Madeleine McCann disappearance: A timeline

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Madeleine McCann disappearance: A timeline

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BBC

Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, then aged three

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from a Portuguese holiday apartment 18 years ago.

In the intervening years, a huge, costly police operation has taken place across much of Europe and Madeleine has became one of the most high profile missing people.

Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, say all they have ever wanted is to find their daughter.

Now ******* police investigating her disappearance are holding fresh searches in Portugal.

2007

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Madeleine went missing from this apartment block at the Ocean Club. The family’s apartment is on the left of the building

On 3 May Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, is on holiday with her family at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Her parents go for dinner with a group of friends at a restaurant in the complex. Madeleine and her younger brother and sister – twins – stay in the apartment, 100 yards awayThe adults had devised a rota system to check on all their children during the eveningWhen it is the turn of Kate McCann, she discovers her daughter, Madeleine, has gonePolice are called and staff and guests at the complex search for her until daybreakBorder police and airport staff are put on alert and hundreds of volunteers join efforts to find Madeleine in the following days

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On 12 May, the McCanns say they “cannot describe the anguish and despair” they are feeling.

Portuguese police say they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal.

On 26 May, police issue a description of a man seen on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance, possibly carrying a child.

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A search took place in the areas around Praia da Luz on the Algarve

In June, a Portuguese police chief admits vital forensic clues may have been destroyed as the scene was not protected properly.

In July, British police send sniffer dogs to assist the investigation, and inspections of the McCann’s apartment and rental car are conducted.

By August it is 100 days since Madeleine disappeared. Investigating officers publicly acknowledge she may not be found alive.

On 6 September, Portuguese police interview Kate McCann as a witness. On 7 September, detectives make the couple “arguidos” and days later, the McCanns return to the ***. Prosecutors later say there is no new evidence to justify re-questioning them.

Gerry McCann releases a video in November saying he believes his family was watched by “a predator” in the days before his daughter’s disappearance.

2008

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Kate and Gerry McCann leave church after a service to mark the first anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance

On 20 January the McCanns release sketches of a suspect, based on a description by a British holidaymaker of a “creepy man” seen at the resort.

In April, Portuguese police fly to the *** to sit in on interviews conducted by Leicestershire Police of the McCanns’ friends they had dinner with on the night Madeleine disappeared.

On 3 May, one year since the disappearance, Kate McCann urges people to “pray like mad” for her little girl.

By July Portuguese police say they have submitted their final report on the case. Weeks later, authorities shelve their investigation and lift the “arguido” status of the McCanns.

2009 and 2010

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An image was released of how Madeleine might look at six

On 3 November, new images of how Madeleine might now look are released.

In March 2010, the McCanns criticise the release of previously unseen Portuguese police files – detailing possible sightings of Madeleine – to British newspapers.

A month later, in April, Gerry McCann says it is “incredibly frustrating” that police in Portugal and the *** had not been actively looking for his daughter “for a very long time”.

In November, the couple sign a publishing deal to write a book about Madeleine’s disappearance.

2011

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The McCanns’ book, Madeleine, is released in May.

Prime Minister David Cameron asks the Metropolitan Police to

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. A two-year review follows.

2012

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Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood, the detective leading the *** review of Madeleine’s disappearance, tells an April broadcast of the BBC’s Panorama his team is “seeking to bring closure to the case”.

A computer-generated image of what Madeleine might look like aged nine is released, a day before Portuguese authorities say they are not reopening their investigation.

2013

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The e-fit images feature in a BBC Crimewatch appeal

In May, *** detectives reviewing the case say they have identified “a number of persons of interest”.

By July, Scotland Yard announces it has “new evidence and new witnesses” in the case and opens a formal investigation.

By October, Scotland Yard detectives say they have identified 41 potential suspects.

A BBC Crimewatch appeal features e-fit images of a man seen carrying a blond-haired child of three or four in Praia da Luz at about the time Madeleine went missing.

Portuguese police reopen their investigation – to run alongside Scotland Yard’s – citing “new lines of inquiry”.

2014

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Met Police officers searched scrubland near where Madeleine vanished in 2014

In January British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests.

In June searches in Praia da Luz are carried out, including an area of scrubland situated south-west of the Ocean Club complex. It yields nothing of interest.

A month later, in July, four suspects are quizzed by police but no new developments emerge.

2015-19

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Madeleine McCann was three when she went missing in 2007

In September 2015 the British government disclose that the investigation has cost more than £10m.

In April 2017 the four official suspects investigated by police are ruled out of the investigation but senior officers say they are pursuing a

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.

In June 2019 the *** government says it will

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, which began in 2011, until March 2020.

2020

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A year later, in June 2020, police reveal that a 43-year-old ******* prisoner – named by ******* media as Christian B – has been identified as a suspect. The McCanns thank police, saying: “All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

“We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.”

******* investigators have classed it as a ******* inquiry and say they are assuming that Madeleine is dead.

The ***’s Metropolitan Police says it has received more than 270 calls and emails since a new appeal for information was launched on Wednesday.

2022

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In April 2022, a ******* man is declared an official suspect by Portuguese prosecutors investigating the case.

Christian Brückner, then 45, is made an “arguido”, although Portuguese authorities do not formally reveal the suspect’s name.

2023

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The McCann family mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance on 3 May 2023, saying she is “still very much missed” and they “await a breakthrough”.

Later that month, a Portuguese news website reports that an area near a reservoir, about 30 miles (48km) from Praia da Luz, had been being sealed off.

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the Arade dam on 23 May, but the search

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.

In October, Portuguese police apologise to the McCanns saying the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance

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, there was insufficient importance given at the time to missing children and that her parents’ position as foreigners in an environment they did not understand was not appreciated.

2025

In April, the *** government approved more than

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for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine’s disappearance.

A month later in May, the McCann family marked

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, saying their “determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering”.

In the same month, it emerged chief suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance Christian Brückner – who is serving a sentence for a ********* assaulting an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005 – is set to be released from prison in Germany

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according to his lawyer. He is due to be released in September or, if he does not pay a fine, early 2026.

On 3 June,

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start in Portugal, between Praia da Luz and Lagos. The areas being searched are close to a ramshackle dwelling where Brückner lived at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

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#Madeleine #McCann #disappearance #timeline

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