Detective Insists Madeleine ‘Could Still Be Found Alive’

Detectives believe Madeleine McCann could still be alive, despite the drastically scaled back investigation into her disappearance nine years ago. Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bedroom at a Praia de Luz resort in the Algarve on May 3, 2007. She would be thirteen-years-old this May. Now Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie of Scotland Yard's Homicide and Major Crime Command has spoken out to say that, despite the team being cut from 30 people to just four, there is "always a possibility" Madeleine will be returned to her parents Gerry and Kate. "There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive." he told The Evening Standard. "That's what we want and that's what the family and the public want and that is why the Home Office continue to fund it. There is work that needs to be done still." Mr Duthie confirmed the team will seek more money from the Home Office to continue the search when the current six-month funding runs out. "There is a missing girl and if she has been murdered and if we think we have got justifiable and reasonable lines of inquiry to pursue then they should be dealt with." he said.