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Post by Admin on Jul 29, 2015 8:57:35 GMT
Detectives investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann have contacted police in Australia over the discovery of a child’s body in a suitcase. The skeletal remains of a female, fair-haired child were found in the case, along with a quilt and items of clothing near the Karoonda Highway, about 2km west of the Wynarka township in the Murray Mallee on July 15, local police said. The little girl is thought to have been aged between two and four when she was violently killed around eight years ago. Blonde Madeleine was three-years-old when she went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007. Australian authorities have so far been unable to identify the girl, whose remains are believed to have been dumped on the roadside along with a distinctive blanket around four months ago. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said today: "We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities." But Australian police have ruled out the link between the body and one of the most high profile missing person cases in the world. Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said there is "absolutely no evidence" that the child is Madeleine, The Australian newspaper reported. He told a parliamentary estimates committee hearing: "There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann ... to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention.
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Post by Admin on Aug 6, 2015 1:49:08 GMT
Eye-scanners used to track terrorists are being adapted to help search for missing children. Researchers at a Pittsburgh university have developed high-resolution cameras that can be placed at major checkpoints, such as airports and border crossings, to scan a person's iris from 40-feet away. It means missing people could be identified through their eye's iris, even if their physical appearance has altered drastically. 'This is breakthrough technology for locating missing children, especially victims of human trafficking,' said Marios Savvides, director of the CyLab Biometrics Center at Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering. 'Right now law enforcement has only photos of missing children to work with, but appearance can change.' 'We're giving them a biometric that really cannot be altered,' he told Fox News. The technology could help children like British girl Madeleine McCann who went missing from a holiday apartment in Portugal, eight years ago, just days before her fourth birthday. Pictures circulated of the blonde youngster focused on a distinctive mark on her right eye that her family hope will still lead to her identification, years later. But this technology would go beyond anything that could be seen by the naked eye, scientists say.
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Post by Admin on Aug 17, 2015 2:32:45 GMT
A mother whose nine-year-old daughter was abducted and murdered has hit out at controversial comedian Frankie Boyle for making jokes about missing Madeleine McCann. Patricia Cardy (67) told the Belfast Telegraph last night she was offended Boyle used the disappearance of children to crack a 'joke'. Boyle made the jibe during a Feile an Phobail performance in west Belfast which already had been overshadowed by his previous material aimed at Down's Syndrome children. Patricia Cardy's daughter Jennifer was just nine when she was abducted from her home at Ballinderry near Lisburn in 1981. Her body was later found in a dam at Hillsborough, Co Down. Reacting to Boyle's 'joke' about Madeleine McCann, Mrs Cardy, now a great-grandmother, said the subject was neither funny nor suitable for humour. "It has offended me in the sense he has used this to promote laughter and that would be all I would say. I don't think anything can promote laughter that is not laughable, and that would be all I would say. You cannot promote laughter by something that is not laughable - and that's where I stand."
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Post by Admin on Aug 19, 2015 1:23:21 GMT
Mitchell was a managing director for Burson-Marsteller until February, when he resigned in order to contest the Brighton Pavilion seat for the Conservatives at the general election in May, where he failed to unseat Caroline Lucas. He has now opened Clarence Mitchell Communications, with the public affairs agency JBP thought to be among his founding clients. He told The Guardian he intended to continue representing the McCanns "as and when needed" and that he would take individuals, families and companies on as clients. Mitchell began representing the McCann family full-time in 2007 after he stepped down from his role as director of media monitoring for the Cabinet Office. He was also the Foreign Office media liaison officer for the McCann parents in the months immediately following their daughter’s disappearance. Before his government role, Mitchell was a journalist for 25 years, both in print and as a BBC broadcaster. In addition to Burson-Marsteller he has worked for Lewis PR and Freud Communications. Amanda Pierce, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, said: "I would like to thank him for everything he did here and I wish him the best with his endeavours."
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Post by Admin on Sept 14, 2015 13:34:30 GMT
Scotland Yard has made a fresh plea to Portuguese authorities for help over the Madeleine McCann case. Prosecutors in Lisbon confirmed they received a letter in July and said it will be passed on to detectives. It is not known what the request is but it comes amid calls for the £11million police probe to be shelved. Scotland Yard has spent £11million on the Operation Grange investigation but has made no arrests. A source close to Portuguese police said: “This letter shows the investigation is still very much alive. “Both the British and Portuguese police are still working together to try to find out what happened to Madeleine. The case is not about to be shelved.” The request is the second made since Det Chief Insp Nicola Wall took over Operation Grange from former boss Andy Redwood. It is the sixth official letter sent by Scotland Yard to the Portuguese authorities since the probe was launched. A source close to Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry said: “They are pleased so many officers are still looking for Madeleine.”
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