PORTUGAL: Disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains a mystery

Kate and Gerry McCann return to their Portugal villa as local media reports suggest their 4-year-old daughter was murdered. Gerry and Kate McCanns returned to their villa on Thursday (August 9) as Portuguese newspapers published a series of allegations contradicting the official stance that 4-year-old Madeleine McCann was abducted from her family's holiday flat. They are staying at the apartment bloc in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz, following their daughter's disappearance on May 3. On Wednesday (August 8), the McCanns spent two hours in the headquarters of Portimao's police, according to police sources. Television images showed Gerry McCann driving a car out of the back entrance of the building at around 1600GMT, after meeting members of the police team investigating the disappearance of the British girl. His wife Kate was sitting next to him. Their meeting with police followed Portuguese media reports on as-yet unconfirmed police findings of traces of blood on the wall of the apartment where Madeleine went missing. The reports say there are fears she might have been murdered and thrown into the sea near Praia da Luz. Journalists remain camped outside the McCanns villa and there has been much interest in the newspapers reports that police now believe Madeleine died in the apartment that night. They have also reported that Gerry and Kate Mccann have been questioned separately by the police. The British Daily Mail's story on Thursday carried the headline 'Mystery emails'. Madeleine went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve tourist region on May 3, just yards from where her parents were dining.

ITN Source | August 9, 2007

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