Key dates in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann
A police barrier blocks a road as police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
LONDON - Three-year-old Madeleine McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, in central England, disappeared on May 3, 2007 during a holiday with her parents in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
Eighteen years on, Portuguese police have begun searching an area of land near where she disappeared.
Here is a chronology of developments:
2007
May 3 - Madeleine goes missing from her bedroom between 9.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. while her parents Kate and Gerry are dining with friends around 100 yards away at a resort in Praia da Luz.
May 5 - Police say they have put together a sketch of a suspect and confirm they believe Madeleine is still alive and being held within three miles of the crime scene.
May 8 - Police say they have investigated 350 suspicious incidents but still have no idea where she might be.
May 10 - The search around the resort winds down.
May 14 - Police search a villa just up the road from where Madeleine was snatched and take a British man, Robert Murat, to a police station for questioning. He is later released.
June - The McCanns travel to Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Morocco to appeal to the public to help search for their daughter.
September - Kate and Gerry McCann are questioned by Portuguese police. They are both named as suspects, but police do not bring charges against them. The couple then fly back to Britain with their twins, Sean and Amelie. In a brief statement after landing, Gerry says: "We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter Madeleine".
2008
March - McCanns accept 550,000 pounds of libel damages from the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers over allegations they made that they were involved in Madeleine's death.
July - Portuguese authorities end their investigation and say the McCanns and Murat are no longer suspects. Murat wins libel damages from 11 papers who had said he was involved.
2009
March - The McCanns launch a new appeal for information in the Algarve.
May - The McCanns publicise the search for their daughter with an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's U.S. chat show.
2011
May - British Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to investigate the case.
2012
April - British police say Madeleine could still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like.
2013
June - Britain agrees to fund a full-scale police investigation.
October - Police release e-fits as part of an appeal to find a suspect who officers say is of "vital importance". Portuguese police reopen their investigation.
2014
June - Police search scrubland near to Praia da Luz.
2015
July - Australian police test the remains of a girl found in a suitcase, but they are not Madeleine's.
2019
March - Netflix releases an eight-part series about the disappearance of Madeleine.
2020
June - German police say they have a new suspect and appeal for information about a German man currently imprisoned in Germany for sexual assault offences. Convicted child abuser and drug trader Christian Brueckner was likely responsible for her disappearance, they say.
July - Portuguese authorities explore three disused wells but find no evidence of a body. German police search an allotment near Hanover.
2022
April - Portuguese prosecutors formally identify Brueckner as a suspect in the disappearance. He is the first suspect they have named since Kate and Gerry McCann in 2007.
May - New evidence has been found, potentially incriminating the key suspect in Madeleine's disappearance, said the German prosecutor investigating the case.
2023
May - Portuguese authorities assisted by German police search a reservoir near the area where Madeleine went missing.
2025
January - The German prosecutor investigating the disappearance says there is currently no prospect of charges being brought against Brueckner.
June - Portuguese police launch a new search for traces of the child's body, focusing on an area between Praia da Luz and one of the houses where Brueckner lived. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- Straits Times
OpenAI finds more Chinese groups using ChatGPT for malicious purposes
FILE PHOTO: A response in Chinese by ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, is seen on its website in this illustration picture taken February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo SAN FRANCISCO - OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday. While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based startup said. Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio. OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms. In one example, OpenAI banned ChatGPT accounts that generated social media posts on political and geopolitical topics relevant to China, including criticism of a Taiwan-centric video game, false accusations against a Pakistani activist, and content related to the closure of USAID. Some content also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, generating X posts, such as "Tariffs make imported goods outrageously expensive, yet the government splurges on overseas aid. Who's supposed to keep eating?". In another example, China-linked threat actors used AI to support various phases of their cyber operations, including open-source research, script modification, troubleshooting system configurations, and development of tools for password brute forcing and social media automation. A third example OpenAI found was a China-origin influence operation that generated polarized social media content supporting both sides of divisive topics within U.S. political discourse, including text and AI-generated profile images. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on OpenAI's findings. OpenAI has cemented its position as one of the world's most valuable private companies after announcing a $40 billion funding round valuing the company at $300 billion. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AsiaOne
36 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
New Zealand parliament confirms unprecedented lengthy suspension of Indigenous lawmakers, World News
WELLINGTON — New Zealand's parliament agreed on historically lengthy suspensions for three Indigenous lawmakers who last year performed a haka, a traditional Maori dance, disrupting the reading of a controversial bill. A parliamentary privileges committee in May recommended the suspension of the three Te Pati Maori parliamentarians for acting in "a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house". The three performed the haka last November ahead of a vote on a controversial bill that would have reinterpreted a 185-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori that still guides the country's policy and legislation. The government voted through the suspensions, which will see Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi stood down from parliament for 21 days, and representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven days. While the members are suspended, they will not be paid or be able to vote on legislation. Suspending lawmakers is rare in New Zealand's parliament with only three members suspended in the past 10 years, according to New Zealand parliamentary services. Before Thursday (June 5), the longest suspension was for three days, according to New Zealand representatives who spoke earlier in the day. Maipi-Clarke told parliament ahead of the vote that the suspension was an effort to stop Maori from making themselves heard in parliament. "Are our voices too loud for this house? Is that the reason why we are being silenced? Are our voices shaking the core foundation of this house? The house we had no voice in building… We will never be silenced and we will never be lost," she said. Judith Collins, who heads the privileges committee and serves as attorney-general, had previously told parliament that the haka forced the speaker to suspend proceedings for 30 minutes and that no permission had been sought to perform it. "It's not about the haka ... it is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledged to follow," Collins said. The opposition Labour party called for a compromise and proposed censure instead of suspension. Labour considers the suspension to be "inconsistent with the fundamental nature of this democracy," Labour parliamentarian Duncan Webb said on Thursday. "This decision is wildly out of step with any other decision of the privileges committee," said Webb. The haka was traditionally a way for Maori to welcome visiting tribes or to invigorate warriors ahead of battle. It is now performed at important events as well as ahead of matches by New Zealand's rugby teams. [[nid:718207]]
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russia says it will repair warplanes damaged by Ukraine's drones
FILE PHOTO: A satellite view shows military aircraft, some sitting destroyed, at the Belaya air base, near Stepnoy, Irkutsk region, Russia, June 4, 2025, after Ukraine launched a drone attack, dubbed \"Operation Spider's Web\", targeting Russian strategic bombers during Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 2025 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo MOSCOW - Russian warplanes were damaged but not destroyed in a June 1 attack by Ukraine, and they will be restored, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Ukrainian strikes targeted airfields in Siberia and the far north where Russia houses heavy bombers that form part of its strategic nuclear forces. The United States assesses that up to 20 warplanes were hit and around 10 were destroyed, two U.S. officials told Reuters, a figure that is about half the number estimated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But Ryabkov, who oversees arms control diplomacy, told state news agency TASS: "The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defence, was not destroyed but damaged. It will be restored." It was not immediately clear how swiftly Russia could repair or replace the damaged aircraft - if at all - given the complexity of the technology, the age of some of the Soviet-era planes, and Western sanctions that restrict Russian imports of sensitive components. Commercial satellite imagery taken after the Ukrainian drone attack shows what experts told Reuters appear to be damaged Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Tu-22 Backfire long-range bombers that Russia has used to launch missile strikes against Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump in a telephone conversation on Wednesday that Moscow would have to respond to the attacks, Trump said. Russia has an estimated fleet of 67 strategic bombers, including 52 Tu-95s, known as Bear-H by NATO, and 15 Tu-160s, known as Blackjacks, of which about 58 are thought to be deployed, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In addition, it has 289 non-strategic fighters and bombers, including Tu-22s, Su-24s, Su-34s and MiG-31s, according to the Bulletin. Russia has given no detail about which aircraft were damaged but said that Ukraine targeted five airbases. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
