Madeleine McCann Investigation: Police Probe Phone Records In Portugal

Police are hoping to solve the case of Madeleine McCann by trolling through thousands of phone records made in Portugal in 2007.

According to the Yahoo News, police are planning to examine all phone calls made in Praia da Luz, Algarve, during the time surrounding the young girl’s disappearance.

Police have already identified 41 people of interest.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said: “What we’re trying to do is to use every route available to us to identify as many of them as possible and the phone data is one route into that, as are appeals. If you were in Praia da Luz at the time, you may get a routine phone call from the police.”

The BBC reports that trolling through the phone calls is no easy task. Scotland Yard will have to work with various phone companies in several different countries in order to track down all of the information. Peter Sommer, an expert on cyber security, also noted that mobile phone data retention was in an “immature stage” in 2007.

Madeleine McCann was 3-years-old when she disappeared while her family was on holiday in Portugal. Parents Gerry and Kate McCann were initially considered suspects but Scotland Yard is now working side by side with the McCanns to find out what happened to Madeleine.

DCI Redwood said: “I have no reason to be anything other than confident in the McCanns. They have been thoroughly supportive of our inquiry and our relationship is very strong.”