Police have seized a computer used by Gerry McCann in Portugal. And they will apply to a judge to scour his emails and websites he visited after daughter Madeleine disappeared. The swoop was revealed as Gerry and wife Kate admitted for the first time that four-year-old Maddie is “probably” dead. The also had to face shock new allegations from Portuguese cops, who say DNA from a decomposing body has been found in their Renault Scenic hire car.
A police source said evidence was discovered on the UNDERSIDE of the boot’s carpet, indicating a corpse was deliberately hidden. The claim emerged as cops searched a huge reservoir 15 miles from Praia da Luz, where Maddie vanished on May 3. The desktop computer was said to have been “hired” by cardiolo-gist Gerry, 39, and installed in the McCanns’ rented villa. It was seized from a shop in the resort. Homicide specialists want to check for any inconsistencies with information previously given to Portuguese detectives by the McCanns. But they must get permission from a judge as Gerry’s privacy will be invaded.
The PC could contain correspondence with high-profile supporters such as David Beckham, Sir Richard Branson and JK Rowling. Last night a source close to the McCanns’ legal team said cops are “more than welcome” to examine the computer. The source added: “Gerry was loaned a PC by a local shop which he used a few times.
“All that’s on it are a few notes he made and the phone numbers of journalists.”
A friend of the McCanns – now at home in Rothley, Leics – rubbished the body-in-the-boot allegations.
The pal said: “Surely if there was conclusive evidence Kate and Gerry would be under arrest.
“They have nothing to hide and anything that may have been found can be explained.”
The couple’s fear that Maddie may no longer be alive was voiced by their spokesman Clarence Mitchell.
He said: “They are realistic enough to know there is a probability she is dead.
“They have not given up hope she could still be alive and is being looked after somewhere.
“But human nature is that you always fear the worst.” Source The Sun
Further information on the child pornography
A trawl through thousands of child pornography pictures has failed to produce any leads in the search for Madeleine McCann. Portuguese police seized the images in raids on the homes of suspected paedophiles last week. Madeleine’s parents – Gerry and Kate – were said last night to have reacted to the development with mixed emotions “They’re torn between huge relief that she’s not been found in the clutches of a paedophile ring, and dismay that the investigation has hit yet another brick wall,” said a friend.
“They continue to hope and pray that Madeleine will be found safe and well.”
The raids, dubbed Operation Predator, were not formally linked to the Madeleine investigation but officers trawled through thousands of pictures and videos in an attempt to find a link to the four-year-old. Any clues to her whereabouts would have been passed to the detectives leading the search. Child protection officers found hundreds of images of light-haired children on the seized computers, including some whose faces had been digitally distorted to stop them being recognised. Detectives used software to unscramble the children’s faces but said none closely resembled Madeleine who went missing in the Algarve on May 3.
They are understood to have used advanced technology similar to that employed by Interpol last week in the unmasking of a European paedophile who had posted hundreds of images of himself online. The offender, codenamed Vico, had protected his identity by digitally altering his face. He was shown sexually abusing boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. Source Daily Mail
