UAE joins search for Madeleine

Loveday Morris

• Last Updated: November 03. 2009 10:53PM UAE / November 3. 2009 6:53PM GMT

Video courtesy the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre

Abu Dhabi // UAE police yesterday joined the worldwide search for the British girl Madeleine McCann, who vanished from her family’s apartment during a holiday in Portugal more than two years ago.

Abu Dhabi Police backed a new campaign, launched by Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) Centre, designed to raise awareness of the case.

Ceop has released a video showing what blue-eyed Madeleine might look like now if she is being held in the Middle East.

The move comes 30 months after Madeleine disappeared in the resort of Praia da Luz, days before her fourth birthday, in May 2007.

The 60-second video, called A Minute for Madeleine, is being supported by police forces in the UAE, the US, Canada, Australia and several European countries, as well as by Interpol.

A spokesman for Abu Dhabi Police confirmed that the force was supporting the campaign, but was unable to provide further details.

A spokeswoman for Ceop said: “The UAE police have been very supportive. They are using our Arabic version [of the film] and have agreed to give it as high a profile as possible in the UAE.”

The video is available in seven languages and shows two computer-generated images of Madeleine as she would be expected to look now, aged six.

While one image shows her with her familiar fair hair and light skin, the second gives her a darker, tanned complexion, to demonstrate how living in a hotter climate than her homeland may have affected her appearance.

She also has darker hair, to show what she would look like had it been dyed by an abductor.

“The images of Madeleine previously released were felt to have placed her in a much more western context,” said the spokeswoman.

“This is about making sure that people who are searching for her aren’t limited to that view of what she may look like.”

Madeleine disappeared after being left asleep in the rented apartment with her twin siblings while her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined with friends nearby.

When one of them went to check on the children, they discovered that Madeleine was missing. She has not been seen since.

Despite Portuguese police ending their own investigation into the abduction in July last year, Madeleine’s parents have continued their high-profile campaign to find their daughter.

In the months after her disappearance, there were several reported sightings of Madeleine in Morocco, prompting speculation that she may have been smuggled into North Africa.

However, none of the sightings were confirmed.

British police said the video had not been released in the light of any new information regarding Madeleine’s whereabouts, although the Middle East and North Africa were considered possible destinations had she been snatched by human traffickers.

“It’s not about making people think she may be in one place or another, it’s about spreading the message as widely as possible,” said the Ceop spokeswoman.

The film was put together with the help of psychologists. It includes home video footage of Madeleine playing with the twins. It also appeals to anyone with information to come forward.

“The person we are looking to reach is likely to be a partner, family member, friend or colleague of the person or people who were involved in Madeleine’s disappearance,” said Jim Gamble, the head of Ceop. “We want the message to become so widespread that it becomes a constant reminder to that person that it is never too late to do the right thing.”

Mr Gamble, who has more than 25 years of policing experience, said investigations involving missing children never closed, citing the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was found in California in August, 18 years after being abducted.

“We are extremely grateful to Ceop for launching this new message around the world in such an effective way,” Madeleine’s parents said in a statement.

“It is vital that it is seen and heard as widely as possible.”

lmorris@thenational.ae

* With additional reporting by David Sapsted