McCann family 'destroyed key Madeline evidence'

Madeleine McCann's friends and family may have destroyed vital evidence in the first few hours after her abduction, according to Portuguese police.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa said it was proving difficult for the forensic teams because so many people crowded into the room where she was taken. Their well-meaning actions could prove "fatal" for the investigation, the police officer warned.

His comments came as Kate and Gerry McCann marked 45 days since their four-year-old disappeared with no breakthrough in the case and were described as "very unhelpful" by a source close to the family.

Mr Sousa, a spokesman for the Policia Judiciara, said more than 20 people had gone into the McCann's Mark Warner holiday apartment on May 3, the night Madeleine disappeared.

Among them were friends, family, other holidaymakers and staff from the Ocean Club resort who touched furniture and opened and closed doors.

He told Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias: "The presence of so many people - especially in the room where the little girl slept with her brother and sister - could have at least complicated the work of the forensic team. At the very worst they would have destroyed all the evidence. This could prove to be fatal for the investigation."

DNA samples have been taken from the bedroom and sent to three forensic laboratories in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra - part of the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (INML).

On June 1 a source at the laboratory revealed DNA samples of a "stranger" had been recovered from the room. Police are still waiting for further results.

The McCanns were said to be "dismayed" by Mr Sousa's remarks. A source close to the family said: "It's insensitive at the very least. Of course the family are going to search the apartment. If your child goes missing, you search under the beds, in the wardrobes, behind the doors, everywhere.

"It's inevitable that there were people in the bedroom. Even if what the police are saying is true, it's very unhelpful to say it publicly."