Madeleine McCann Case 2017 Update: Police Receive Additional Cash as Hunt for 'Critical Witness' Continues
As the disappearance of Madeleine McCann reaches its 10th anniversary, detectives working on the case are expected to further intensify their investigations, especially now that they received an additional financial boost.
According to a report from the Mirror, the detectives involved in "Operation Grange," Scotland Yard's Maddie investigation, received an additional £154,000. The extra cash was given to help them trace a female witness who may hold some vital information on the mysterious disappearance of McCann back in May of 2007.
The witness, who is said to be of Eastern European descent, allegedly lived near the McCann family's holiday flat in Portugal where the then three-year-old child disappeared, reported The Sun. Moreover, a source also said that the woman "may have seen or heard something which to her may seem insignificant," but was crucial to the police's investigation.
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"If she recognises herself she should contact police. She has nothing to fear. This is just to eliminate her from enquiries," the source added.
Prior to the latest financial boost, "Operation Grange" had already spent £12 million. Meanwhile, police investigators believe that Madeleine may have been taken after a burglary that had gone wrong. Back in March, Mark Rowley, chief of Scotland Yard, said that they are still working on "critical leads" of "great interest."
"I know we have a significant line of inquiry which is worth pursuing, and because it's worth pursuing it could provide an answer, but until we've gone through it I won't know whether we are going to get there or not," explained Rowley.
To date, the police had already investigated on 60 persons of interest on top of 560 lines of inquiry. The possibility of Madeleine's parents being involved in the former's disappearance has already been ruled out. Gerry and Kate McCann, Madeleine's parents, were out for dinner in a nearby restaurant when their daughter disappeared.
Since then, an appeal that has crossed the boundaries of Portugal was launched to find the little girl. There have also been reports of alleged sightings, though none of them were confirmed.
