PORTUGAL/INTERNET: Portuguese police intensified their search to find missing three-year-old Madeleine McCann

Portuguese police intensified their search to find three-year-old Madeleine McCann, who vanished from her bed from a seaside resort in southern Portugal last week. An internet appeal asking for help in tracing her has been launched in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Portuguese police, helped by their British counterparts, intensified their search on Wednesday (May 9) for British toddler Madeleine McCann but their efforts have so far produced no concrete results. Two police criminal behaviour experts from the UK flew into the Algarve region on Tuesday (May 8) to join Portuguese investigators working on the case. It is now six days since Madeleine disappeared from her bed at the Ocean Club holiday resort in the seaside village of Praia da Luz in Portugal's Southwest Algarve region as her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined just yards away. The McCanns have gone on television several times since Madeleine was snatched, hoping to appeal to whoever grabbed her last Thursday (May 3). On Tuesday night, as police moved to restore confidence in their efforts, the British Ambassador to Portugal stepped in to defuse criticism of the police. After visiting Madeleine's distraught parents Gerry and Kate, John Buck emerged to say that the couple appreciated the Portuguese efforts and said specialists from the two countries were working well together. Police in the country have already followed up 350 different leads, interviewed 100 people and taken hundreds more calls from the public but their response to Madeleine's disappearance has been criticised. Search volunteer Andrew Forrester said: "Back home in the UK the presence would be massive, you're only a mile away from where it happened and there's nothing going on" Senior Portuguese officers and diplomats have defended the investigation. They say they are doing all they can, but are prevented by Portuguese law from releasing sensitive operational details. In an interview with a British radio station, Portugal's Ambassador to London Antonio Santana Carlos said that Portugal had a system where the secrecy of justice prevails, which was a constitutional principle of Portuguese law that could not be changed. This meant that the investigators could not disclose the ways and methods that they are pursuing. The McCanns immediately insisted she had been abducted because there was evidence of a forced entry to the bedroom where she was sleeping. Police had said on Saturday they were almost certain it was kidnapping and had ruled out other possibilities. An international website appealing for help in finding Madeleine McCann was launched on Wednesday. Crimestoppers also created an international number for people with information to call. This information will then be passed to Leicestershire Police, the McCann's home police force, which is liaising with the Portuguese investigators.

ITN Source | May 10, 2007

Tags:. .sleeping. .yards. .justice. .evidence. .defended