A list of the key events in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on Thursday May 3 at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz.
This article was first published on
guardian.co.uk on Wednesday September 26 2007. It was last updated at 14:28 on September 26 2007.
Thursday May 3: Madeleine disappears from a holiday apartment at the Ocean Club resort in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz, while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Friday May 4: The McCanns make an emotional plea for Madeleine's safe return, directly appealing to their daughter's abductors and speaking of their "anguish and despair".
Saturday May 5: Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann, criticises the Portuguese police, claiming they are playing down her disappearance and are being "uncommunicative". Detectives say they believe she was abducted and is still alive and in Portugal. They also say they have a sketch of a suspect.
Wednesday May 9: A Norwegian tourist, Marie Olli, says she believes she saw Madeleine at a Moroccan petrol station asking a man: "Can I see mummy soon?" On the same day, a British man reports seeing a girl matching her description near the Ibis hotel in Marrakesh.
Monday May 14: Police launch a search at the Portuguese home of a British expatriate, Robert Murat, 100 yards from where Madeleine disappeared. He is questioned, but not formally arrested.
Tuesday May 15: Police class Mr Murat as an "arguido", or someone who has not been arrested or charged but is being treated by police as more than a witness. He claims he is being made a scapegoat in the investigation.
Saturday May 12: The McCanns mark Madeleine's fourth birthday by calling for people to redouble their efforts to find her.
Thursday May 24: Madeleine's family release what is believed to be the last photograph taken of her before she disappeared.
Friday May 25: In their first interviews, the McCanns say the "guilt" of not being with Madeleine will never leave them. After pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British government, police release a description of the man seen carrying a child on the night of Madeleine's disappearance. The man is described as white, approximately 35 to 40 years old, of medium build and 5ft 10ins tall. He was wearing a dark jacket, light beige trousers and dark shoes.
Wednesday June 6: Madeleine's parents deny any involvement in her abduction when questioned by a German journalist at a press conference in Berlin.
Saturday June 16: A British couple report seeing a small blonde girl in the Maltese capital, Valletta. A full-scale investigation is launched in the wake of a number of other possible sightings.
Sunday June 17: Portuguese police say Madeleine's friends and family may have unwittingly destroyed vital evidence in the first few hours after her presumed abduction, during their search for her. Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa says their well-meaning actions could prove "fatal" for the investigation.
Thursday June 28: Spanish police arrest an Italian man and a Portuguese woman suspected of trying to extort money from Madeleine's parents by offering them information about the missing girl.
Friday July 6: Dutch police reveal they have arrested a man in Eindhoven suspected of attempting to defraud Gerry and Kate McCann by demanding �?m (£1.35m) for information on her whereabouts.
Friday August 3: Details emerge of a possible sighting of Madeleine in Belgium. A child therapist says she is "100% sure" she saw the girl at a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren, near the Dutch border, on July 28. The witness says the girl was with a couple - a Dutch man and an English-speaking woman - who were acting strangely and not like "normal parents".
Saturday August 4: Police launch a second search of Robert Murat's house. No new evidence is found.
Monday August 6: A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the apartment where Madeleine went missing. Detectives now believe it is most likely that Madeleine is dead, having been killed accidentally, a Portuguese paper, the Jornal de Noticias, claims.
Thursday August 9: Mr Murat's lawyer criticises the McCanns' "strange" behaviour in leaving Madeleine alone on the night she vanished. Francisco Pagarete also claims people in Praia da Luz want "these bloody McCanns" to return home. The McCanns insist they will not be "bullied" into leaving Portugal.
Saturday August 11: On the 100th day of Madeleine's disappearance, police acknowledge publicly for the first time that Madeleine could be dead. Mr Sousa tells the BBC that new evidence has given "intensity" to the theory that she was killed. He says the parents are not considered suspects.
Sunday August 12: Mrs McCann tells Woman's Own magazine that she would rather know her daughter was dead than live in limbo forever.
Wednesday August 15: Blood traces found in the bedroom where Madeleine was sleeping the night she was snatched were not hers, the Times reports. Forensic results show the blood came from a man, it adds.
Tuesday August 21: Two women report seeing a youngster matching Madeleine's description with a man at a petrol station near Cartagena, in the south-east of Spain.
Saturday August 25: Mr McCann says he will be returning to work but insists his daughter may still be alive.
Friday August 31: The McCanns are to launch a libel action against a Portuguese newspaper that claimed police believe they killed their daughter, it emerges. The action will be against the Tal & Qual paper, based in Oporto.
Thursday September 6: Mrs McCann arrives at a Portuguese police station to face further questioning by detectives.
Friday September 7: Mrs McCann emerges from more than 10 hours of questioning. Later she is formally declared an arguido. Mr McCann writes on his blog that the suggestion his wife was involved in Madeleine's disappearance is ludicrous
Saturday September 8: Mr McCann is also given arguido status after further police questioning.
Sunday September 9: Mr and Mrs McCann return to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, with their twins, Sean and Amelie.
Monday September 10: Portuguese police sources suggest that DNA tests prove Madeleine's body had been in the boot of a car hired by her parents 25 days after she disappeared. Some DNA experts doubt the claims. The McCanns hire lawyers, including an extradition expert, from the London firm Kingsley Napley.
Tuesday September 11: A dossier outlining the police case against Mr and Mrs McCann is passed to the local prosecutor, Joao Cunha de Magalhaes, who then asks a judge to assess the information.
Sunday September 16: Sir Richard Branson reveals he is giving £100,000 to help cover the McCanns' legal costs.
Tuesday September 18: Clarence Mitchell, a former BBC reporter, confirms he has resigned as the head of the government's media monitoring unit to become the spokesman for the McCann family. His salary is paid by a Cheshire businessman, Brian Kennedy.
Wednesday September 19: The Evora district attorney general, Luis Bilro Verao, rules that there is not enough evidence to justify further questioning of the McCanns about the disappearance of their daughter.
Tuesday September 26: The McCanns express caution after the publication of a photograph of a woman carrying a girl bearing a resemblance to their daughter. The picture was taken in northern Morocco by a Spanish tourist on August 31.
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