Timeline Of Events 50 Days, Still Hoping

Four-year-old Madeleine McCann from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared on May 3 during a holiday with her parents in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.Here is a chronology of developments:May 3 - The girl goes missing from her bedroom between 9.30 and 10 p.m. while her parents Kate and Gerry are dining just 100 yards away at the Mark Warner Ocean Club holiday resort in Praia da Luz. A window and shutter are open and she is presumed to have been abducted.May 4 - McCann family members and British media criticise local police for what they call a slow initial response, failure to notify ports and borders in time, and failure to secure the crime scene, which may have led to vital clues being lost.Police say that under Portuguese secrecy laws they are unable to reveal details of the investigation.May 5 - Police say they have put together a sketch of a suspect and confirm they believe Madeleine is still alive and being held within three miles of the crime scene. Media reports say the sketch is vague and only features the back of a man's head.May 8 - Police say they have investigated 350 suspicious incidents but still have no idea where she might be.Portuguese newspaper Correio de Manha says Madeleine may have been kidnapped by a paedophile ring.Two criminal behaviour experts fly in from Britain.Manchester United's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo joins appeals for her release.May 10 - The search around the resort winds down. Attention focuses on a blonde woman seen acting suspiciously before the girl's disappearance.May 11 - Scottish businessman Stephen Winyard offers a one million pound reward.Former England soccer captain David Beckham makes televised appeal for information.May 12 - Madeleine turns four.May 13 - Virgin boss Richard Branson, author J.K. Rowling and footballer Wayne Rooney are among those to have contributed to rewards now totalling 2.5 million pounds.May 13 - Half a million pilgrims attending the 90th anniversary of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary at the Sanctuary of Fatima pray for Madeleine's return.May 14 - Her parents say they will not return home until they have found her but say they think she is safe.Police search a villa just up the road from where Madeleine was snatched and take a British man, Robert Murat, to a police station for questioning. He is later released.May 15 - Police say they have identified a suspect but do not have enough evidence for an arrest.Five properties have been searched in the area, and two other people questioned as witnesses.May 16 - Deputy PM John Prescott tells parliament the government is doing everything it can to support Madeleine's parents.Portuguese police interview a computer technician as a witness, identified by local media as a Russian man, and take away computers for examination.Family sets up public appeal fund.May 17 - Web site, www.findmadeleine.com, is launched.May 18 - Multi-national companies help distribute appeal posters.Several newspapers have started talking of media overkill.May 19 - Appeals are broadcast at the F.A. Cup final at the new Wembley stadium.May 25 - Gerry and Kate McCann speak of their guilt over Madeleine's disappearance.May 30 - They meet Pope Benedict during a general audience at the VaticanJune 1 - The couple travel to neighbouring Spain where they hold a news conference to appeal for help from Spanish police.June 6 - They take their appeal to Berlin. The Algarve is popular among Germans. They move on to Amsterdam. After British and German tourists, the largest group of nationals who make up the tourists in the Algarve are the Dutch.June 7 - On their return to the Algarve, a classical and jazz concert is held in honour of Madeleine.Web site has received more than 170 million hits.June 10 - The couple fly to Morocco. British media reports suggest it might be the last country they visit before "taking stock" of their campaign.June 13 - Police start searching an area of deserted scrubland 20 km north of Praia da Luz after a tip-off to a Dutch newspaper. They find nothing.June 20 - On a visit to London, Gerry McCann has his wallet stolen. He loses precious pictures of MadeleineJune 21 - Police in Malta check two reports of possible sightings.June 22 - Worldwide balloon release to mark the 50th day since Madeleine's disappearance.

School in Madeliene Tribute

Children at the school Madeleine McCann should be starting in September are lending their help in the search for the missing four-year-old.They have spelled out the words "Find Madeleine" in the grounds of Bishop Ellis Catholic Primary in Leicester.It comes after Portuguese police said Madeleine McCann's family and friends may have destroyed vital evidence in the hours after she was snatched.The Inspector leading the case claims so many crowded into the room where she was taken, it was proving difficult for forensic teams.More than 20 people entered the apartment in Praia da Luz the night Madeleine went missing over six weeks ago.

Straight from the news

LISBON (Reuters) - Portuguese police on Monday searched a villa up the road from where four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann was snatched and took a British man to a police station for questioning, local television reported.Local broadcaster SIC Noticias said a member of the family at the villa often spoke to reporters and had said Madeleine looked like his daughter in England.Police sealed the villa for forensic tests, SIC Noticias said. The man is said to have helped Portuguese police and had acted as a translator.The search took place as the parents of the girl kidnapped 11 days ago said they remained positive their daughter was safe and vowed to keep up the search for her."Until there is concrete evidence to the contrary, we believe that Madeleine is safe and being looked after and that is how we can continue in our efforts,' said Gerry McCann in a statement read to reporters on Monday."We can't even consider returning home at the moment, I absolutely can't even let it enter my head," his wife, Kate, said when asked when she was considering going home.The McCanns praised the Portuguese police for their work and thanked people for the widespread support they had received.Celebrity donations have pushed up the reward offered for Madeleine's safe return to 2.6 million pounds.Harry Potter author JK Rowling, tycoons Sir Philip Green and Sir Richard Branson, Wayne Rooney and Simon Cowell have all contributed and a special fighting fund is being set up.It was the first time Kate McCann had answered questions from the media since Madeleine was snatched from her bed on May 3 in a popular resort in the Algarve in southern Portugal, just yards from where her parents were dining in a nearby restaurant.On Sunday Portugal's leading investigator, Olegario Sousa, said some potential leads had been eliminated, but there have been no arrests in connection with Madeleine's abduction

HOT OF THE PRESS! We have a suspect!

Portuguese police said on Tuesday they have identified a suspect in their investigation of the kidnapping of four-year-old Madeleine McCann.On Monday they searched a villa close to the complex from where she went missing more than a week ago and took away a British man, Robert Murat, for questioning."There is a suspect," a spokeswoman for the judicial police said but gave no further details.It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had been arrested. In Portugal police can identify a suspect without arresting the person.Murat often spoke to reporters in the days just after the disappearance of Madeleine, saying she looked like his daughter in England. His mother's house, "Casa Liliana," is about 150 metres from the resort apartment where the McCann family was staying when their daughter disappeared.Local television showed images of the house, which had a large green gate.Police were seen leaving the house late on Monday after entering it early in the day. Police drained the swimming pool at the house, according to local media.A British man questioned by police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been officially classed as a "suspect".Robert Murat was questioned late on Monday night while forensic experts searched his house just yards from where the four-year-old was snatched 12 days ago.He was one of three people questioned by detectives in the town of Portimao. All three were released overnight.Although he has not been charged and is not believed to be in custody, it is thought he is the first person to be formally classed as a suspect.Among items taken from the house which was searched on Monday night were videotapes and a computer, witnesses said.Under Portuguese law, people who are questioned are not under arrest but simply treated as witnesses.Arrests can only be made when police consider someone a suspect or possible suspect and then they require a court order before they can be cast as such.Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the Madeleine McCann investigation, said on Tuesday that a British man in his thirties taken from the house which was searched has now been classed as an "arguido".Madeleine was snatched from her bed in the resort town of Praia da Luz on May 3 while her parents were dining nearby. There has been no news of her whereabouts since.

First suspect in maddy case.... I'm A Scapegoat

The first formal suspect in the investigation into the abduction of Madeleine McCann says he has been made a "scapegoat".Robert Murat spoke for the first time since being questioned by Portuguese police as Madeleine's family prepared to step up its international campaign to find her.The former property developer said he would only survive the ordeal if Madeleine's abductor was caught to clear his name.Efforts to that end will step up a gear when Madeleine's uncle and aunt John and Philomena McCann lobby MPs and Lords in parliament to support their cause.Portuguese police said they did not have enough evidence to formally arrest or charge their suspect.Mr Murat was questioned while his house, just yards from where the four-year-old was snatched from her bed, was searched by forensic experts.Speaking off camera to Sky News he said: "This has ruined my life and has made things very difficult for my family here and in Britain."The only way I will survive this is if they catch Madeleine's abductor."I have been made a scapegoat for something I did not do."Mr Murat's mother's villa, at the end of the road which leads to the flat where the McCanns were staying when the youngster was snatched, was one of five properties in the area of Praia Da Luz which was searched.Despite the intense focus near the flat where they are living, waiting for a breakthrough, the McCanns have carried on with family life as normal.

Gordon Brown shows support with the rest of government.... bring her home!

Chancellor Gordon Brown offered to help the family of Madeleine McCann on Wednesday as they continued their search in Portugal for the missing four-year-old.The girl's aunt Philomena McCann said Brown gave her "moral support", while Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told MPs the government was doing "everything it could to help".Some MPs wore yellow ribbons in support of the family, who are enduring their 13th day since Madeleine was snatched from their villa on the Algarve in southern Portugal."Like everyone in the country, we hope and pray for the safe return of Madeleine," Prescott told parliament.In Leicester, Gerry and Kate McCann's family, friends and colleagues launched a fund to help pay for the rising costs of the search."This fund will be a vehicle to help our family get our darling wee niece back," the girl's uncle John McCann told a news conference.Former England rugby union captain Martin Johnson lent his support, saying: "As a parent, as a father, it really does hit home."Portuguese police said on Tuesday they had identified a suspect in their investigation.A day earlier, they searched a villa close to the complex from where Madeleine went missing and took away a British man, Robert Murat, for questioning."There is a suspect," a spokeswoman for the judicial police said but there is not enough evidence to make an arrest."The judicial police continue to follow the strongest lead and we hope that in the short term there will be more developments," chief inspector Olegario Sousa told a news conference.Murat often spoke to reporters in the days just after the May 3 disappearance of Madeleine, saying she looked like his daughter in England.His mother's house, "Casa Liliana," is about 150 metres from the resort apartment where the McCann family was staying when their daughter disappeared.

Search To Be Extended Across Europe!!!

Police are investigating a web designer linked to the key suspect in the Madeleine McCann investigation.Detectives swooped on the home of 22-year-old Sergey Malinka, who designed a website for suspect Robert Murat, in Praia da Luz.After spending two hours inside, the plain clothes officers emerged carrying two hard drives, a laptop and a black bin bag full of items.Mr Malinka, who neighbours said was Russian and lived in the town for around seven years, was brought out by the detectives and driven off.During the search a courtyard surrounding the entrance to his apartment where he was believed to live with his parents, was sealed off.The search followed the announcement on Tuesday by Portugal's Policia Judiciaria that they now had a suspect.Mr Murat, who strenuously denies any involvement in Madeleine's abduction, was taken in for questioning by the PJ two nights ago before being released.While he was being questioned, police were searching his mother's house just a short distance from where Madeleine was snatched. Among items said to have been removed was a computer and other communications equipment.Although police say they do not have enough evidence to charge or even formally arrest Mr Murat, he is the first person they have formally cast as a "Arguido" - suspect.The latest twist in the case came on the day that relatives of the McCanns launched a fighting fund to pay for international efforts aimed at bringing Madeleine home safely.