Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann was almost four years old when she was abducted from a holiday apartment in Portugal. Her parents had left Madeleine and her two younger siblings alone while they went to dinner nearby on May 3, 2007. After a 14-month investigation, on July 21, 2008, it was announced that officials in Portugal halted the investigation into the disappearance of McCann. Authorities stated that they found no evidence and no reason to charge the three named suspects. The suspects were McCann's parents and local resident Robert Murat.¹

On August 5, 2008, case files on the disappearance of McCann were released including CCTV video footage that shows a little girl, resembling McCann, seen at a service station convenience store hours after her disappearance.²

Fast Facts

1. Born: May 12, 2003
2. Kidnapped: May 3, 2007
3. Right eye has a split in the iris, giving it a unique teardrop shape
4. Crimestoppers international number to report information: 44 1883 731 336³

Disappearance of Madeleine Timeline

• -May 3, 2007 - Madeleine McCann disappears from an apartment in Portugal
• -May 15, 2007 - Robert Murat was made a suspect in the case after he was seen regularly around the apartment days after McCann went missing
• -September 7, 2007 - A piece of DNA is found in a suspicious place and Mr. and Mrs. McCann are named suspects in the case
• -February 4, 2008 - A senior police investigator in Portugal admits that detectives were "hasty" in naming the McCanns as suspects
• -July 1, 2008 - Police announce that they are slowing down their investigation and the hunt for Madeleine
• -July 21, 2008 - Murat and the McCanns' are no longer named suspects in the investigation and the search is officially halted by Portugal's Attorney General⁴
• -August 5, 2008 - Case files, including video and maps, were released regarding the disappearance of McCann⁵

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