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Madeleine may be dead, police say | Madeleine may be dead, police say |
(30 minutes later) | |
Police in Portugal have acknowledged for the first time that missing Madeleine McCann may be dead. | Police in Portugal have acknowledged for the first time that missing Madeleine McCann may be dead. |
Speaking to the BBC, one of the detectives leading the investigation said new evidence had given "intensity" to the possibility she was killed. | Speaking to the BBC, one of the detectives leading the investigation said new evidence had given "intensity" to the possibility she was killed. |
Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa said Kate and Gerry McCann were not being considered as suspects following recent rumours they were under suspicion. | Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa said Kate and Gerry McCann were not being considered as suspects following recent rumours they were under suspicion. |
Madeleine vanished 100 days ago in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. | Madeleine vanished 100 days ago in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. |
Forensic scientists | Forensic scientists |
Mr Sousa said renewed searches by detectives with British sniffer dogs have revealed clues which could point to Madeleine's death. | Mr Sousa said renewed searches by detectives with British sniffer dogs have revealed clues which could point to Madeleine's death. |
He was referring to suspected traces of blood found inside the apartment room where Madeleine was sleeping, which are now being analysed by forensic scientists in Britain. | He was referring to suspected traces of blood found inside the apartment room where Madeleine was sleeping, which are now being analysed by forensic scientists in Britain. |
A service was held marking 100 days since Madeleine vanished | A service was held marking 100 days since Madeleine vanished |
Mr Sousa refused to confirm or deny reports in Portuguese newspapers that the sniffer dogs had detected odours of a dead body that had been in the apartment. | |
The police spokesman made it clear that other lines of inquiry have not been ruled out. | The police spokesman made it clear that other lines of inquiry have not been ruled out. |
He said Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends who had been on holiday with them were not being treated as suspects. | He said Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends who had been on holiday with them were not being treated as suspects. |
And he said witnesses might be interviewed again depending on the results of the forensic tests. | And he said witnesses might be interviewed again depending on the results of the forensic tests. |
'Journey of hope' | |
Under Portuguese law, police are not normally allowed to speak publicly about the details of an investigation. | Under Portuguese law, police are not normally allowed to speak publicly about the details of an investigation. |
Mr Sousa spoke after Kate and Gerry McCann attended a church service marking 100 days since Madeleine's disappearance. | Mr Sousa spoke after Kate and Gerry McCann attended a church service marking 100 days since Madeleine's disappearance. |
The church of Nossa Senhora da Luz was packed with holidaymakers and locals, many wearing green and yellow to symbolise hope. | |
A piper in Glasgow and Madeleine's grandmother Eileen McCann | |
Kate McCann asked the congregation to "stay with" her and her family as they continued their "journey of hope" and to keep Madeleine in their prayers. | Kate McCann asked the congregation to "stay with" her and her family as they continued their "journey of hope" and to keep Madeleine in their prayers. |
When the couple came out of the church they were greeted by loud applause from waiting holidaymakers and residents. | |
In recent days they have been forced to deny allegations they were somehow involved in Madeleine's disappearance. | |
Francisco Pagarete, the lawyer of the only suspect in the disappearance Robert Murat, has criticised her parents' alleged "strange" behaviour on the night she vanished. | |
Madeleine's grandparents Brian and Susan Healey manned a stall in the city centre of Liverpool, where they live, on Saturday asking for donations. | |
Mrs Healy, 62, said, "It's been very hard this week." | |
Lament | |
There are also prayers and pledges of support being said on Saturday by sports stars, including England rugby star Jonny Wilkinson, jockey Frankie Dettori and Everton Football Club. | |
Teams in the Premiership have been wearing T-shirts with Madeleine's image during their pre-match warm ups. | |
Among the international events is a Mass being held in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, France. | |
And a lone piper played a specially written lament for the missing girl at an international bagpipe event in Glasgow. | |
The four-year-old disappeared from the apartment room at the Praia da Luz resort on 3 May while her parents were eating with friends at a nearby restaurant. | The four-year-old disappeared from the apartment room at the Praia da Luz resort on 3 May while her parents were eating with friends at a nearby restaurant. |