The Portuguese police say that they
intend to close the case on Madeleine
McCann's disappearance by Christmas.
This is being widely reported as a major
blow in the hunt to find Madeleine but
surely it is nothing but good news?
The Policia Judiciaria of Portugal has
been nothing but an obstruction from the
very start.
They failed to close their borders for
24 hours. They sprinkled their cigarette
ash on the carpet of the McCanns' hotel
room. They have fed all manner of trash
and lies to their tame press. And they
have treated Madeleine's devastated
parents as the major suspects.
So much precious time has been wasted -
a footprint on the hire car sent to a
forensics lab in the UK to be examined
for DNA evidence now turns out to belong
to a Portuguese policeman.
The Policia Judiciaria of Portugal is
quitting? Good riddance to them. The
McCanns will be better off without them.
Ironically, the surrender of the
Portuguese police comes just as there
are hundreds of alleged sightings of
Madeleine in Morocco and just as it
seems it might still be possible to get
that little girl back to her family.
There have been sightings of Madeleine
before now. There was the tourist who
was convinced that a blonde Moroccan
child was Madeleine. And there was the
woman at a Belgium service station who
was convinced she had seen Maddy, when
what she had seen was a confused little
girl with fair hair being introduced to
her father's new girlfriend.
But Naoual Malhi, the
Moroccan doctor who is certain she saw
Madeleine, is very different. Dr Malhi
is plausible. She is credible.
Clearly an intelligent, compassionate
woman, she is so positive that she saw
Madeleine being bundled into a taxi in
Fnidk, in northern Morocco, that she has
returned to the country with
investigators from Metodo 3, the Spanish
private detectives hired by the McCanns.
It is worth noting that
Dr Malhi neither
wants nor expects any payment for her
efforts. I believe her.
Perhaps I am an idiot, or merely one of
the millions who wants this terrible
story to have a happy ending, but I
still think there is a chance to get
Madeleine back.
There have been 400 calls reporting
sightings of her in the Rif mountain
region of Morocco. Can they really all
be wrong? Can they really all be out to
make a couple of quid out of someone
else's tragedy? I think she is alive. I
think her parents believe she is alive.
If the child seen in Morocco is
Madeleine, then she remains in extreme
danger as the forces of justice close
in. What is certain is that the
detectives of Metodo 3 are the McCanns'
best chance of getting their daughter
back.
What is certain is that losing the
blundering efforts of the Policia
Judiciaria of Portugal will be no great
loss. They have done more harm than
good.
Case closed? The
Policia Judiciaria can cease their
investigations if they like. But until
that child is found - dead or alive -
and until the evil souls responsible for
her abduction are run down and brought
to justice, the case of Madeleine McCann
will never be closed. |