Madeleine McCann: Key Sighting Ruled Out

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

A man thought to be a key suspect in the abduction of three-year-old Madeleine McCann has been identified - and ruled out of the inquiry.

For six years, detectives believed that a sighting of a man carrying a child close to her apartment was one of their best leads.

But a review of the evidence has concluded that it was an innocent British holidaymaker carrying his daughter home from a creche.

It means the inquiry has now switched its focus to a second sighting later that evening - and police have already received more than 100 new calls as a result.

The developments were revealed as part of a televised appeal and reconstruction on BBC Crimewatch.

Two e-fits of the new suspect have been made public

Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann appeared live in the studio and said they were "feeling hopeful and optimistic".

"These cases can get solved and that's what the public need to think about tonight," said Mr McCann.

"We don't know what's happened to Madeleine, we don't know who's taken her. The best chance of finding her is by identifying (the person who took her)."

Mrs McCann said: "It doesn't matter how much heartache we put ourselves through as long as we get the result that we need."

She appealed to viewers to have "the courage and confidence to come forward", adding they could hold the key to "unlock" the case.

The Metropolitan Police's Operation Grange has been reviewing the evidence gathered by both the Portuguese police and private detectives, and has come to a conclusion which officers say completely changes the timeline of what happened on May 3, 2007. 

Madeleine's parents had been dining at a restaurant in the Algarve tourist resort of Praia da Luz.

They'd been taking it in turns with a group of friends to check on their children, who were asleep in nearby apartments.

During one of these checks at around 9.15pm one of the friends, Jane Tanner, saw a man walking along the street carrying a child in his arms.

She thought nothing of it, but within an hour Mrs McCann checked the bedroom where Madeleine and her younger twin brother and sister had been sleeping, and discovered that the little girl had gone.

The McCanns have never given up hope of finding their daughter alive

Although the Portuguese police did not publicise the sighting and instead made the parents suspects in the case, once their investigation closed the McCanns arranged for a sketch to be drawn showing the man Miss Tanner had seen.

Ever since it has been central to how people have viewed the case.

But Scotland Yard detectives reviewed the evidence and realised that around a dozen holidaymakers had been using a free creche at the Mark Warner resort, and they would have collected their sleeping children during the evening.

One of those parents was contacted by police and he agreed that he may be the man, and he had been wrongly identified as a possible suspect.

He agreed to pose for a photograph so his build could be compared to the sketch.

That, together with evidence that his two-year-old daughter was wearing similar pyjamas as the sketch, has convinced the man leading the inquiry that this sighting is wrong.

Jane Tanner, a friend of Gerry and Kate McCann

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood told Sky News: "As you can see from the images we've put forward, both from what the man was probably wearing and the actual physical location he was in, and the description of the child he was carrying, it is highly compelling.

"We believe in a convincing way that this is not Madeleine's abductor."

That information means that it seems likely that Madeleine was taken from the apartment slightly later than first thought.

And police have refocused their attention on a second witness statement which had been considered of less importance.

An Irish family on holiday in Praia da Luz had told investigators that they saw a man carrying a child at around 10pm.

Their sighting was closer to the town centre on Rua da Escola Primeria.

A 2007 sketch of a suspect based on Miss Tanner's sighting - now ruled out

Two e-fits of the man which the witnesses helped create have now been made public. But the evidence is not new.

The e-fits were made in 2008 by private detectives working for the McCanns, but were not made public because they seemed less relevant than the 9.15pm sighting by Jane Tanner.

When asked how convinced he is that the second sighting is of Madeleine, DCI Redwood said: "The timing and location speak for themselves."

But he also realised that this too could be an entirely innocent man, and appealed for help from the public in identifying him.

He said: "If this is you, and you are nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance, then we really need to speak to you.

E-fits of men the police want to speak to in connection with the case

"It's so important for us to eliminate innocent sightings.

"But equally if anybody is looking at those e-fits and recognises the person, for whatever reason, then please have the courage to call in and tell us."

The Metropolitan Police team refuses to be critical of the previous inquiry in an effort to foster good relations with Portuguese police.

Six local officers based in Faro have been appointed to liaise with British police. But DCI Redwood hopes that ultimately the Portuguese investigation will be reopened.

He told Sky News: "Reopening the inquiry is a matter wholly for the Portuguese and we completely respect and acknowledge the differences in our system.

"But of course our aspiration is to have the case reopened so we can work together with our Portuguese colleagues jointly so we can establish what happened to Madeleine McCann."

The e-fits are based on witness accounts of men seen in the area

DCI Redwood is also hoping to get more information about men seen in the vicinity of the McCanns' apartment on several occasions in the week she disappeared.

When asked whether he believed the family were being watched, he said: "The physical evidence demonstrates to us that there are people, unexplained people, possibly doing just that.

"By the way the witnesses have described them ... lurking around in the very close proximity from where Madeleine was taken."

British police have also revealed that there was an upsurge in the number of burglaries in the resort in the weeks leading up to May 2007.

Exactly a year earlier there was also an incident in which a child raised the alarm after seeing an intruder in their holiday apartment.

The police are looking at whether these incidents could be related.

And they have also released e-fits of men described as "charity collectors" who had been going door-to-door and may or may not be genuine.

Officers think there is a possibility they could have been checking apartments ahead of a possible break-in.

The police probe has switched to a second sighting

British officers are well aware that many residents of the Portuguese town have become fed-up with the constant media attention.

But he made this direct appeal to them: "What I would say specifically is that this change of emphasis in terms of the timeline between 9pm and 10pm means we can genuinely ask the public in Praia da Luz to go back over that time and look at those efforts.

"And if you recognise someone in the local community - please have the confidence to come forward to us."

The new appeal formed part of the BBC Crimewatch programme which featured a detailed reconstruction of the McCanns' visit to the resort.

The last photographs of Madeleine which have been iconic because of their repeated use in appeals over the years, were brought to life by recreating the moments they were taken - Madeleine holding tennis balls and sitting at the side of a swimming pool.

There was also previously unseen family video of Madeleine.

:: Sky News will show a special investigation tonight at 8.30pm on Sky Channel 501, Virgin Media 602 and Freeview 82

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