What has happened to the New Privately Funded Search?

The Leicester Mercury published on 20 Dec 2015 that Madeleine's parents were to launch a new privately funded search....

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Madeleine McCann's parents to 'launch new privately funded search for daughter'
By atroughton  |  Posted: December 20, 2015

Madeleine McCann's parents are to launch a new privately funded search for their daughter, it has been reported.

Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, are understood to have approved a fresh initiative using some of the £750,000 that remains in their 'No Stone Unturned' appeal fund.

It is believed, reports the Sunday People, that the couple are to take the initiative following the decision by Scotland Yard to scale down the search for Madeleine.

The youngster disappeared from her parents' holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday.

In October Scotland Yard announced it was scaling down, Operation Grange, the Metropolitan Police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.

The inquiry, which was launched in 2011, and has cost more than £10 million, will continue but will have the number of full time officers working on the case reduced from 29 to just four.

Detectives have taken more than 1,300 statements and have collected over a thousand exhibits, but a spokesman for Scotland Yard said while there remained some lines of inquiry to follow, the vast majority of Operation Grange's work had been completed.

Earlier this year the Home Office, which has been funding the police investigation, granted another £2 million to allow the work to continue.

Operation Grange was launched after the Portuguese authorities shelved their probe into her disappearance and the family was forced to coordinate and fund their own investigation.

Following the announcement that Scotland Yard's role was being significantly scaled back, the couple said they felt reassured that significant progress had been made and that they had a clearer picture of the events that led up to their daughter's abduction.

Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/8203-Madeleine-McCann-s-parents-launch-new/story-28397164-detail/story.html#ixzz41q70tigJ
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Well, allowing time for the holiday season between December 20th and the New Year, we are now 9 weeks into 2016.... What is happening with the much vaunted and advertised privately funded search?

We have had the media spin of, 'Madeleine's Parents will start 2016 with 'fresh hope' their daughter will be found'; 'Kate McCann believes missing Madeleine is still in Portugal,' 'Madeleine's brother and sister told 'everything' about her disappearance,' 'Madeleine McCann's parents still receive supportive messages from all over the world' and 'Kate McCann is to receive award for dedication to missing kids.'

Strangely however there are no blaring headlines of what the 'New Search' is turning up or where the 'New Search' is leading their investigators, whoever they are..

Probably the simple answer is that there never was and never will be a privately funded search. It just makes them look good and gives good copy to the papers. They don't care now or ever.

My thoughts also, keela... They lay themselves open to criticism and doubt by blatant lies and disingenuous statements yet the media never pick up on them... Whatever happened to research based reporting and freedom to comment?

I'm sure they are putting their expenses/salaries into the fund (Ltd Co.) for their extensive searching.

Duplicate!

Keela wrote:Probably the simple answer is that there never was and never will be a privately funded search. It just makes them look good and gives good copy to the papers. They don't care now or ever.

I think the timing is the key. It was published pre xmas. (donate generously, we need money)

I get the impression that the McCanns haven't spent any of their personal money on searching, events or other expenses but have relied on others / Fund to cover the costs of accommodation , travel, searching etc.so I suspect that the £750,000 will be invested and find it's way into a McCann personal account somewhere. Finding Madeleine seems to be the last thing on the McCann's agenda. They may argue that they employed private detectives but Metodo 3 were not in the business of finding missing persons. It's very strange that Halligen took £500,000 but the McCanns haven't tried to get the money back as far as we know. Who recommended him? Surely not Clarence?