, and Kate's done a brilliant job.'


Mr McCann said sales of the book, simply entitled Madeleine, are 'close to 400,000' and it may have generated as much as £1 million for the couple's fund.


A paperback edition with a new epilogue will be published on May 10.

The information will be examined and entered into the police computer for the first time to ensure no detail has been missed.

But it is considered unlikely that any serious investigation will result unless the leads are corroborated by other evidence.

Peter Kirkham, a former detective chief inspector with the Metropolitan Police, said he was sceptical about the ability of psychics to help police investigations.

‘As soon as you have a high-profile case you get a range of people coming forward,’ he said. ‘I’m certainly not aware of any case that’s been solved by psychics.

‘You can’t waste resources no matter how emotive a case may be.’ US crime author Pat Brown said in a Twitter message: ‘This “review” just gets stupider and stupider.’

Madeleine vanished days before her fourth birthday from an apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz while her parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant.

The review team has sifted through more than 40,000 pieces of information, including files from the Portuguese police investigation and from the private detectives used by Madeleine’s parents.

It has identified 195 potential new leads, but Portuguese police have refused to reopen the case because they say there is no new evidence.

Mr and Mrs McCann said the fact the Metropolitan Police were reviewing the case had made their lives ‘much more bearable’.

In a statement to mark yesterday’s five-year anniversary of her disappearance, the couple said: ‘It’s hard to define succinctly how it feels to have reached five years without Madeleine – impossible, heart-breaking, frightening, exasperating, incomprehensible.









‘Sometimes it feels like forever and at other times, just like yesterday.’

Scotland Yard said: ‘We can confirm we are in close dialogue with Crimestoppers to ensure that all material in their possession – from any source – is shared with us.’




TIMELINE OF THE INVESTIGATION




May 3, 2007
Kate and Gerry McCann leave their daughter Madeleine and her two-year-old twin brother and sister Sean and Amelie in bed in their apartment and head for dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant.

9pm
The couple check on them regularly and at around 9pm, Mr McCann finds nothing amiss when he returns to their room in the seaside resort at the Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz.

10pm
Mrs McCann goes to check on them again and finds the shutter slid up, the bedroom window open and Madeleine gone.

May 4
The police begin hunting for Maddie.

May 15
Robert Murat is officially named a suspect by police in Portugal.

June 17
Portuguese police say Madeleine's friends and family may have destroyed vital evidence in the first few hours after her abduction.

September 7
Detectives make Mr and Mrs McCann 'arguidos' in their daughter's disappearance.

April 7, 2008
Three Portuguese detectives 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.


Five years on, the pivotal questions


Is she alive?

There have been no confirmed sightings of Madeleine McCann since she disappeared on May 3, 2007.

The original Portuguese police team believed she died in a ‘tragic accident’.

Kate and Gerry McCann have always insisted there is no evidence to suggest she is dead, and British police now believe ‘there is a possibility she is alive’.


Where is she?


There have been reported sightings all round the world, ranging from the credible to bizarre psychic visions.

Of those investigated, none have been confirmed as Madeleine.


Who is responsible?


Three people were officially named as arguidos, or suspects, in the investigation - Kate and Gerry McCann and British expat Robert Murat.

All three were formally cleared when the investigation was shelved and have won libel cases against newspapers and broadcasters which falsely claimed they were involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.

The McCanns believe Madeleine was taken by an abductor.

Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett allegedly said he saw the girl twice before she vanished and claimed she was stolen to order by a gypsy gang, but denied he was involved.

He died in 2010.

Are there new leads?


British police have identified almost 200 new lines of investigation from the Portuguese case files and the McCanns’ own private detectives.

They have refused to reveal details.


Why was this not done before?


Portuguese officers were convinced Madeleine was dead and have admitted publicly that they did not fully investigate other theories, including many of the sightings.


What else was missed?


Police did not set up effective searches and did not alert the Spanish border for 12 hours, allowing a potential abductor to escape with Madeleine undetected.

Even a basic check of the other guests at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz was not completed for 48 hours, by which time many potential witnesses had left.




Gratitude: The McCanns thanked Scotland Yard for their review and the public for the support they had received for their campaign


What about forensic evidence?


Police did not seal off the McCanns’ apartment until 10am the next day, by which time the McCanns, their friends, resort staff, concerned helpers and police officers had all potentially contaminated forensic evidence.

Samples were taken and tested for blood and DNA but were found to be so degraded and contaminated that the results were inconclusive.



Will the case be solved?


British police want the case reopened but public opinion in Portugal has not been supportive of the McCanns and there may be little interest in raking over a five-year mystery which has already damaged the country’s tourist industry.

Even if the case is reopened, the reality remains that blunders in the first few days after Madeleine’s disappearance may mean the McCanns will never know what happened to their daughter.





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The McCanns made a mistake with tragically high consequences, but one has to ask, if Maddie IS found now and reunited with her parents, what chance does the poor child have of a "normal" life? She will be hounded by the media constantly and never be free of the label of "the little girl who was abducted". Putting her needs first, not her parents attempts at trying to relieve their guilt, her future (assuming she is alive of course) could possibly actually be worse as a consequence of the aftermath that would inevitably follow her reunion with her parents.

- Anon , UK, 04/5/2012 12:06

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The McCann's were stupid and naive to leave Madeleine alone but they have admitted that time and time again. Everyone, everywhere knows that they shouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have left a child alone, nor would the majority of people on here however this whole attitude of 'oh you're moaning about you child being kidnapped, well tough luck - you shouldn't have left her alone' is just awful. Truly, truly awful.

- melissa , kent, 04/5/2012 12:00

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5 years oh hell , I am sure they have regretted leaving her every second of their existance since then! Somehow I think that we have got beyond that arguement now. It is all very well to point the finger and pontificate but the point is that the real villains in this case are still out there unpunished and the police search has been an absolute farce.

- LK , UK, 04/5/2012 11:57

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Whether you like the parents or not doesn't matter. The point is finding this child. She may be dead...but she also may be alive somewhere suffering unspeakable abuse hoping someone saves her. Of course the parents wont give up, no parent ever would. More tax payers money should be spent on finding lost children and protecting and improving the life of all children. If the government are short on cash, then stop spending on real rubbish like welfare benefits for lazy adults and fancy prison cells for murderers and pedophiles.

- anon , Asia, 04/5/2012 11:52

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Just when will the McCanns admit that it was wrong to leave their children alone ? They have never accepted responsibility for their own stupid actions. - Tax payer, Lincoln ///////// Just when will you stop shoving this down their throat? Do you not think they are aware? Are you expecting a public apology? Do you not think they rue their decision to leave the kids alone, with every single cell in their body, every second of every day? Sheesh!

- Getting Real , Bristol, 04/5/2012 11:43

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The police were right to exclude the ravings of publicity-seeking cranks and the deluded. Following up on these so-called leads now is an utter waste of police time.

- Clinton , Manchester, 04/5/2012 11:36

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It's a joke the police are spending so much time helping this couple who left there children on there OWN I feel this this child but in my opinion these 2 should be charge with leaving there children on there own. They were even drinking is that right no get these to on trail. It's so wrong that other children missing arnt getting the help this to people are

- PaddyAllan , Blackburn, 04/5/2012 11:11

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I assume the police put the same amount of effort and money in to finding every young person who goes missing..? They're all someone's children and not all of them were left behind by their parents to go out!

- Eva , London, 04/5/2012 11:05

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So what about all other kids that go missing every year, we only ever hear about Madeleine McCann, & if they're resorting to psychics, says it all really, no real leads.

- Sceptical of Ware , Ware, Herts, 04/5/2012 10:59

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Miranda, I am definitely not joking when I say to contact Sally Morgan. There are many average or pretend psychics who have limited or maybe no psychic ability, who may be giving garbled, confused or made up messages. Sally is the country's leading psychic and is in another league altogether. That is hard for some people to understand, because they think all psychics are the same (i.e. if one is fake/useless then they all are). Sally presents a very light-hearted image but she does have the most amazing abilities. If anyone can find Maddie it would be her.

- Pam , UK, 04/5/2012 10:59

======================

iv'e included some of the posts

Why on earth would they re-print it today when they already printed it 9 months ago?

It's often the case that old and archived material turns up again, and generally the page header on the Website carries an automatic Date/Time field, just like we all have with our favoured Word Processor. So if that filed is set to update rather than being static, ................... scope for confusion.

The End Is Nigh wrote:It's often the case that old and archived material turns up again, and generally the page header on the Website carries an automatic Date/Time field, just like we all have with our favoured Word Processor. So if that filed is set to update rather than being static, ................... scope for confusion.

Ahh, I see. Thanks.

Panda the picture of Kate and Gerry is interesting because Gerry IMO doesn't have that smirk on his faces any longer .... it's more drained were f****** look now

I find there obsession with the Everton shirt and age progressed same coloured shirt a bit strange, wonder what the connection is with that, why not put her in a totally different coloured jumper?

Lillyofthevalley wrote:Panda the picture of Kate and Gerry is interesting because Gerry IMO doesn't have that smirk on his faces any longer .... it's more drained were f****** look now

Your'e not gonna believe this Lotv, I was coming home from Lanzarote and bought a Paper to read on the Plane, I like the crosswords etc in the Express, bought the Sunday Express and who should be on the front page but the McCanns. On page 5 there is a photo of Gerry and Kate taken at the Book launch in 2011 and Gerry is looking sideways at Kate who appears to be doing the talking and if looks could kill.......

Panda It makes you wonder if the pair can't stand the sight of each other now.

The End Is Nigh wrote:Same old.

It certainly isnt!!!
They quoted 'Pat Brown'!!

You, I and the dog know her perspective on things but I bet the daily mail readership dont.
From that quote they know that she is respected criminal profiler (through being quoted) and thus if interested will check out what else she may have to say about the mccann case!
Which can only lead to an awakening!!

Another part of that article which was significant was

The information will be examined and entered into the police computer for the first time to ensure no detail has been missed.

Which means that her book is now being ross referenced against all trit other versions of the event and thus is definitly going to be used as evidence!!