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Madeleine police begin new search | Madeleine police begin new search |
(20 minutes later) | |
Portuguese police have begun searching an area of scrubland nine miles (14.5km) from where four-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing. | Portuguese police have begun searching an area of scrubland nine miles (14.5km) from where four-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing. |
A Dutch newspaper has published details of an anonymous letter it received alleging Madeleine was buried under rocks in the area being searched. | A Dutch newspaper has published details of an anonymous letter it received alleging Madeleine was buried under rocks in the area being searched. |
Police began investigating the claim after it was made public on Wednesday but have now begun a formal search. | Police began investigating the claim after it was made public on Wednesday but have now begun a formal search. |
Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve on 3 May. | Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve on 3 May. |
Police cordoned off a road in the village of Arao close to Praia da Luz - the resort from where Madeleine went missing - early on Friday. | Police cordoned off a road in the village of Arao close to Praia da Luz - the resort from where Madeleine went missing - early on Friday. |
Remote tracks | Remote tracks |
Officers from a section of the police called GNR arrived in vans and led sniffer dogs to the area. | Officers from a section of the police called GNR arrived in vans and led sniffer dogs to the area. |
The village where the search is taking place lies just north of the main road from Praia da Luz to Faro. | The village where the search is taking place lies just north of the main road from Praia da Luz to Faro. |
The road leads up to remote hillside tracks which span across farmland and wooded areas. | The road leads up to remote hillside tracks which span across farmland and wooded areas. |
Details of the anonymous letter were published in The Telegraaf on Wednesday. | Details of the anonymous letter were published in The Telegraaf on Wednesday. |
The Dutch newspaper received the letter and a map on Monday and passed it on to police, delaying publication of the information. | The Dutch newspaper received the letter and a map on Monday and passed it on to police, delaying publication of the information. |
Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate, of Rothley, Leicestershire, condemned the decision to publish the letter. | |
On his internet blog, Mr McCann said the letter and accompanying map should have been properly examined first. | On his internet blog, Mr McCann said the letter and accompanying map should have been properly examined first. |
He called the publication "irresponsible" and "cruel" journalism. | He called the publication "irresponsible" and "cruel" journalism. |
"We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in The Telegraaf claiming to know where Madeleine is buried," he said. | "We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in The Telegraaf claiming to know where Madeleine is buried," he said. |
"Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, [it was] published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention." | "Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, [it was] published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention." |
Dutch police are studying similarities between the new letter and one received last year by De Telegraaf pointing to the whereabouts of Belgian step-sisters Stacey Lemmens, seven, and Nathalie Mahy, 10. | |
The Belgian girls were murdered in June 2006 after they disappearing from Liege. | |
On the day the letter was received, police found their bodies at the spot indicated on an enclosed map. |