McCann's angered by 'cruel' Madeleine report
The distraught parents of Madeleine McCann lashed out today at a newspaper which printed claims their daughter was buried nearby before Portuguese police even had a chance to investigate.
Gerry McCann said the Policia Judiciara had no time to consider the credibility of the information or consider searching the area before the allegations were made public.
Describing the move as “insensitive and cruel”, he said he and his wife Kate were deeply upset by what had happened.
Speculation reached fever pitch after Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf revealed they had received an anonymous letter claiming the four-year-old’s body was buried in scrubland nine miles from where she was abducted.
It was thought to pinpoint a remote area north of the village of Odiaxere, north east of Praia da Luz where Madeleine was snatched 42 days ago.
Last night, police officers visited the area but there was no sign of a formal search this morning. A large number of media gathered in the area, waiting for news.
PJ spokesman Olegario Sousa said police were taking the claim seriously but insisted it was one of a number of leads they were looking at.
He said they could only start searching an area if they had a precise location.
Mr McCann said they were told about the claim when they met police yesterday to be updated on the investigation.
Writing his blog on the Find Madeleine website, he said they were “extremely disappointed” that the details had been released.
“Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention.
“We feel strongly that this was an irresponsible piece of journalism and even if it were true is insensitive and cruel.”
He went on: “One can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate and I to hear of such claims.”
As police continued to investigate, the couple left Praia da Luz for several hours to meet a friend and discuss the search for Madeleine.
They are in the process of hiring a campaign manager who will concentrate on keeping the little girl’s profile high.
However, the hunt has been overshadowed by the information from the Netherlands.
Dutch police said the anonymous tip off was being taken seriously because it was similar to information sent to the same newspaper last year, giving details of the rough location of the bodies of two missing Belgian girls.
Stacey Lemmens, seven, and her stepsister Nathalie Mahy, 10, disappeared while playing outside in Liege on June 10 last year.
Their bodies were found near a railway line on June 28, the same day as De Telegraaf received a letter from an unknown source.
Dutch police spokesman Rob Van der Veen said: “With the tip about the Belgian disappearance in the back of our minds, this letter grabbed our attention.
“The writer of that letter had closely pinpointed the area where the girls’ bodies were eventually found.
“That particular letter was posted in Rotterdam the day before the bodies were found. We are therefore not ruling out the fact that this letter regarding Madeleine could be very important.”
Mr Van der Veen went on: “While this letter is slightly less professional than the one regarding the Belgian children, we are looking at it seriously and are in contact with the Portuguese police.”
