Police in Portugal have begun a fresh trawl for evidence which could incriminate Gerry and Kate McCann. Among the items they are said to want to seize is their missing daughter Madeleine's Cuddle Cat toy, which was examined by forensic teams in the summer. They have also demanded Mrs McCann's diary. (Daily Mail Headline Portuguese police want to seize Madeleine's Cuddle Cat again' Friday 4th January 2008)The requests suggest officers remain hopeful of bringing charges against the four-year-old's parents. Police already have photocopies of the diary but these would not be admissable in court.
Police yesterday made a formal request for British police to re-interview the seven friends who were on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine disappeared. They submitted a catalogue of questions they want answered to the judge in Portugal overseeing the case.They also included the list of items they would like seized. Leaks have previously suggested these would include the diary kept by Mrs McCann.
She was advised by a trauma counsellor to keep a journal and to include the days before Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3.
Detectives took the diary and photocopied it, then leaked sections to the Portuguese media in which Mrs McCann allegedly wrote that her eldest daughter was hyperactive and said she could not cope. Officers used the excerpts to suggest the GP could have been sedating her children. Mrs McCann has always denied the claims.
Police were also said to want to seize clothes and other items - including the pink soft toy Cuddle Cat - on which trained sniffer dogs allegedly picked up the "scent of death".
Detectives have long questioned why Mrs McCann was so attached to Cuddle Cat and why, if it was her last link with Madeleine, she allowed it to be washed.They have suggested the toy was cleaned to destroy any potential DNA evidence, such as blood. Mrs McCann said it had simply become too grubby.
