German police begs UK police for help before Madeleine McCann suspect walks free
– May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters just after 9pm, but when his wife goes back at about 10pm she finds Madeleine missing.
Jane Tanner, one of the friends dining with the McCanns, reports having seen a man carrying a child earlier that night.
– May 14: Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an 'arguido', or formal suspect, but this is later withdrawn.
– August 11: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.
– September 7: During questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both 'arguidos' in their daughter's disappearance.
– September 9: The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
2008
– July 21: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the 'arguido' status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.
2011
– May 12: Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughter's disappearance, on Madeleine's eighth birthday.
Scotland Yard launches a review of the case after a request from home secretary Theresa May, supported by prime minister David Cameron.
2012
– April 25: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look as a nine-year-old, and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, but Portuguese police say they have found no new material.
2013
– July 4: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine's disappearance two years into a review of the case. It has 'genuinely new' lines of inquiry and has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
– October 24: Portuguese police confirm that a review of their original investigation has uncovered new lines of inquiry, and they reopen the case.
2014
– January 29: British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests.
– June 3: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
– December 12: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.
2015
– September 16: The Government discloses that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine has cost more than £10 million.
– October 28: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.
2017
– April 30: The McCanns prepare to mark 10 years since their daughter's disappearance with a BBC interview in which they vow to do 'whatever it takes for as long as it takes' to find her.
2019
– May 3: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.
2020
– June 3: Police reveal a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.
– June 4: Scotland Yard's Operation Grange, which had received £12.3 million in funding up to April 2020, is still a missing person inquiry as detectives have no 'definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead'.
2021
– May 4: Kate and Gerry McCann post a statement on the official Find Madeleine campaign website saying they still cling to the hope of seeing their daughter again as they prepare to mark her 18th birthday on May 12.
2022
– April 21: Brueckner is made an 'arguido', a formal suspect, by Portuguese authorities.
– May 3: The McCann family say it is 'essential' they learn the truth of what happened to their daughter on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance.
– October 11: Brueckner, now 45, is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine's disappearance.
2023
– May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance by saying she is 'still very much missed' and that they 'await a breakthrough'.
– May 22: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching.
– May 23: Searches begin with police divers in the water, and teams including officers with sniffer dogs and rakes and metal poles are seen working on the banks. Media and onlookers are kept a mile away from the main search area and a no-fly zone is imposed over the water.
2024
– February 16: Brueckner goes on trial for three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse at a court in Brunswick, Germany.
– October 8: Brueckner is acquitted of all charges.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Labour has lost control of our borders entirely – why can't our Government crack down on asylum rules?
Lunatic asylum FAR from smashing the gangs, Labour has lost control of our borders entirely. For months ministers have insisted they have been cutting the use of hotels for illegal migrants. 1 In fact, numbers in them have gone UP in the last year. — another record — as 51,000 arrived on small boats. That's a 38 per cent increase in just 12 months. At the current rate, 181,000 may have come here illegally by the next election. The figures also reveal thousands are being quietly placed in blocks of flats among families in cities across the country, adding to the housing crisis. Worse, there is clearly widespread abuse of the legal migration system. More than HALF of asylum claims are from foreigners granted a student or work visa only to suddenly claim persecution in their home country when it expires. It should be obvious that anyone who comes here as a student or to work should be automatically banned from claiming asylum later. Sweden has cracked down on asylum rules. It has made language and culture tests harder, ramped up deportations and put failed asylum seekers in detention centres. Why can't our Government do the same? Cry freedom LUCY Connolly should never have served a year behind bars alongside drug dealers and murderers for a nasty tweet. What she published during last year's riots may have been unpleasant. But mum Connolly clearly immediately regretted the post and swiftly deleted it Her crime was never worthy of a 31-month sentence. As a comparison, Palestinian Hamas supporter Abu Wadee, who arrived illegally on a small boat and posted calls for the slaughter of British Jews, got just nine months. Childminder Lucy, also denied bail, has become a symbol for those who believe she was a victim of politically motivated two-tier justice. Did she really deserve her life and family to be so devastatingly torn apart? White trashed WHAT is the plan to help white, working class kids do better at school? Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson should be concerned by yet another overall fall in the GCSE pass rate. More concerning is the catastrophic performance of poor, white children — especially boys. Many will now join the ranks of the one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently not in work, education or training,
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Boy, 7, injured in Middlesbrough motorbike hit and run
A seven-year-old boy has been taken to hospital after a crash involving a Police said the rider left the scene of the crash, which happened on Westminster Road, in Middlesbrough, at about 14:55 men, aged 19 and 21, have been arrested."The boy is currently in a stable condition whilst receiving treatment," a police spokesman said. They added officers remained in the area and anyone with information or concerns should speak to them. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Aberdeen's Europa League foes dealt major blow ahead of tie
Risto Radunovic of Montenegro, South African centre-back Siyabonga Ngezana and Ghanaian midfielder Baba Alhassan were all held at Aberdeen airport. A report in Romania claims they were kept there for four hours after travelling with the rest of their teammates. When released, they remained under surveillance at the team hotel in the Granite City. Journalist, Emanuel Rosu, claimed on X that a visa request was unsuccessful for the trio. And so, they will play no part in tonight's first leg against the Scottish Premiership outfit. A spokesperson for the British Embassy Bucharest said via Digi Sport : "The embassy has no role in the processing and granting of visas, which is solely in the hands of the Home Office. "We cannot comment on what has happened in this particular case. All those wishing to enter the UK must comply with the Home Office's advice."
