Madeleine McCann wasn’t quite four years old when she vanished from her family’s rented vacation home in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. Her parents said they were out at dinner while Madeleine slept with her siblings; when they returned, she was gone without a trace. Now, after a review by the Scotland Yard that took two years, they say they have formally reopened the case and are hoping to find something, anything, that will point them in the direction of what happened to little Madeleine.
The McCanns, Kate and Gerry, were considered prime suspects right after the disappearance but have since been cleared. The news of a new investigation comes on the heels of the shocking revelation in Cleveland earlier this year, when three women who have been missing for a decade were rescued from their captor’s home.
“The Home Office remains committed to supporting the search for Madeleine McCann. We have agreed to provide the Metropolitan Police with the resources they need to investigate her disappearance,” a Scotland Yard spokesman said in a statement.
The initial investigation, handled by Portuguese police, was widely criticized for not following through with potential leads. After the McCanns pleaded with UK officials to partner with them, it was decided that there is still enough evidence and “people of interest” that went overlooked to justify reopening–and funding–another look.
Madeleine would have been ten in May, and her parents released a digitally-enhanced photo showing what she may look like now, hoping that anyone with any clues to her whereabouts will come forward.