The director of Faro Polícia Judiciária, Guilhermino Encarnação, has said that he is certain little Madeleine has been kidnapped, with police holding evidence that suggests that crime has been committed. It has been reported that the investigation team believe the abductor spent days watching Madeleine before committing the crime.
The police already have a portrait sketch of the suspect, whom they believe is a man, according to a statement given by the PJ director to the press. He said: “I am not going to reveal the sketch because it may put the girl’s life in danger. We believe that she is still alive and still in Portugal.”
The information the police received from 30 potential witnesses has been vital to the investigation.
The PJ requests that the abductor returns the child “as she is”. The PJ director said: “There’s nothing stopping him from contacting the police and telling us where he left the girl.”
Guilhermino Encarnação is actually hopeful that the girl is still in the Algarve as all ports, airports and borders have been put on high alert for any sign of the missing tot. However, according to the national press this morning, it took the Portuguese authorities 12 hours, from the disappearance of Madeleine, to place police forces controlling the borders, meaning that the abductor could have travelled out of the country with the three-year-old.
Updated 20:05, May 6, 2007
