DAY 227: McCanns tell of XMAS anguish
The Sunday Mirror
16 December 2007
Lori Campbell & Grant Hodgson
Kate and Gerry McCann have read their private detectives the riot act after they had claimed Madeleine is alive and could be home for Christmas.
The couple were furious with Metodo 3 after boss Francisco Marco made a series of astonishing claims, saying he knew who had kidnapped Madeleine.
They warned Marco, 35, the chances of his lucrative six-month contract being renewed when it runs out are "virtually nil".
A source said: "Relations between the McCann camp and the detectives are at an all-time low.
"They are concerned about the effect Marco's comments could have on their chances of finding their daughter alive."
But the source said that the McCanns had no plans to sack Metodo before their contract runs out in March. Last night their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We are retaining Metodo 3 and are pleased with their operational work."
Barcelona-based Metodo 3 is being paid £50,000 a month by the Find Madeleine Fund and recently moved to plush new offices.
But it is yet to produce any evidence to back its claims that it knows who took the four-year-old.
Marco claimed: "We know who kidnapped her, but not where she is. We believe she is in an area not very far from the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. And we have a fairly certain idea of who she is with."
Insisting he believed Madeleine was still alive, he added: "God willing, I hope she'll be back with her parents before Christmas."
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