The Maddie Caves: Is This Where to find Madeleine

THE MADDIE CAVES: Is this REALLY where to look for Madeleine McCann?

IT’S just a few miles from the resort where Maddie vanished, but could this sleepy fishing village really hold the key to her disappearance?

By Michael Havis / Published 22nd May 2017

Madeleine McCann went missing from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz while her parents dined nearby on the evening of May 3, 2007.

A missing child investigator, Paulo Pereira Cristovao, recently revealed his hunch that she was hidden mere miles away in Burgau.

Taking her east would bring you towards the busy town of Portimao, he reasoned, so it would make sense to head west.

One long-time resident said the only caves he knew of were above sea level and a nightmare to get to.

He told Daily Star Online: "I know one cave that I used to play when I was a kid. But it’s not easy to get there."

We found the route there marked by challenging hills and steep cliffs; difficult terrain by day – and forbidding by night.

And a car can’t help; the cliffs closest to the west of Burgau are only accessible on foot and locals knew of no caves to the east.

None of that recommends itself to a kidnapper under pressure, which might be why locals are sceptical of Madeleine being hidden near Burgau.

One told Daily Star Online: “It’s completely rubbish. It’s very difficult ground by yourself. Carrying a body? Forget about it.”

And if there are underwater caves nearby, casting someone into the sea in the dead of night is not without challenges.

A beach to the west of town, the Praia das Cabanas Velhas, offers easier access to the sea for someone driving.

But reaching deeper waters means carrying a child over the slippery rocks at the beach’s edge by moonlight.

It also doesn’t explain why a kidnapper who doesn’t yet know they’re wanted would abduct a child and immediately abandon them.

Nonetheless, there are reasons to believe Mr Cristovao’s theory that whoever took Madeleine McCann would have headed west out of Praia da Luz.

One local with knowledge of the case noted that heading east would also mean heading towards the nearest police presence, the cop shop in nearby Lagos.

Mr Cristovao, explaining his theory to the Mirror, said he reached his conclusion about the caves by climbing into "the shoes of somebody who had just taken a child".

He said: "To the east are people, buildings and a higher chance of detection. By heading west there is wilderness… It is a short walk to these rocks."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/615130/madeleine-mccann-maddie-caves-burgau-praia-da-luz-portugal