UK Police Say Phone Records May Hold Key to Solving the Disappearance of Missing Madeleine McCann (Update: Was Maddy McCann ‘spotted alive weeks ago’?)

Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 2007 when the 3 year old disappeared while on vacation with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal. As reported at the BBC, British police believe that mobile phone records may hold the key to figuring out what happened to  Madeleine McCann. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood stated, officers were examining a “substantial amount of data” from thousands of mobile phones.

Scotland Yard officers are analyzing data from phones belonging to people in the village at the time – 41 people of interest have been identified. [...]
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the inquiry, said officers were examining a “substantial amount of data” from thousands of mobile phones thought to belong to people who were in the resort of Praia da Luz in the days just before, during and after Madeleine’s disappearance.

Police are trying to identify the owner of each phone to build up a picture of exactly who was in the area. More than 3,000 people live in Praia de Luz, while holidaymakers and seasonal workers visit from countries across the world.

Missing Madeleine McCann – Age progression

UPDATE I: Madeleine McCann – Police say it is “too early to speculate” over success of new Crimewatch appeal.

It is too early to speculate on the success of the latest Crimewatch appeal into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, police said today.

Met Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said it is hoped the TV appeal next week will produce new witnesses, but a conclusion to the case is not imminent.

A reconstruction featuring the “latest, most detailed understanding” of the events leading up to the youngster’s disappearance will be shown on BBC Crimewatch next Monday.

UPDATE II: Missing Madeleine McCann ‘was spotted alive weeks ago’.

A barrister revealed a man boasted to him he believes he met her on a Mediterranean island.

The man’s shock confession was made at a party in the North-west of England – and the lawyer was convinced by the level of detail.

The barrister, who wishes to remain anonymous, admitted he was shaken up by the encounter. Police were informed the next day.

Greater Manchester Police are preparing a file for Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange, which is leading the hunt for the youngster.

Breaking down in tears, the lawyer said: “I can’t tell you exactly why I believe what I was being told. It was just a gut feeling. I knew that by reporting it, it would compromise me in all sorts of ways.