Police Funds Extended For Madeleine McCann Case
Nearly eight years have passed since Madeleine McCann disappeared in the Portuguese town of Praia da Luz with no sign of the British girl. On Saturday, the U.K. police were granted $103,000 in funds to extend the search for the missing girl for another six months.
The search for Madeleine will continue between April and September this year, authorities said. The girl was 3 years old when she went missing, and if she is alive she would be 11 now. The operation to look for Medeleine, called Operation Grange, was launched in May 2011.
"Following an application from the Metropolitan Police for Special Grant funding, the Home Office has confirmed £85,000 in operational costs for Operation Grange for the period 1 April until September 2017," a spokeswoman for the Home Office said, according to BBC. "As with all applications, the resources required are reviewed regularly and careful consideration is given before any new funding is allocated."
Madeleine, who lived in Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luzin in May 2007. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have vowed to "never give up" hope of finding their daughter.
Madeleine’s parents were named as official suspects four months after her disappearance, but Portuguese police dropped the case in July 2008 due to lack of evidence.
Police have arrested several people in connection to the case since 2007, and in 2014 news spread they questioned a person of interest for a second time. However, Robert Murat, who was a suspect in the case, was later cleared by Portuguese authorities.
“My conscience is clear and I have no problem speaking to police again,” Murat told the Guardian after the second round of questioning. “I have more important things to worry about, like running my business, paying my taxes and I also need to paint my house.”
The initial Portuguese investigation into Madeleine's disappearance saw a series of mistakes that were made in the early hours of the probe.
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