Crimewatch appeal for Madeleine McCann

A BBC Crimewatch appeal relating to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is due to be aired on Monday.

The Metropolitan Police said the appeal would feature “the most detailed reconstruction” of the case yet.

It will also broadcast e-fits of a number of men police want to find.

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she disappeared in May 2007 from her family’s holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal whilst her parents were with friends at a nearby restaurant.

The purpose of the Crimewatch appeal, which police are describing as the “most complex and detailed” so far in the case, is to try to identify a number of e-fits, or computer-generated images, of men who were sighted in and around Praia da Luz on or before Thursday 3 May 2007.

A 25-minute reconstruction of events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance will be featured in Monday’s programme.

A clip released ahead of the broadcast shows an actress playing Madeleine running across a tennis court whilst her parents play a game.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is heading the investigation, said: “The timeline we have now established has given new significance to sightings and movements of people in and around Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.”

DCI Redwood added: “Our work to date has significantly changed the timeline and the accepted version of events that has been in the public domain to date.

“It has allowed us to work with Crimewatch to build the most detailed reconstruction as yet, and highlight very specific appeal points.”

“I hope that when the public see our investigative strands drawn together within the overall context of that appeal, it will bring in new information that moves our investigation forward.”

Madeleine’s parents will make a live appeal in the studio ahead of the broadcast and again during the programme.

Earlier this month, police said phone records may be crucial to the case after it transpired that officers were analysing data from phones belonging to people who were in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing.

The Crimewatch appeal, which will be shown on BBC One on Monday at 9pm, will also be broadcast in the Netherlands and Germany.

Simon Wyatt