Daily Express
29 November 2007
By Nick Fagge
The resources of the Find Madeleine Campaign are rapidly dwindling it emerged yesterday amid concern about how long the hunt for the missing four year old can go on.
Cash poured in during the first weeks after the youngster vanished from the Ocean Club apartment in Praia da Luz on the night of May 3.
And donations have now reached £1,095,223.50, according to the fund's official website yesterday. But a large proportion of that will be used to pay for the sixmonth contract with Spanish private detectives Metodo 3.
The Barcelona-based firm have signed a £50,000-amonth deal which will result in a final bill of £300,000.
This equates to about £2,000-a-day for a 25-day working month, including expenses.
McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell told Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas: "The fund has been used to search for Madeleine. These things are not free.
"Kate and Gerry will use that money until it runs out." He added: "From the start they have been very optimistic of finding her. Metodo 3 director Francisco Marco has said he is convinced that his operation will succeed." Mr Mitchell confirmed that the flow of cash has dried up to a trickle, but he said there is enough for a further few months. Other expenses include poster campaigns in Spain and elsewhere.
There will also be more publicity in Portugal. And a new publicity drive is expected in Morocco, where detectives believe Madeleine is most likely being held.
The fund raised around £450,000 a month after its launch, but this is now around £30,000 a month.
There was a huge drop after the couple, both 39, were named official suspects in September. And there was another cash crisis in October after it emerged they had used donations to pay the £2,000 per month mortgage on their £600,000 home in Rothley, Leicestershire.
However, the salary of Mr Mitchell, former BBC presenter and Foreign Office press officer – said to be £75,000 a year – is being paid by millionaire benefactor, homeimprovement tycoon Brian Kennedy who has also offered free legal services.
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