Madeleine McCann case is still a 'missing person' investigation, Met chief insists
Scotland Yard is still treating the Madeleine McCann inquiry as a missing person investigation despite German police claiming to have evidence that she was murdered, the Met Commissioner has said.
Dame Cressida Dick confirmed there was still a small team of detectives working on the case and said they would continue to do so while funding was available, until someone was brought to justice, or until all possible opportunities had been exhausted.
In June German police identified convicted sex attacker Christian Brueckner, as the prime suspect in her murder, but said they did not have enough evidence to charge him. He has denied any involvement.
In the summer Scotland Yard said they had not seen any definite evidence to confirm whether Madeleine was dead or alive.
Dame Cressida has said there had been no change to that “posture” and it remained a missing person invstigation.
Asked if the authorities in Berlin had shared all its intelligence with Scotland Yard, she said: “ I would not expect necessarily, every single piece of material to be shared with us. I'm sure they're sharing the relevant things at the relevant times with us. We are working really, really closely with them.”
She added: “We do have our small team still working on that and there is no significant change for us in terms of our resourcing or posture.
“As you know, we have some funding to continue that and we are continuing it. We will continue until the time that it is right, either because much more light has been thrown on this and, or, somebody has been brought to justice. Or, if we feel we have exhausted all possible opportunities.
"We're not any of those stages at the moment, and the team continues.”
Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz two years before Madeleine disappeared.
