LONDON: British detectives investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal on Monday published two new electronic images of a man they want to contact, in a major appeal, which will also be shown in Germany and the Netherlands.
Police said the man is of “vital importance,” with the images having been drawn up based on descriptions from two witnesses who saw the man in the area of Praia da Luz town the night Madeleine went missing.
A primetime British television program will also present a fresh timeline of events surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance from her family’s holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort just a few days before her fourth birthday.
The witnesses described the man in the e-fit as being white, aged between 20-40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven. One image shows him with a fuller jaw than the other.
Portuguese authorities closed their investigation in 2008, but London’s Metropolitan Police spent two years reviewing the evidence and opened their own probe in July this year.
“Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, Scotland Yard’s senior investigating officer in the case.
“We have witnesses placing him in the resort area around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.” Further e-fits of other people they want to trace who were “seen on the day of Madeleine’s disappearance and the days leading up to it” will also be released, Redwood said.
The German television program “Aktenzeichen XY” on the public broadcaster ZDF will show the e-fits on Wednesday.
Two of the suspects are German-speaking, according to the German tabloid Bild and the British newspaper The Times.
Praia da Luz is a “popular holiday destination for many nationalities,” Redwood said, adding that he would be traveling to the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland “to seek the support of the public there.” The BBC Crimewatch show on Monday night will include a new 25-minute reconstruction as well as live interviews with Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann, who launched a global media campaign to find their daughter and still hold out hope she is alive.
Ahead of the broadcast the McCanns told the BBC of the pain they still feel.
“When it’s a special occasion, when you should be at your happiest, and Madeleine’s not there, that’s when it really hits home,” Gerry McCann said.
“Obviously, Madeleine’s birthday goes without saying.” Kate McCann added: “It’s when you have big family occasions really. That’s it, isn’t it? ‘Family occasion’ and you haven’t got your complete family.” Police said at the weekend that the timeline around the incident had also significantly changed, with further details to be released during the show.
Redwood said detectives were focused on the time between 8:30 p.m. on May 3, 2007, when Kate and Gerry McCann left the apartment to dine at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends, to when Kate McCann found Madeleine was missing at 10:00pm.
Last week, British police said analysis of mobile phone data from thousands of people who were in Praia da Luz when Madeleine disappeared could provide a new lead.
The detectives have interviewed 442 people over the last couple of years and have identified 41 potential suspects, although no arrests have been made.
Last week the McCanns said they were “greatly encouraged by new information coming to light” and said they hoped the BBC appeal would take them closer to find Madeleine.
UK police issue images of man in Madeleine McCann case
UK police issue images of man in Madeleine McCann case
Australia to deploy long-range reconnaissance plane to Gulf
- The government says there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.
SYDNEY: Australia will deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday.
An E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and supporting defense force personnel will be sent for an initial period of four weeks to help “protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf,” Albanese told a news conference.
Australia also plans to provide advanced, medium-range air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates “in response to a request,” the prime minister said.
The UAE, in which there are an estimated 24,000 Australians, has shot down more than 1,500 rockets and drones fired by Iran in reprisal following US-Israeli strikes, he said.
Albanese said he decided to send the advanced radar surveillance plane to the Gulf following a discussion with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“The first priority of my government is, and always will be, to keep Australians safe,” the prime minister said.
“Helping Australians means also helping the UAE and other Gulf nations to defend themselves against what are unprovoked attacks,” he added.
“My government has been clear that we’re not taking offensive action against Iran, and we’ve been clear that we are not deploying Australian troops on the ground in Iran.”
The government says there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.
“Significant challenges remain, and further work is underway to support those still seeking to leave,” Albanese said.
Australia said last week it had deployed a heavy transport plane and a fuel transport plane to the Middle East as part of plans to get its citizens out of the region.
Canberra has been careful to make clear that its forces are not engaging in offensive operations against Iran.
On Friday, Albanese revealed that Australian military personnel were aboard an American submarine that sank an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka.
The personnel were on the submarine as part of training arrangements under AUKUS, a multi-decade defense pact with Britain and the United States, he said, stressing that they did not take part in the attack.
