I remember this girl clearly, she was kidnapped on family vacation in Portugal in 2007 and never found. Now it says that the early investigations were disturbed by the British police and that they started new searches.
Quote:
Competition between British police forces hindered the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and created "a sense of chaos" in the early days of the case, according to the author of a Home Office report on the matter.
Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), told Sky News that so many agencies from the UK got involved with the investigation that it damaged relations with Portuguese police.
Within weeks of the three-year-old going missing from Praia da Luz in May 2007, Ceop, the Metropolitan Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Police Improvement Agency all intervened, creating "frustration" and "resentment" among Portuguese officers, his report found.
Mr Gamble told Sky News: "When this (the disappearance) happened your first gut reaction is that you want to help, a child has gone missing. In Ceop we were no different than anyone else.
"So there is this rush to help in the early stage and I think because the UK did not have a structure for dealing with this ... so everyone came with best intention, that created a sense of chaos and a sense of competition ... and in many instances in my opinion wanting to be seen to help.
He added: "I've no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long-term negative effect on the investigation."
The Home Office, which declined to release the report under Freedom of Information laws, did not respond to requests for a comment.
Policing Minister Mike Penning said the government remained "fully committed" to supporting the search for Madeleine.
He said: "That is why, in response to this operational review, we asked the Metropolitan Police to take forward their current investigation."
It seems they started new investigations in Portugal.
I do remember this case. It's unfortunate, but I don't think they'll ever find out what happened to her. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. With Caylee (sp?) Anthony, she was found close to her home, but I don't think this is the case here. Sadly, it will probably go unsolved like the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, the true identity of Jon Benet Ramsay's killer, etc.
I still remember seeing that picture of her on the front page of the paper on a train when the story blew up all those years ago, so sad. But I think everyone has kind of accepted there is minimal hope of finding her
A lot of people believe the parents accidentally gave her too many sleeping pills and she died. I hope that isn't true and that she was kidnapped and is still alive.
