Strong theory that Madeleine’s dead, says senior officer

ONE of the most senior police officers in Portugal said last night there was a “strong theory” that Madeleine McCann is dead.

Alipio Ribeiro, national director of the Portuguese judicial police, said forensic test results on blood traces from the holiday flat were due “imminently”.

But he said the quality of the traces found was “not very good” and it was possible they would be inconclusive. He told Spanish newspaper El Mundo: “Even though it’s a strong theory and there is always a possibility, we cannot say that she has died. It is the theory that we have to work with. It is on the table and is precisely what we are analysing.”

Asked if his force had any idea where Madeleine was, he said: “No. We have no idea where Madeleine could be.”

One British newspaper reported yesterday that blood traces found in the Praia da Luz holiday apartment where four-year-old Madeleine was snatched came from a man.

The results, printed in The Times, came at the end of a fortnight in which speculation has been rife that the little girl was murdered there.

Tiny spots of blood found smeared on the bedroom wall are being analysed by experts at the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham.

Mr Ribeiro refused to speculate on what would happen if it did turn out to be Madeleine’s blood, but said the results would be significant.

He said he was “optimistic” about getting to the bottom of the “very complex” case.

Asked if her parents were suspects, he said: “No. The parents have never been suspects. Never.”

Asked why they were not told about the strong suggestion that she was dead, he said: “They are being informed about what happens, but it is a very dynamic investigation. We can’t explain to them everything that we investigate.”

Mr Ribeiro said west London-born Robert Murat was still an “arguido” or suspect in the case.