Is this him?

Is this him?
Exclusive
27 January 2008
The News of the World
Chris Tate & Neville Thurlbeck

Astonishing lookalike found in hunt for missing Maddie

A mystery loner who admits he bears an uncanny resemblance to an artist's drawing of a "creepy" suspect in the Maddie McCann kidnap hunt said last night:

"It's not me in the picture."

But last night when eyewitness Gail Coop (spelling in context-s/b "Cooper"), who helped create the sketches, saw the scruffy man's photo she gasped:

"Oh my God, that's so like him.

"He's the spitting image of the man I saw three times at the resort where Madeleine vanished.

"It's deeply shocking to see my drawing come to life. His cold, emotionless eyes sent a chill right through me."

The 50-year-old granny added:

"I thought there'd be no doubt in my mind if I saw him again."

But when we tracked down the mystery man in our photo, Joaquim Agostinho, 42, who lives a 90-minute drive from the resort, said:

"I did not kill Madeleine and I've never been to Praia da Luz.

"I cannot even drive. I accept that the drawing looks like me. All my friends have been laughing about it during the week saying how much it looks like me."

Astonishingly, despite the amazing resemblance, he revealed that police haven't bothered to question him.

Impossible

He said:

"No, the police haven't spoken to me. But people have been following me and taking pictures of me today and I didn't know what it was all about.

"As I say, I don't drive a car so I couldn't possibly have done what people think.

I did own a motorbike once but I lost it couple of years ago."

Agostinho lives alone in a small flat in Altura, 87 miles east of Praia, where Madeleine was kidnapped on May 3 last year. He added:

"I have no money. I earn a little bit by delivering newspapers to people and for that they pay me with a drink of beer."

As our snap of Agostinho shows, he has a droopy moustache, long, dark hair and prominent teeth, just like the man in the sketch.

Heathcare worker Gail helped an FBI-trained illustrator make a detailed image of the suspicious man she saw in the resort where she was staying-close to the McCanns' holiday apartment and at the time Maddie disappeared.

After the drawings sped around the globe, we photographed a man described as a "weird loner" in his home town, just an hour and a half's drive from Praia da Luz before talking to him.

Yesterday we found Aghostinho touring around the bars of his home town. Unkempt and unshaven in a brown leather jacket and camouflage trousers, the six-footer drank a lunchtime coffee in one bar before moving on to a succession of others.

Later, laughing nervously and looking bewildered in front of Portuguese TV cameras, he held a press conference outside his favourite bar, the Snack Bar Aliha at 5pm.

Our investigations in the small seaside town revealed the man, in his mid fifties, is a college dropout and one-time fisherman who now drifts aimlessly around its narrow streets.

One local told the News of the World:

"He is single and lives alone somewhere in the warren of little streets near the church.

Problems

"At one time he was a very bright student, but had emotional problems and dropped out of education.

"Now he just wanders from bar to bar. Most people know him, he's not known as being any trouble."

The town is a popular tourist spot with Brits and Germans, just 20 minutes across an open border to the Spanish town of Heulva, where five-year-old girl Mari Luz Cortes vanished two weeks ago while on her way to buy crisps from a shop.

Although there is no evidence that Aghostinho has any connection with either disappearance, Gail urged Portuguese cops to question him.

Detectives have claimed pig farmer Joaquim Jose Marques, who wears his hair in dreadlocks, is the subject of her drawing and that he has already been eliminated from their search.

But last night Gail insisted:

"I know with all my heart that Marques definitely was NOT the guy I saw three times in Praia de Luz.

"That man was not the guy in my drawing. But this new man is so much like him.

"I'm amazed the man in the photo is so similar to him. I'm sure the one with the dreadlocks is NOT him. This new man must be interviewed, if only because they need to rule him out of inquiries-and he might even be a vital new witness."

Gail saw the suspect she described three times wandering around the resort. He called at the villa where her grandchildren were playing in a pool, visible from the road, claiming he was collecting for an orphanage.

She said:

"He didn't do anything, but I felt intimidated by his manner.

"I didn't give him any money and he went off on foot, but he must have had a vehicle somewhere."

Meanwhile, there was a bizarre new "sighting" of Madeleine reported last night-in Chile, South America.

An air-conditioning technician in Santiago told police he saw two adults with a young child at a museum in Vicuna five days ago.

He told officers:

"I saw a child with a pair of adults, one of whom closely resembles the police portrait of the possible kidnapper recently released by private detectives hired by the McCanns."

 

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Lori Campbell, Madeleine McCann, Neville Thurlbeck, News of the World, Ross Hall

Letter: Your say

Letter: Your Say
John McCafferty
27 January 2008
The Sunday Mirror

INCOMPETENT Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral had long, boozy lunches when he was supposed to be heading the inquiry for missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann and was taken off the case, so why is he being put back on it?

He should have been sacked. Now the McCanns are stuck with a police officer who, I fear, couldn't find a missing child if she were in front of him. Haven't they suffered enough? - John McCafferty, Glasgow

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Boost for McCanns as cops say she was taken

Boost for McCanns as cops say she was taken
Missing Madeleine Day 269
The Sunday Mirror
27 January 2008
Lori Campbell

Portuguese police have finally admitted Madeleine McCann probably WAS snatched.

Detectives have launched a fresh review of the case and are now re-interviewing the key witnesses. In the four months since Gerry and Kate McCann were named official suspects, officers have focused their efforts on proving Madeleine died in the family's holiday apartment. Just three weeks ago investigators claimed they had enough evidence to charge the couple.

But yesterday police sources said they now believe the McCanns may be innocent.

The new focus began after DNA tests carried out in a UK lab on blood samples proved inconclusive. And the abduction theory gained strength last week with the release of a sketch of a possible suspect. The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell yesterday said the McCanns were buoyed by the news.

State prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes now believes the couple will not be charged unless a body is found.

 

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Clarence Mitchell, Lori Campbell, Madeleine McCann, News of the World, Ross Hall

New manhunt 'another diversion by McCanns'

New manhunt 'another diversion by McCanns'
Daily Express
22 January 2008
By Padraic Flanagan in Praia da Luz and Nick Fagge

THE manhunt by Madeleine investigators prompted by a drawing of a possible abductor is designed to divert suspicion from Kate and Gerry McCann, the Portuguese police believe.

Last night, sources in the Policia Judiciaria revealed reports of a dishevelled man lurking around Praia da Luz were investigated months ago and found to be groundless.

One stormed: "The purpose of this latest exercise by the McCanns is the same as always. It's another diversionary tactic."

On Sunday, private investigators searching for the four-year-old released a sketch based on the evidence of a British tourist who said she had seen a "creepy man".

Grandmother Gail Cooper, who was staying 600 yards from the McCanns' apartment, said she saw him three times, once trying to collect money for a fake orphanage.

Based on her descriptions, an FBI-trained artist drew a likeness.

Detectives in Portugal believe Madeleine is dead and that her parents were involved in disposing of the body.

Former PJ inspector and now criminologist Francisco Moita Flores said the timing of the McCanns releasing the image was curious, coming only days before the McCanns' dining companions are due to face further questioning.

He said: "This is maybe the most critical moment in the investigation. They know there is evidence that the girl died and we are on the eve of interrogating witnesses who may undo all the theories."

It was reported the only other official suspect, Robert Murat, was seen chatting to a man resembling the sketch suspect last May.

Nanny Charlotte Pennington, 20, told the police she saw Murat, 34, talking to "a man 27 to 35, average height, very dark eyes, Portuguese or Spanish appearance".

After Madeleine was snatched on May 3, the McCanns' dining companion Jane Tanner, 36, said she had seen a man walking away from the Ocean Club carrying a child.

Yesterday, despite never seeing his face, Ms Tanner, from Exeter, said she was "80 per cent certain" it was the man in the drawing.

Last night, Amanda Mills, 34, from Basildon, Essex, claimed she saw a man resembling the sketch suspect trying to break into a ground-floor apartment in the Ocean Club, similar to the one the McCanns occupied, a week later.

Last night the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the McCanns' sleuth agency's £50,000-a-week contract is up next month but could be extended if the mystery man was still at large.

Continue Reading... Labels: Clarence Mitchell, Nick Fagge, Robert Murat

The man who ran off with Maddy?

The man who ran off with Maddy?
20 January 2008
The Sunday Mirror
Nick Owens and Grant Hodgson

EXCLUSIVE
Hunt for Madeleine: Day 262 First image of suspect

This is the face of a stalker now believed to have snatched Madeleine McCann. The image is a former FBI artist's impression based on a detailed description given by a key British witness.

It clearly reveals the features of a moustachioed man - who was carrying a little girl in pink pyjamas, believed to be four-year-old Maddie.

The original photofit issued by Portuguese police showed only a round egg-shaped head and blank face and was widely criticised as being useless.

The new picture, which was last night welcomed by the McCanns, is seen as a breakthrough.

It was carefully put together after interviews with 50-year-old holidaymaker Gail Cooper - viewed as a credible witness by key figures in the inquiry.

The healthcare worker was staying just 600 yard from the McCanns' apartments and claims to have seen the mystery stalker in the picture on three occasions.

He is thought to be aged between 38 and 45. He has sallow skin, lank dark hair, large teeth and a distinctive droopy moustache.

The suspect, who is said to have spoken in broken English, knocked on the door of Mrs Cooper's apartment claiming to be collecting for charity.

Mrs Cooper, from Newark, Notts, said: "He made my blood run cold - he gave me the creeps "My judgment is that this man was very suspicious and could have been the kidnapper."

A few days later Mrs Cooper and her husband saw the same man lurking near a group of youngsters from the Mark Warner Ocean Club on the beach. "He looked odd and out of place," said Mrs Cooper, who told police of her concerns days after Maddie vanished.

Last night the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We urgently need to know who this man is and where he is."

But the two 39-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, have been dealt a blow by police chiefs in the resort of Praia da Luz who are bringing back the disgraced cop sacked from the inquiry to return to work on the case.

Lazy Goncalo Amaral - fired from the investigation after the Sunday Mirror exposed his long, boozy lunches - has held a string of meetings with new chief detective Paulo Rebelo.

And in a secret summit the pair have agreed he would be welcomed back on to the team responsible for finding out what happened to Madeleine, who vanished 262 days ago.

Amaral, 47, was leading the team when the investigation dramatically switched to put the couple in the frame.

A source said: "This will feel like a step back for Kate and Gerry.

"Amaral and Rebelo have been meeting regularly after he was kicked off the case and they are constantly talking on the phone.

"They have swapped notes and discussed various leads at length.

At times Amaral has been Rebelo's right-hand man. A lot of things that Rebelo has done since then has been on the advice of Amaral.

"The pair have become close and Rebelo thinks it will help having Amaral back as part of his team."

The source said Amaral, who has been working in Lisbon since his removal from the team, is desperate to return to Praia da Luz, the resort where Madeleine was taken.

The source added: "He really wants to work on the case again and has insisted he will be on his best behaviour and work hard."

Amaral was the main reason Kate and Gerry were named as suspects, despite there not being a shred of evidence that the couple were involved. He was eventually fired after launching a scathing attack on them in a Portuguese newspaper.

'He made my blood run cold'

 

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

262 days missing and.. Maddy's blunder cop back on case

262 days missing and.. Maddy's blunder cop back on case
20 January 2008
The Sunday Mirror
Nick Owens and Grant Hodgson

EXCLUSIVE Cruel blow for Kate & Gerry

The disgraced cop who was sacked from the Madeleine McCann inquiry is to RETURN to work on the case.

Lazy Goncalo Amaral - fired from the investigation after the Sunday Mirror exposed his long, boozy lunches - has held a string of meetings with new chief detective Paulo Rebelo.

And in a secret summit the pair have agreed he would be welcomed back on to the team responsible for finding out what happened to four-year-old Madeleine, who vanished 262 days ago.

The move will be a massive blow to parents Kate and Gerry.

Amaral, 47, was leading the team when the investigation dramatically switched to put the couple in the frame.

A source said: "This will feel like a step back for Kate and Gerry.

"Amaral and Rebelo have been meeting regularly after he was kicked off the case and they are constantly talking on the phone.

"They have swapped notes and discussed various leads at length. At times Amaral has been Rebelo's right-hand man. A lot of things that Rebelo has done since then has been on the advice of Amaral.

"The pair have become close and Rebelo thinks it will help having Amaral back as part of his team."

The source said Amaral, who has been working in Lisbon since his removal from the team, is desperate to return to Praia da Luz, the resort where Madeleine was taken.

The source added: "He really wants to work on the case again and has insisted he will be on his best behaviour and work hard."

The move to bring back Amar is a sure sign the current team of police looking for Madeleine are desperately short of leads.

It will be heartbreaking for 39-year-old doctors Kate and Gerry because sources close to the investigation believe Amaral quickly convinced himself - and colleagues - that their child was dead. Amaral was the main reason Kate and Gerry were named as suspects, despite there not being a shred of evidence that the couple were involved. He was eventually fired after launching a scathing attack on them in a Portuguese newspaper.

A Sunday Mirror investigation exposed Amaral's work on the case as incompetent and lazy.

Instead of leading his team of 30 detectives, the chief inspector often took long boozy lunches, sometimes spending three hours guzzling wine and beer in restaurants in Praia da Luz.

It meant he sometimes worked for just four-and-a-half hours a day on the case.

Amaral disgracefully ignored most of 252 tip-offs of possible sighting of Maddy because he was convinced she was dead.

In a conversation with a Portuguese racing driver, he was heard saying he was sure the girl was dead even though there was no indication that she was.

He told ex-Formula One star Pedro Lamy he believed the McCanns drugged Madeleine to keep her quiet, killing her accidentally.

Amaral reportedly said: "The police case is we are sure the parents killed Madeleine. They are doctors and know about drugs. We are confident in our case."

One of the group involved in the conversation even said he believed the couple could have taken cocaine on the night Madeleine disappeared.

The conversation was a flagrant breach of judicial secrecy rules which have stopped Kate and Gerry from defending themselves against leaks and fake information.

Amaral, who has a young daughter of his own, has also been accused of concealing evidence that a team of his officers beat a confession out of a Portuguese woman who was jailed for the murder of her missing eight-year-old daughter.

'He is convinced she is dead'

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

It's our D-Day

It's our D-Day
Exclusive Return to Portugal
The Sunday Mirror
13 January 2008
Lori Campbell

Kate and Gerry set date in April for Algarve showdown They'll tell cops: show your evidence or clear us for good

Despairing Kate and Gerry McCann are planning to return to Portugal for a face-to-face showdown with police who think they killed their daughter Madeleine.

The pair, who are official suspects - arguidos in Portuguese - hope to call the bluff of detectives and demand to be cleared for good.

Their decision to return to Praia Da Luz after leaving the resort four months ago comes amid yet more agony for them as the case against them is expected to be EXTENDED for another three months tomorrow.

The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said last night: "These unending delays are inhumane. Two parents who have been going through an unimaginable nightmare are being forced to wait another three months. It will be almost a year since their daughter went missing, and even then there could be yet another extension.

"Meanwhile the Portuguese police aren't even looking for Madeleine, and that is heart-breaking for Kate and Gerry."

A close friend said the the couple were likely to go back after their "D-Day" of April 11, when their three-month extension is up, and added: "They feel they've waited long enough with this cloud of suspicion hanging over them. They know their return would be very high-profile. They believe investigators do not have the evidence against them to bring charges, and their presence in Portugal would embarrass them. They've so far held off going back there, but they see it as their trump card."

The McCanns made the heartbreaking decision to go home to Rothley, Leicester, without their four-year-old daughter on September 9, fearing they would be framed by police.

Despite repeated calls from the McCanns' lawyers, detectives have since failed to reveal any concrete evidence against the couple - or even keep them informed of any new leads in the hunt for Madeleine.

The Portuguese judicial secrecy laws surrounding the investigation officially expire tomorrow - eight months after the first suspect, Robert Murat, was named. The McCanns had hoped for the case files to be opened so they could see the evidence against them and begin the process of clearing their names. But state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes on Friday took the unusual step of urging Judge Pedro Frias to grant a three-month extension.

He claims this case is "exceptionally complicated" and therefore requires more time. It means the couple face remaining as suspects until at least April 11, and are still barred from speaking publicly about the investigation. But they have vowed that if the case drags on again after that date, they will make the brave journey back to Portugal.

"It would come just weeks before the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance on May 3.

Our source said: "They see April 11 as their D-day. They have decided to give the police reasonable time to clear them, or at least open the case files so they can see the evidence against them."

The McCanns and the Tapas Seven - the friends who dined with them the night Madeleine disappeared - are still waiting for Portuguese detectives to fly back to the UK to interview them again. But we can reveal the process has almost ground to a halt because of bureaucracy.

The Policia Judiciaria in Portugal have only now submitted paperwork to Eurojust - an EU body set up to help judicial cooperation across countries - which has to approve the proposal and contact the Home Office in the UK.

And British Authorities then have to grant permission for UK police to interview the McCanns and the Tapas Seven with Portuguese officers present.

Mr Mitchell said: "It is impossible for a policeman to get on a plane and come over without a ridiculous amount of paperwork. All they want to do is go over so-called inconsistencies in the friends' statements. To our knowledge they have no forensic evidence against Kate and Gerry, and yet it is taking months and months."

Meanwhile family friend Jon Corner told last night how the couple's determination to find Madeleine has not wavered since the day she went missing.

He said: "I have known Kate and Gerry for many years, but I have never admired them as much as I do now. They have so much energy and drive to keep looking for Madeleine, and have as much urgency today as they did on May 3 to find her.

"Kate feels exactly the same now as she did on that night. Whenever I speak to her, she says 'Where is my daughter? What can we do to find her?' They refuse to sit around doing nothing but dwelling on their grief. They feel she is alive but the clock is ticking to find her.

"They are deeply frustrated because their suspect status means the police are only interested in building a case against them, however ludicrous it is, and are not putting any effort at all into looking for Madeleine."

Jon, who is a director of the Find Madeleine Fund, said the McCanns are also focused on getting a Europewide system in place to help prevent other children being abducted.

He said: "Madeleine was snatched by a calculated group of criminals, we are sure of that. We need to be calculated in finding her, and also in preventing this ever happening again. There is no joined-up system in Europe to protect children against paedophiles. If there is one ounce of goodness to come of Madeleine's disappearance, it would be for other children to be saved from the same fate."

Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas yesterday claimed that while Gerry has gone back to work as a heart specialist full-time, Kate is so distraught she barely leaves home.

But Jon, who is godfather to twins Sean and Amelie, said: "Kate is not falling apart. She is constantly in touch with the directors of the fund, trying to push things forward and think of new ideas that might help find Madeleine."

He also said the McCanns are frustrated by the failure of the Portuguese police to follow-up potential leads.

He said: "Our greatest fear is that the vital clue that would lead us to Madeleine is sat on a desk in a police station in Portugal gathering dust."

'The whole case has ground to a halt in confusion'

 

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Clarence Mitchell, Lori Campbell, Madeleine McCann, News of the World, Robert Murat, Ross Hall

Kate's screams as police told her: You're a suspect

Kate's screams as police told her: You're a suspect
Daily Express
10 January 2008
From Nick Fagge in Praia da Luz

THE HUNT FOR MADELEINE

Kate McCann screamed when told by police that she was a suspect in Madeleine's disappearance, it emerged y esterday.

Opening the door of her rented villa to a Portuguese officer the family had come to know, Kate, 39, shouted: "Do you honestly believe that I would murder my own child?" The officer had called to tell Kate and Gerry McCann: "You are being made arguidos (suspects)".

The revelation is made in a searching and emotional magazine interview published today in which Gerry speaks with extraordinary candour about the disappearance of Madeleine and the dark days that followed.

The 39-year-old cardiologist talks of how he fears he will never see his daughter again. "Probably the chances of getting Madeleine back are slim, " he says. "But still you have hope. Still."

Gerry also speaks of his guilt at leaving Madeleine alone at the Ocean Club Resort apartment in Praia da Luz on the night of May 3 last year.

"I wish I'd stayed in the apartment that night. I wish I'd stayed in the room when I checked on her five minutes longer. I wish I hadn't gone to the tapas bar." The couple's friends, known as the Tapas Nine, took turns checking on the children and Kate McCann returned to the table, screaming "they've taken her" after she discovered Madeleine missing shortly before 10pm.

In the hours after Madeleine vanished Gerry wept on the phone to his sister Philomena: "It's all my fault because Kate and I went out to dinner." But Gerry, from Rothley, Leicestershire, now maintains the couple were not irresponsible to leave their children unsupervised and the doors and windows of their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz unlocked.

"At the time we did it, it was not irresponsible. Of course we feel guilty about not having been there, and that is just something we have to deal with for the rest of our lives.

We live this 24 hours a day." In the interview with magazine Vanity Fair, the couple tell writer Judy Bachrach of their darkest moments in the days following Madeleine's disappearance.

Gerry says: "The world was all black, with maybe tiny points of light." And Kate says she told friends: "I hope whoever has Madeleine is giving her blankets, is feeding her properly, is keeping her warm." Gerry goes on: "We can't cry our eyes out every day because that's not helping. So after three days I picked myself up – quicker than Kate could." And it was building the Find Madeleine campaign that helped them go on, Gerry claims. The couple also speak of their anger and heartache after they were made suspects.

Gerry says bitterly: "Yes, yes, I know. Kate killed her in a frenzy, Madeleine was sedated by us, she fell down the stairs – in which case you would have thought they'd have found her body. I've heard all of that. There are a huge number of theories in the media. But what I want to know is, who told them all that?" Gerry says he risks jail if he talks in detail about the night Madeleine vanished, adding: "I can't talk about the details.

"I live under threat from the Portuguese – if I do talk – of two years imprisonment."

Continue Reading... Labels: Madeleine McCann, Nick Fagge

New Madeleine witness quizzed

New Madeleine witness quizzed
Exclusive Brit tourist rented McCann apartment
The Sunday Mirror
6 January 2008
Nick Owens and Lori Campbell in Praia da Luz

A British tourist who stayed in the flat Madeleine McCann vanished from last night emerged as a key witness in the search for the four-year-old.

Paul Gordon, 34, and his young family rented the apartment the fortnight before the McCanns stayed in it.

Businessman Paul, from Middlesex, has been quizzed by Scotland Yard officers about whether he ever had concerns his two children, aged one and three, had been in danger from "oddball characters" lurking nearby.

The father, who is not connected to Madeleine's disappearance, gave police a statement about his family's stay in Praia Da Luz, Portugal.

A Scotland Yard source said: "Officers are working on the assumption Madeleine was snatched from her bed and, because this man stayed in the apartment, his children could have been targets weeks before.

"The police wanted to see if he had noticed anything or anyone strange.

In particular they wanted to learn if there had ever been any oddball characters lurking around the apartments.

"They asked if he feared anyone had been hanging around at night when the children were in bed. They also wanted to find out if any other holidaymakers had raised concerns."

Last night Mr Gordon, a sales executive for Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, declined to comment on what he told police.

He said: "I've given a statement and want it to remain private. I hope the information may help in the search for Madeleine."

Metodo 3, the detective agency employed by Kate and Gerry McCann, both 39, are expected to contact Mr Gordon.

A source close to the McCanns - still regarded by Portuguese police as prime suspects - said last night:

"Anything which might help in the search for Madeleine will be welcomed by them."

DETECTIVES in Morocco have decided after checking repeated "sightings" that Madeleine - now missing for 248 days - is not in the country.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, who met the McCanns when they visited last June, said:

"There is absolutely no evidence that Madeleine is here."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Brian Kennedy, Lori Campbell, Madeleine McCann, Metodo3, News of the World, Ross Hall

Maddy witness 'oddballs' quiz

Maddy witness 'oddballs' quiz
EXCLUSIVE Brit tourist rented McCann apartment
The Sunday Mirror
6 January 2008
Nick Owens and Lori Campbell in Praia da Luz

A British tourist who stayed in the same flat as Madeleine McCann last night emerged as a key witness in the search for the four-year-old.

Paul Gordon, 34, and his young family rented the apartment the fortnight before the McCanns stayed in it.

Businessman Paul, from Middlesex, has been quizzed by Scotland Yard officers about whether he ever had concerns his two children, aged one and three, had been in danger from "oddball characters" lurking nearby.

The dad-of-two, who is not connected to Madeleine's disappearance, gave police a statement about his family's stay in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

A Scotland Yard source said: "Officers are working on the assumption Madeleine was snatched from her bed and, because this man stayed in the apartment, his children could have been targets weeks before.

"The police wanted to see if he had noticed anything or anyone strange. In particular they wanted to learn if there had ever been any oddball characters lurking around the apartments.

"They asked if he feared anyone had been hanging around at night when the children were in bed.

"They also wanted to find out if any other holidaymakers had raised concerns." Last night Mr Gordon, a sales executive for Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, declined to comment on what he had told police.

He said: "I've given a statement and want it to remain private. I hope the information may help in the search for Madeleine."

Metodo 3, the detective agency employed by Kate and Gerry McCann, both 39, is expected to contact Mr Gordon.

A source close to the McCanns - still regarded by Portuguese police as prime suspects - said last night: "Anything which might help in the search for Madeleine will be welcomed by them."

DETECTIVES in Morocco have decided after checking repeated "sightings" that Madeleine - now missing for 248 days - is not in the country.

Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa, who met the McCanns when they visited last June, said: "There is absolutely no evidence that Madeleine is here."

 

Continue Reading... Labels: 2008, Brian Kennedy, Lori Campbell, Madeleine McCann, Metodo3, News of the World, Ross Hall