By: CECÍLIA PIRES
SPANISH FREELANCE reporter Antonio Toscano, who has said he has information about the abduction of Madeleine McCann and the involvement of a paedophile suspect, was expected in Portugal on Wednesday for meetings with Policia Judiciária Investigators.
Chief-inspector Olégário Sousa told The Resident that the meeting was originally due to be held in Spain but at last minute Antonio Toscano, offered to come to Portugal.
He added: “But this will be just one of several leads we are following.”
On Friday (June 22) police was called to Lisbon Airport after a tip-off that Madeleine was on an incoming flight.
All the emergency procedures were activated and the TAP aircraft, which had flown in from Switzerland, was searched. It proved to be another false alarm, with the girl turning out to be a French girl travelling with her parents.
This incident, said Chief-inspector Olegário Sousa, was just one of thousands of leads that the police have to look at in a daily basis.
It was a similar situation, he said, with a lead in Malta, where local police are still trying to get enough information to enable the Portuguese police to act.
Sightings
Several people called the Maltese police saying they had seen Madeleine McCann. The first report came from a couple who was sure they had spotted the little girl in Valletta, Malta’s capital, and other sightings followed from different people.
Olegário Sousa said that the main line of enquiry remains unchanged, as well as the main suspect: Robert Murat.
“We are still waiting for the tapes from the Morocco gas station”, he told The Resident, adding: “Tapes have a technical problem caused by the multiple recordings that were made on it over time.”
The investigators are now awaiting the results of a few DNA tests but that information is not for release, being protected by the justice secrecy regulations of the country.
Meanwhile it seems that the McCanns have a new house in Portugal as a new priority. In a report on his website, Gerry McCann said if Madeleine is not found in the next couple of weeks, the family will need to move out of the apartment.
Further initiatives to keep Madeleine’s case in the media headlines are now being organised in a more private way.
The idea is to keep the media focus more on Madeleine’s whereabouts and less on the parents and the twin’s daily routines. “Most of the campaigning will be done behind closed doors from now on and it is essential that Amelie and Sean are allowed to grow up without continually being photographed”, said Gerry McCann.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@portugalresident.com
