Madeleine McCann police are searching for an Eastern European woman who could be a ‘key witness’

madeleine-mccann-police-eastern-european-woman

by Emma Dodds |
Updated on

Madeleine McCann police officers in Operation Grange are hunting an Eastern European woman that they believe could be a "key witness" in the missing child case.

A source from Scotland Yard has told The Sun that the woman, who is a "critical witness" in the case, could hold some vital information on the mystery of what happened to Madeleine McCann.

This comes only two weeks after Operation Grange were granted an extra £154,000 in funding to continue their search until next March.

WATCH: The night Madeleine was taken by the Official Find Madeleine Campaign

According to the source, the woman allegedly lived in Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared - then left the country after her husband passed away.

They said: "She may have see or heard something which to her may seem insignificant but to us could prove vital. If she recognises herself she should contact police.

"She has nothing to fear. This is just to eliminate her from inquiries."

READ MORE | Madeleine McCann timeline: A decade since her disappearance

metropolitan-police-mark-rowley-madeleine-mccann-still-alive-burglary-ten-years
Kate and Gerry McCann have been heartbroken over the disappearance of their little girl for 10 years now (Credit: Getty Images) ©Getty Images

Another source told the paper that the woman is a "critical witness" in what they believe is potentially a burglary "gone wrong".

This was announced by Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley in April, who said at a press conference: "She wasn't old enough to make a decision to set off and start her own life. However she left that apartment - she's been abducted."

He went on to say: "One of the working hypotheses we've got was could this be a burglary that's gone wrong. Somebody's doing a burglary, panicked maybe by a waking child and that's what leads to Madeleine going missing.

"In my experience, if you try to apply cold, rational logic of what someone sat in their front room might do compared to what criminals do under pressure, you tend to make mistakes."

READ MORE | Police release images of young girl seen being abused on the dark web

metropolitan-police-mark-rowley-madeleine-mccann-still-alive-burglary-ten-years
Mark Rowley has spoken about Operation Grange (Credit: Getty Images) ©Getty Images

He told ITV: "I know we have a significant line of inquiry which is worth pursuing, and because it's worth pursuing it could provide an answer. But until we've gone through it, I won't know whether we are going to get there or not.

"Ourselves and the Portuguese are doing a critical piece of work and we don't want to spoil it by putting tit bits of information out publicly."

We hope they get some helpful information soon.

Have you been following the case of missing Madeleine McCann? Let us know over on Facebook and Twitter****.

READ MORE...

Madeleine McCann: New witnesses describe chaotic and emotional scenes on the night of her disappearance

Kate McCann: the 48 questions she REFUSED to answer

Kate and Gerry McCann share heartbreaking message to mark Madeleine's birthday

Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us