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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Madeleine searches find nothing | Madeleine searches find nothing |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Portuguese police say they have not found anything in a search of scrubland nine miles from where four-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing. | Portuguese police say they have not found anything in a search of scrubland nine miles from where four-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing. |
| The search was carried out after a Dutch newspaper published details of an anonymous letter it received alleging Madeleine's body was under rocks. | The search was carried out after a Dutch newspaper published details of an anonymous letter it received alleging Madeleine's body was under rocks. |
| Officers said the line of inquiry had now been "discarded". | Officers said the line of inquiry had now been "discarded". |
| Madeleine vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on 3 May while her parents were at a restaurant. | Madeleine vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on 3 May while her parents were at a restaurant. |
| Remote tracks | Remote tracks |
| The village of Arao, where the search took place, lies north of the main road from Praia da Luz to Faro. | The village of Arao, where the search took place, lies north of the main road from Praia da Luz to Faro. |
| A road which was cordoned off by police leads up to remote hillside tracks spanning across farmland and wooded areas. | A road which was cordoned off by police leads up to remote hillside tracks spanning across farmland and wooded areas. |
| Officers from a section of the police called GNR led sniffer dogs to the area they searched early on Friday. | Officers from a section of the police called GNR led sniffer dogs to the area they searched early on Friday. |
| The search was called off hours later and police said no more were planned. | The search was called off hours later and police said no more were planned. |
| Ch Insp Olegario Sousa, of Portuguese police, told the BBC: "The line of enquiry has now been discarded." | Ch Insp Olegario Sousa, of Portuguese police, told the BBC: "The line of enquiry has now been discarded." |
| Details of the anonymous letter were published in De Telegraaf on Wednesday. | Details of the anonymous letter were published in De 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. |
| On Thursday Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate, of Rothley, Leicestershire, condemned the decision to publish the letter. | On Thursday 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 De Telegraaf claiming to know where Madeleine is buried," he said. | "We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in De 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 were 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. | Dutch police were 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. | The Belgian girls were murdered in June 2006 after they disappearing from Liege. |
| On the day the letter was received, police found their bodies close to a spot indicated on an enclosed map. |