Madeleine McCann: police receive 1,000 calls and emails after fresh Crimewatch appeal

 
New appeal: A scene from the reconstruction aired last night
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Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have received nearly 1,000 calls and emails from the public in an “overwhelming” response to a new TV appeal.

More than 730 people called appeal numbers and more than 212 people emailed information after police released new e-fit images of possible suspects.

Several people have given the same name for an image of a man seen carrying a child in pyjamas at the time Madeleine vanished.

The BBC Crimewatch appeal last night came as police revealed they believe her disappearance has all the hallmarks of a "pre-planned abduction".

Madeleine, from Leicestershire, was nearly four years old when she disappeared from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.

The new appeal features two e-fits of a man seen carrying a child towards the beach at 10pm on the night Madeleine disappeared, just moments before her mother returned to the apartment to check on her children.

In a significant development police say they have now ruled out a sighting of a man carrying a child who was once considered a key suspect in the original Portugese inquiry.

He has been identified as a holidaymaker who was picking up his two-year-old child from a night creche at the Ocean Club complex.

The development has shifted the inquiry’s focus to a later sighting at 10pm when an Irish family reported seeing a man walking towards the beach carrying a blonde girl in pyjamas who appeared to be in an uncomfortable position with her head slumped against him.

Police say that among those to call the hotline were several British holidaymakers who were in the resort of Praia da Luz at the time who have not yet spoken to the Met.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he was "extremely pleased" with the response to the programme.

He said: "We will now take the time to follow up these lines of enquiry.”

Detectives believe the three-year-old may have been abducted by an organised crime group who checked out the apartments at the resort in the days before she went missing.

Mr Redwood said one reading of the evidence is that the kidnapping had "the hallmarks of a pre-planned abduction that would undoubtedly have involved reconnaissance".

Scotland Yard said it was also looking into possible links to burglaries and bogus charity collections in the area.

Witnesses described the man in the new e-fits as white, aged between 20-40, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean-shaven.

Investigators are also trying to identify mysterious fair-haired men seen "lurking around" the apartment at the time who could be Dutch or German, and TV appeals will be run in Holland and Germany.

Two e-fits of the fair-haired men have been released.

Efits: Police released these images today of a man they say is of 'vital importance' in the Madeleine McCann inquiry

One is of a man who was seen twice by the same witness near the flat where the McCanns were staying. He was 30 to 35, thin, with short hair, shaving spots on his face and was wearing a black leather jacket. Another witness saw a similar-looking man in the resort.

Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said several callers had given the same name for the man spotted carrying a child towards the beach.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It's been a truly unprecedented response.

“Significantly there were lots of calls from British people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine's disappearance who had never previously spoken to the Met so there's lots of information coming through there.

"They received several names for the key 10pm sighting, the sighting of a man carrying a child towards the beach. Several different names but also several callers mentioned the same name for that man."

Mr Mather said there were "inevitably a fair few calls" which were not helpful but said there were "genuinely calls that were helpful" after last night's broadcast.

"I think the police are very, very pleased with how it went. I think it went better than they potentially expected."

Police also announced a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for Madeleine's disappearance.

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