New Prosecutor in Charge of the Madeleine McCann Case has Vowed to Solve It

High-flying Portuguese investigator, Ines Sequeira, has taken on the case and British detectives believe her appointment will shake up the investigation.

High-flying investigator Ines Sequeira said she was “utterly determined” to crack the case, bringing fresh hope to Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry. You gotta like that attitude. It's been missing a lot lately.

British detectives believe the appointment will shake up the probe and Scotland Yard officers will fly out next week to discuss a shortlist of seven prime suspects with their Portuguese counterparts.

A source close to the inquiry said: “Ms Sequeira is one of the sharpest and most ambitious prosecutors in Portugal. She is utterly determined to get a result on the Madeleine inquiry.

“British police are telling the McCanns they’re doing everything in their power to find out what happened.”

It is understood the investigation into Alice Gross, a 14-year-old schoolgirl found dead in west London, held up Operation Grange as resources were diverted during a huge search effort last week.          

British police will arrive in Portugal next week to discuss plans to interrogate the seven shortlisted suspects and request permission to search their homes.

New hope: Kate McCann and her husband Gerry McCann

British detectives are trying to get a fifth letter of international request approved by the Portuguese authorities, which would allow them to continue their work on the ground in Portugal. Unfortunately, the Portuguese legal system is being severely overhauled and is in complete chaos.

The Met’s Operation Grange team, set up to review the case, believe Madeleine may have been killed during a bungled break-in at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz in May, 2007 while her parents were eating out nearby.

They will interview three of the seven suspects for a second time and request permission to search their homes. Gee, I wonder what they expect to find 7 years later and with weeks of notice?

The three suspects to be re-interviewed are understood to be Jose Carlos Fernandes da Silva, an ex-worker at the Ocean Club resort, Paulo Ribeiro, who looks like a man seen near the apartment, and charity collector Ricardo Rodrigues.

Portugal’s Attorney General gave the go-ahead for the country’s own Madeleine McCann investigation to be reopened in May at the request of the country’s Policia Judiciaria police force - more than five years after the probe had been shelved.

The reopening of the investigation coincided with news a former employee at the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine disappeared had been identified as a suspect.

Recovering heroin addict Euclides Monteiro, a convicted burglar, died in a tractor accident in 2009.

His widow Luisa Rodrigues was interviewed by Portuguese detectives but insisted he was an innocent man and has been fighting to get authorities to confirm they have now ruled him out as a suspect.

Madeleine’s parents have been buoyed up by the joint efforts of the two country’s police forces.

They believe Madeleine, who would now be aged 11, could still be alive.

McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “Kate and Gerry will not comment on Operation Grange."

Watch a reenactment of the McCann's last day with Madeleine.