Madeleine McCann: Cops probing claims a kidnapper tried to snatch another British tot from holiday flat in Portugal.
A mum has told Scotland Yard how she chased an intruder away from her Algarve apartment after she found him heading towards her child’s cot.
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are probing claims a kidnapper tried to snatch another British tot from a holiday flat in Portugal.
Watch a video of Maddy here.
A mum has told Scotland Yard how she chased an intruder away from her Algarve apartment after she found him heading towards her child’s cot.
The unnamed mum reported it to Portuguese police at the time, but it is claimed they failed to search the area or take fingerprints.
Detectives investigating three-year-old Maddy’s disappearance have now interviewed the mum.
A source said: “British detectives are keen to establish whether Portuguese officers missed a crucial line of inquiry here.
“There is some confusion over why this was not taken more seriously.”
It was reported that the mum said she heard a noise late one night and caught the intruder heading for the cot.
The would-be-kidnapper fled the apartment, thought to be in an apartment in an Algarve resort north of Praia da Luz, where Maddy was taken.
The alleged incident happened in 2010 - three years after Maddy vanished from her bed while on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry and twin brother and sister.
Scotland Yard detectives are still waiting for permission to quiz three ex-staff members at the complex where the McCanns of Rothley, Leics, stayed.
Maddie cops hunt ex-hotel minibus driver in fresh lead
The unnamed 40-year-old used to ferry tourists between the Ocean Club complex and Faro Airport at the time the youngster vanished.
Detectives reckon he could hold the key to cracking the seven-year riddle of Maddie's disappearance.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from her bed in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Officers from Portugal's Policia Judiciaria are believed to have spent days scouring the resort in a bid to track down the ex-Ocean Club worker.
The former minibus driver is now thought to be jobless after a short stint working in a local bar.
A hotel worker told Portuguese media: "Three individuals who identified themselves as PJ officers were here days ago.
"They were asking where a man who worked at the Ocean Club when Madeleine disappeared lived.
"At the time he used to pick up tourists who were staying at the Ocean Club from Faro Airport and at the end of their stay he would run them back to the airport."
The major breakthrough comes after Metropolitan Police officers identified three former Ocean Club workers as prime suspects in the case.
British detectives believe the trio may be behind a string of burglaries at the holiday complex in the run-up to Maddie's disappearance.
Police believe the three men would have known the layout of the Ocean Club complex and the best escape routes for anyone taking a child.
It is one of the best leads to emerge since the Met reopened the case following pleas from Maddie's family.
Scotland Yard officers now want to search their homes and probe their bank accounts.
They held a crunch meeting with senior Portuguese officials last week in the hope of gaining permission to operate on Portuguese soil.
It follows a painstaking cold-case UK review supported by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, both 45.
A trawl of mobile phone records revealed that the three suspects were nearby and made a number of calls to each other in the hours after Maddie was reported missing.
Details of the men’s alleged links to the Ocean Club resort in the Algarve were revealed in Portuguese newspapers with close contacts with local police.
According to reports, people living in the area have also pointed out how the former minibus driver "was always using his mobile phone".
One theory is that the burglars raided the McCanns' flat and were panicked into snatching the youngster when she woke up.
But Brit police have also turned their attention to a notorious gypsy site seven miles from Praia da Luz.
Detectives were understood to be investigating the area of Meia Praia along with another traveller site 30 miles away.
A Briton who has a holiday home near where the McCann family stayed in Praia da Luz told the paper officers from Scotland Yard had asked him about Meia Praia.
He said: 'They wanted to know everything that I knew about the people living there.'
Meia Praia is also believed to be home to a group of fishermen who moved into the area about 40 years ago.
Scotland Yard were unable to confirm reports of the two sites being investigated.
Last October it emerged another former worker had been made a prime suspect.
Waiter Euclides Monteiro, 40, was forced to quit his job after being caught stealing tips.
The immigrant from Cape Verde was killed in a tractor accident in 2009.
His family were furious and claimed that the Portuguese authorities were trying to use him as a scapegoat for Madeleine's disappearance.
A mum has told Scotland Yard how she chased an intruder away from her Algarve apartment after she found him heading towards her child’s cot.
Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are probing claims a kidnapper tried to snatch another British tot from a holiday flat in Portugal.
Watch a video of Maddy here.
A mum has told Scotland Yard how she chased an intruder away from her Algarve apartment after she found him heading towards her child’s cot.
The unnamed mum reported it to Portuguese police at the time, but it is claimed they failed to search the area or take fingerprints.
Detectives investigating three-year-old Maddy’s disappearance have now interviewed the mum.
A source said: “British detectives are keen to establish whether Portuguese officers missed a crucial line of inquiry here.
“There is some confusion over why this was not taken more seriously.”
It was reported that the mum said she heard a noise late one night and caught the intruder heading for the cot.
The would-be-kidnapper fled the apartment, thought to be in an apartment in an Algarve resort north of Praia da Luz, where Maddy was taken.
 |
| Ocean Club apartments where Maddy was taken from |
Scotland Yard detectives are still waiting for permission to quiz three ex-staff members at the complex where the McCanns of Rothley, Leics, stayed.
Maddie cops hunt ex-hotel minibus driver in fresh lead
 |
| Kate and Gerry McCann |
The unnamed 40-year-old used to ferry tourists between the Ocean Club complex and Faro Airport at the time the youngster vanished.
Detectives reckon he could hold the key to cracking the seven-year riddle of Maddie's disappearance.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from her bed in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Officers from Portugal's Policia Judiciaria are believed to have spent days scouring the resort in a bid to track down the ex-Ocean Club worker.
The former minibus driver is now thought to be jobless after a short stint working in a local bar.
A hotel worker told Portuguese media: "Three individuals who identified themselves as PJ officers were here days ago.
"They were asking where a man who worked at the Ocean Club when Madeleine disappeared lived.
"At the time he used to pick up tourists who were staying at the Ocean Club from Faro Airport and at the end of their stay he would run them back to the airport."
The major breakthrough comes after Metropolitan Police officers identified three former Ocean Club workers as prime suspects in the case.
 |
| Scotland Yard officers arriving in Portugal |
British detectives believe the trio may be behind a string of burglaries at the holiday complex in the run-up to Maddie's disappearance.
Police believe the three men would have known the layout of the Ocean Club complex and the best escape routes for anyone taking a child.
It is one of the best leads to emerge since the Met reopened the case following pleas from Maddie's family.
Scotland Yard officers now want to search their homes and probe their bank accounts.
They held a crunch meeting with senior Portuguese officials last week in the hope of gaining permission to operate on Portuguese soil.
It follows a painstaking cold-case UK review supported by Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, both 45.
A trawl of mobile phone records revealed that the three suspects were nearby and made a number of calls to each other in the hours after Maddie was reported missing.
Details of the men’s alleged links to the Ocean Club resort in the Algarve were revealed in Portuguese newspapers with close contacts with local police.
According to reports, people living in the area have also pointed out how the former minibus driver "was always using his mobile phone".
One theory is that the burglars raided the McCanns' flat and were panicked into snatching the youngster when she woke up.
But Brit police have also turned their attention to a notorious gypsy site seven miles from Praia da Luz.
 |
| Meia Praia |
Detectives were understood to be investigating the area of Meia Praia along with another traveller site 30 miles away.
A Briton who has a holiday home near where the McCann family stayed in Praia da Luz told the paper officers from Scotland Yard had asked him about Meia Praia.
He said: 'They wanted to know everything that I knew about the people living there.'
Meia Praia is also believed to be home to a group of fishermen who moved into the area about 40 years ago.
Scotland Yard were unable to confirm reports of the two sites being investigated.
Last October it emerged another former worker had been made a prime suspect.
Waiter Euclides Monteiro, 40, was forced to quit his job after being caught stealing tips.
The immigrant from Cape Verde was killed in a tractor accident in 2009.
His family were furious and claimed that the Portuguese authorities were trying to use him as a scapegoat for Madeleine's disappearance.
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