According to the latest tabloid stories coming out of UK, Metropolitan police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are about to start digging in three areas in Praia da Luz – the holiday village from where the three-year-old went missing in 2007.
The Daily Mirror promises “earth diggers everywhere” and claims “it will be very dramatic”, while the Daily Mail adds that police will “not specifically be looking for a body” but more “hoping to rule possible scenarios out as well as find new information”.
The news follows endless stories of very different potential suspects – the latest of whom appears to be 77-year-old paedophile Roderick Robinson who jumped bail on child molestation charges in Australia and has since apparently changed his name and fled to the Far East.
The fact that Robinson was arrested on Olhão campsite in 2010 – three years after Madeleine went missing – is reported in the Daily Mail as being of vital interest to Metropolitan Police.
Meantime the Met is said to be waiting for the go-ahead from its Portuguese counterparts before forensic teams can start digging up areas in Luz.
Both the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror mention three sites – two near the Ocean Club resort where Madeleine and her family were staying, and one on the beach.
But the prospect of “diggers everywhere” just as the seaside village starts filling up with tourists for the summer season does not seem to be troubling Luz residents – few of whom are taking the story seriously.
“This is beyond parody,” said a former RAF navigator who has been following the mystery intently since 2007.
“But what this latest story would seem to suggest is that the abduction theory is now well and truly out the window.
“We’ve had so many people suspected of abducting the child, but none of them were thought to have been in the possession of heavy-duty earth-digging equipment when they did so.”
By NATASHA DONN [email protected]
