Paedophile Identified By Madeleine Cops Martin Brunt
Crime correspondent
Updated:22:32, Monday December 24, 2007
A list of 52 British paedophiles suspected of possible involvement in Madeleine McCann's disappearance has been whittled down to just one, Sky News can exclusively reveal.
British police gave Portuguese detectives the details of 52 UK sex offenders with links to the Algarve, and all but one has now been eliminated.
The private detective employed by Kate and Gerry McCann is also focusing on the possibility that British paedophiles were involved in her abduction, Sky News has learned.
Ever since Madeleine disappeared on May 3, police have been looking for a blue tennis bag that went missing around that time.
The bag - big enough to carry a small child - belonged to her father, Gerry McCann, who had been playing tennis at the complex that afternoon.
Gerry and Kate McCann have always denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, though they remain arguidos, official suspects.
Another twist is the discovery that the McCanns' holiday apartment is owned by another McCann - Ruth McCann, a teacher from Liverpool.
Apparently, she is no relation, but the coincidence is enough to add one more conspiracy theory to the thousands that continue to circulate.
Even now, when I talk to people about Madeleine many cannot understand why Kate and Gerry McCann left her and their two-year-old twins alone while they dined with friends at the nearby tapas bar.
Kate and Gerry McCann
Mr McCann said it was much the same as them dining in their back garden at home, so as part of our new half-hour programme I was filmed walking from the restaurant table to the apartment.
I strolled through the restaurant garden, out onto the road and up the hill.
It was 80 paces just to the apartment gate.
We also rented an apartment that is close to, and is an exact replica of, the McCann holiday home.
We showed, for the first time, the layout inside and illustrate how easily an abductor might have taken Madeleine.
Also in the programme, police experts explained how every explored theory about Madeleine's disappearance is unlikely.
She appears, still, to have vanished into thin air.