The steps where Madeleine fell

Portuguese police believe Madeleine McCann died after falling down a flight of steps and that her parents panicked, hiding her body because they feared being blamed, it was claimed yesterday.

It was alleged that the four-year-old smashed the back of her head on a ceramic flagstone at her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

Fearing they would be charged with manslaughter, Kate and Gerry McCann then got rid of the body, possibly with the help of their friends, it was alleged.

The latest theory against the couple, who are official suspects in their daughter’s disappearance, was dismissed as “ludicrous and unsubstantiated” by their spokesman.

It emerged as a source close to the McCanns said police were investigating claims that a disgruntled ex-employee from the Ocean Club, where the family was staying, may have been involved in Madeleine’s abduction.

Mrs McCann has said she would be willing to risk going to prison by speaking out about the events of May 3 in breach of Portugal’s secrecy laws. As suspects, or arguidos, the couple are prevented from speaking about the investigation, and have expressed frustration that they are not able to defend themselves against increasingly lurid allegations regarding their daughter’s fate.

Despite the ban, they are in talks with chat-show hosts in the US in an attempt to remind people Madeleine is missing.

Yesterday, the McCanns spent a quiet day in their home town of Rothley in Leicestershire, marking 150 days since their daughter disappeared.

They are adamant that she was abducted but police in Portugal were described as “100 per cent” certain that the little girl died in the family’s apartment in the Algarve.

A senior detective told Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas: “The only thing to investigate is how the body disappeared.” The newspaper claims Madeleine fell down steps at the back of the apartment. Photographs taken at the time show a children’s safety barrier above the steps.

The new theory emerged after a report from Britain said specialist sniffer dogs had detected the “smell of death” on the steps, it was claimed. In the past, Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39, have been accused of hiding their daughter’s body because she had been sedated.

But yesterday, a source close to the couple hit back at the allegations.

Kate carrying Cuddle-Cat. The toy with cadaver scent detected by the dog Eddie.

“Where is the proof that this happened? Madeleine was put to bed at 7pm and there was a witness. When is Madeleine supposed to have fallen?

“If the police are 100 per cent certain that Madeleine fell down some steps, that means they must be able to prove she died in that way. It’s just not possible without a body.”

The couple’s spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, added: “It is just ludicrous. All of these reports are unsourced and unsubstantiated.”

A tip-off claiming that a former Ocean Club employee was involved in Madeleine’s disappearance was sent to the Prince of Wales’s official website, and passed to police.

It alleged that a maid who used to work at the Mark Warner resort kidnapped Madeleine in revenge for being fired. Police have discovered the woman identified does exist and that the tip-off came from an email address registered in the Iberian peninsula.

I fell into search and rescue by shear accident, While watching a local nightly news show, there was a local search and rescue group looking for dogs that weighed more than 65 pounds. The next day I contacted the person in charge of the group and I was told that each dog would be evaluated, and by the end of the evaluation, they would let us know whether or not our dog would become part of the “team.”

I thought that Kelley, a Rhodesian Ridgeback without a ridge, would be a good search and rescue dog. After all, Rhodesians were bred for hundreds of years to track lions over long distances and on all types of terrain. Kelley at the time was three going on four; she’s living proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

On the scheduled evaluation day, a cold December day, Kelley and I rode out with a friend to see if our dogs could “cut the mustard” so to speak. After we showed the group leaders how obedient our dogs were both on and off lead, a track was laid and a victim was hidden. After Kelley found the live victim, I was given a cadaver-scented tennis ball to practice with her. Now Kelley has never been a ball dog (I suppose she thinks the game of fetch is beneath her), but she really liked these tennis balls. From that point on, even though we’ve trained in both live and cadaver finds, Kelley has preferred to find cadaver.

In early March 1997 — the “Flood of 97” — our group was asked to bring our dogs down to Falmouth, Kentucky (the worst area hit by flooding) to locate 67 people who were un-accounted for. I packed the needed items and the following morning Kelley and I left to meet the other dogs and handlers and follow them to Falmouth. When we arrived I really couldn’t believe the destruction. It looked like a war zone — clothes in tree tops, slabs of pavement missing, houses moved off foundations and cars strewn about like toys. It was a sight that will be burned in my mind forever.

After much delay, we were given our instructions to search the houses with our dogs to look for missing people. Each dog and handler team was accompanied by a fireman Kelley and I were paired up with a two other “seasoned” dogs and handlers. After about our fourth or fifth house, Kelley “hit” on a mobile home that was leaning against a telephone pole. She stood solid and would not budge, I tried pulling her and she just stood there. I told the fireman who was with us that the trailer needed to be check out when the situation became more stable. I told him that even though Kelley was a “novice” dog that she’d never lied to me before.

Later that evening, that trailer was checked and a mother and daughter were found. Although pleased that Kelley proved herself after only three months of training, I was still saddened by the discovery.

I left that search and rescue group and joined another one. While in between groups I was contacted by a central Ohio Police Department and asked if they could add me and Kelley to their call out sheet in the event that they would need a cadaver dog. I agreed.

After years of dealing with a homicide detective from a local law enforcement agency in my job, he contacted me regarding a case their department had been working on since 1996. He knew that I had a dog that did cadaver work from a newspaper article.

This gruesome case will stick out in my mind forever. The victim was originally reported to the police department as a missing persons. The case started to unravel when two boys who were out fishing reeled in a skull. The victim’s live-in boyfriend and father to their child was the prime suspect from the beginning (his mother reported her missing, not him). The offender went to great lengths to hide the body of his girlfriend. He not only removed the teeth from her skull, but he also dismembered her body and dispersed her remains in a field.

In August 1997 at the department’s request, I took Kelley out to the field where the murderer had dumped the body parts. Kelley ran off a perimeter and when the detectives and the coroner went back to that area about a third of the victim was found. I was told by the detectives that when all the bones were recovered the victim’s remains fit into an infant’s casket.

Kelley and I specialize in cadaver recovery are now independently sub-contracted with several law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Ohio. Last year a photo of Kelley was submitted to the International Photography Hall of Fame, and a short autobiography was printed in their book. The title of the photo is “A True Companion, Helps In Adding Closure, And Asks For Nothing In Return.” That photo was dedicated to all victims.

When Mary Jennifer Love was reported missing just this past summer, my Mom, Kelley and I volunteered our time to help the family and law enforcement search for the little girl. I knew in my heart that after two days of 98 degree temperatures that unfortunately the victim was deceased. Even though we did not find her, we still gave our all. Kelley and I do this as a service to the community; we do not get paid, nor do we want to get paid.

The true heroes here are Kelley and all the other dogs that aid in the help of mankind, whether it be search and rescue, police dogs, arson dogs, drug dogs, bomb dogs, or the dogs that aid in helping people lead independent normal lives.

Cathleen A. Combs

A dog who is trained to find human remains has been brought in from the United Kingdom to help in the search for Theresa Parker, the Walker County 911 operator who has been missing for almost six months.

FBI Regional Director John Parrish said Martin Grimes and his English springer spaniel Eddie are some of the best in the world at finding bodies.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson introduced Mr. Grimes and Eddie at a press conference in LaFayette on Thursday afternoon.

He said the search for Ms. Parker is “very active and ongoing.”

Sheriff Wilson said the only “person of interest” remains Ms. Parker’s husband, former LaFayette Police Sgt. Sam Parker.

Mr. Grimes, who said he is retired after 30 years with the UK Police, said Eddie is trained “to locate human remains – whole or in part.”

He said he and Eddie plan to remain in LaFayette until this phase of the investigation is complete.

He declined to specify where or when they would be searching.

Director Parrish said the case has been declared “high priority” by the FBI and an agent has been assigned fulltime to it.

He said K-9s were used in April on the search and that “was very valuable to us.” He said, “We have completed that phase and we are evolving into another phase.”

Sheriff Wilson said in this phase, “We will go to areas that are of interest to us.”

Mr. Grimes said he will be utilizing “a method we have used successfully in the UK.”

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann will return to Britain from Portugal on Sunday.

Kate and Gerry McCann fear they could be charged over their daughter’s death after they were named as “arguidos”, or official suspects in her disappearance.

They wanted to fly back to the UK as soon as possible, but were worried that it might appear they are “running scared”, according to Mr McCann’s sister Philomena.

The McCanns Scarper Back To England After Being Made Official Suspects in Madeleine's Disappearance

No conditions were imposed on the McCanns, which means they are free to travel abroad, their lawyer said. “They can travel whenever and wherever they like,” lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu told Reuters, adding that the McCanns could remain at their home in England as the police investigation continues.

The McCanns plan to approach David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, asking him to intervene in the case of their missing daughter Madeleine amid growing fears that they might become the victims of a “shocking injustice”.

The couple are “angry and horrified” that the search for the missing four-year-old has been halted as, they believe, police seek to blame them for killing her and disposing of her body.

Some forensic scientists have begun to question some of the evidence against the couple – supposedly samples of Madeline’s blood found in the boot of the car they hired 25 days after the disappearance, and the “death smell” allegedly found on Mrs McCann’s belongings by a police sniffer dog.

There is suspicion that tiny DNA samples obtained from the McCanns’ apartment – and compared with the blood found in the car boot – could have been contaminated.

One of Britain’s leading forensic scientists, who asked not be named, said: “If they are spots of blood, it could not be from a car used by the McCanns 25 days later. That doesn’t make sense.

“The blood would have dried and it would not transfer as spots unless the child is alive. It would be fragments [of dried blood].

“But that is not what the police are saying they have. This is the prevailing view among other forensic scientists I have spoken to.”

John Barrett, a former Scotland Yard dog handler, also indicated that the trained dogs used in an attempt to detect a “death smell” on Mrs McCann’s Bible and clothes were brought in too long after Madeleine vanished.

The crucial scent lasts for no longer than a month, he said.

The McCanns are expected to appear before the public prosecutor in Portimao, Portugal, this week. They could face restrictions on their movements and, possibly, charges.

The McCanns, both 39-year-old doctors, are said to be “deeply alarmed” by the turn of events after they were interrogated separately by Portuguese police for a total of 24 hours on Thursday and Friday.

They are furious at the manner of the questioning and may decide to stay in Portugal to clear their names and revive the search for their girl, who vanished four months ago while her parents were at a nearby tapas bar in the resort of Praia da Luz.

Portuguese sources said police were using a “war of nerves” in an effort to make Mrs McCann “crack” and confess to killing her daughter.

Her two interrogations last week – the second lasting 11 hours – were described as “aggressive”, with officers said to be “exploring her weaknesses”.

Media reports said the couple used their right to remain silent and refused to answer “more than 40 questions”. Friends insisted they answered all questions put to them.

The couple, who spoke with Mr Miliband last month, will urge him this week to step in “with any help he can,” said a friend of the couple.

“There is a danger of a shocking injustice here,” the friend said. “Kate and Gerry are appalled that anybody could think Kate would harm any of her children.”

Mrs McCann’s mother, Susan Healy, defended her, saying: “She fought her corner in her interview with the police and I felt quite proud that she was able to do that knowing how distraught she was by Madeleine’s disappearance.”

Philomena McCann, Mr McCann’s sister, said of her brother: “He is a bit distressed and very tired. But he is adamant that he has done nothing wrong.”

She said the couple were worried it would appear as if they were “running scared” if they returned to Britain.

Plans to return to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, today have now been shelved.

Portuguese police believe that Mrs McCann killed Madeleine accidentally with a sedative overdose, and then hid the body. They think Mr McCann helped cover up her crime.

The McCanns insist they have never used sedatives on their children and deny any involvement in Madeleine’s death. They believe that she was abducted and is still alive.

Police have indicated their case is based on DNA evidence, analysed by British forensic scientists.

It is said to be blood from Madeleine found in the hired car. Investigators say further analysis is needed before any “definitive” conclusions.

The couple spent yesterday at a rented villa in Praia da Luz with their two-year-old twins, Amelie and Sean.

The Foreign Office was last night described as “firing on all cylinders” in its efforts to help the McCanns.

Asked about the case yesterday, Mr Miliband said: “A little girl is missing. This is an independent judicial process we fully respect. Consular services are being provided. Above all, this is about a little girl.”

A dog who was ‘earning’ more money than her force’s Chief Constable has been brought in to help Portuguese police in their hunt for missing Madeleine McCann.

Specially-trained Keela was flown to Praia da Luz in the Algarve last week because she can detect human blood – even after items have been cleaned or washed many times.

Keela, and another English springer spaniel called Eddie, have now both been enlisted in the hunt for the missing four-year-old.

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Hunt: Keela has been brought in to help police find Madeleine

Keela hit the headlines two years ago because she was earning more than her force’s Chief Constable.

The South Yorkshire Police dog has already helped forces across the country, including working on the high-profile stabbing of pregnant mother Abigail Witchalls in Surrey, and was being hired out for £530 per day, plus expenses.

Back then she would have been earning almost £200,000 – around £70,000 more than her force’s Chief Constable – if she worked every day of the year.

She has been trained to ignore decomposing body materials other than human blood.

And instead of barking when she smells blood, she has been trained to have a “passive” alert – freezing with her nose as near to the subject matter as possible without touching, to enable scientists to recover the sample quickly and efficiently.

This technique has saved time and money on major investigations.

She can search any area, including houses, cars, boats, both indoors and outdoors, and will lead her handler to spots of blood so small that humans cannot see them.

She screens textiles and can pick out traces of blood even after clothing has been washed many times or weapons cleaned.

When Keela was working on the Abigail Witchalls case she found eight piece of blood-stained clothing in just one day.

Now the dogs have been brought in to help after the police looking into her disappearance re-focused on the McCanns’ holiday apartment.

Madeleine has now been missing for 99 days and police are increasingly desperate for any kind of breakthrough in her case – as are her parents Kate and Gerry, who are still in Portugal.

Both sniffer dogs are attached to South Yorkshire Police.

Eddie is a “victim recovery dog” who can detect blood and human remains.

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Helpful hound: Eddie is to help in Madeleine search

It appears highly likely that Keela was the dog who was brought in by British detectives last week who located tiny traces of blood in the McCanns’ apartment despite alleged attempts to wash them off.

Police are still waiting for the results of tests on the recovered traces, which arrived yesterday at a top UK forensic laboratory.

The sniffer dogs have already travelled around Britain, and to Ireland and the US to help police investigating murder and missing person cases.

A dog diary about Keela on the South Yorkshire Police website when she was six months old says she and Eddie live “with my dad” at home in Bawtry, Doncaster.

It reads: “He is going to train me to search for very small spots of blood at crime scenes, so small that the humans can’t see it.

“My very sensitive nose will be able to smell the blood and I will show Dad where it is. He can then show the scientists so that they can take samples.” South Yorkshire Police were unavailable for comment last night.

A pair of elite police sniffer dogs attached to an English police force has been helping Portuguese police in their hunt for missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann, it has emerged.

The specially-trained English springer spaniels Eddie and Keela were reportedly flown to Praia da Luz in the Algarve last week to take part in the investigation.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, the pair were brought in to help after the police looking into her disappearance re-focused on the McCanns` holiday apartment.

Madeleine has now been missing for 98 days and police are increasingly desperate for any kind of breakthrough in her case – as are her parents Kate and Gerry, who are still in Portugal.

Both sniffer dogs are attached to South Yorkshire Police and are trained to locate traces of blood to help officers in murder and missing person inquiries.

Eddie is a “victim recovery dog” who can detect blood and human remains, while Keela has been trained only to detect human blood and specifically very small samples.

It appears highly likely she was the dog brought in by British detectives last week which located tiny traces of blood in the McCanns` apartment despite alleged attempts to wash them off.

Police are still waiting for the results of tests on the recovered traces, which arrived yesterday at a top UK forensic laboratory.

The sniffer dogs have already travelled around Britain, and to Ireland and the US to help police investigating murder and missing person cases.

Eddie located the body of pensioner Attracta Harron in a shallow grave in Co Tyrone in April 2003 after the 65-year-old was murdered on her way home from Mass, the Belfast Telegraph said.

Her killer, Trevor Hamilton, 23, was put behind bars last year for the murder – which was committed less than four months after he completed a sentence for rape.

As well as locating the pensioner`s body, the seven-year-old dog found the murdered woman`s blood on Hamilton`s burned-out Hyundai.

A dog diary about Keela on the South Yorkshire Police website when she was six months old says she and Eddie live “with my dad” at home in Bawtry, Doncaster.

It reads: “He is going to train me to search for very small spots of blood at crime scenes, so small that the humans can`t see it.

“My very sensitive nose will be able to smell the blood and I will show Dad where it is. He can then show the scientists so that they can take samples.”

South Yorkshire Police were unavailable for comment.

By Karen McVeigh

HER detective work is unsurpassed, her dedication to duty during some of Britain’s most challenging murder cases unfailing.

Keela, a 16-month-old springer spaniel, has become such an asset to South Yorkshire Police that she now earns more than the chief constable.

Her sense of smell, so keen that she can sniff traces of blood on weapons that have been scrubbed after attacks, has her so much in demand by forces up and down the country that she is hired out at £530 a day, plus expenses.

Thought to be the only one of her kind, the crime scenes dog earns nearly £200,000 a year. Her daily rate, ten times that of ordinary police dogs, puts her on more than the chief constable, Meredydd Hughes, who picks up £129,963.

Keela’s considerable talent in uncovering minute pieces of evidence that can later be confirmed by forensic tests has put her in the forefront of detective work across Britain. She was drafted in to help after the stabbing of the young mother, Abigail Witchalls, in Surrey, and has been involved in high- profile cases across 17 forces, from Devon and Cornwall to Strathclyde.

She has already helped to apprehend a murderer after sniffing out blood on a knife.

PC John Ellis, her handler, said that police sent for Keela when the scenes of crime squad failed to find what they were looking for. “She can detect minute quantities of blood that cannot be seen with the human eye,” he said. “She is used at scenes where someone has tried to clean it up. If blood has seeped into the tiles behind a bath where a body has been, she can find it.”

The spaniel can sniff out blood in clothes after they have been washed repeatedly in biological washing powder, and can detect microscopic amounts on weapons that have been scrubbed and washed.

When faced with a “clean” crime scene, Mr Ellis and PC Martin Grimes, Keela’s other handler, will first send in Frankie, a border collie, and Eddie, another springer spaniel, to pick up any general scent. Then they wheel in the big gun.

“We take Keela in and she will find the minutest traces of blood,” Mr Ellis said. “It’s not like looking for a needle in a haystack any more. The other two dogs will find the haystack and Keela will find the needle.”

While the other dogs bark, Keela has been trained to freeze and pinpoint the area with her nose.

Mr Ellis said Keela’s “perfect temperament” and enthusiasm made her a great asset. “We thought we would get one or two deployments a year, but things have just snowballed. Obviously when we are called in by other forces they are charged a fee and it’s quite funny to think she can earn more than the chief constable.”

Mr Hughes showed there were no hard feelings. The chief constable said: “Keela’s training gives the force an edge when it comes to forensic investigation which we should recognise and use more often.” Mr Ellis and Mr Grimes came up with a special training regime to focus on Keela’s remarkable skills. It has proved so successful that the FBI has inquired about it. “The FBI is very interested in how we work because they don’t have this sort of facility in-house and they are looking at setting up their own unit,” Mr Ellis said.

Paul Ruffell, of K9 Solutions, a security firm specialising in dog units, said he was amazed at Keela’s abilities. “I’ve been working in this business for 25 years and I’ve never heard anything like it,” he said.

ANIMAL MAGIC

£200,000 DOG

Keela: Crime scene investigation dog, South Yorkshire Police

Pay: None. Charges £530 a day plus expenses for services. Earned almost £200,000 last year

Career: Joined South Yorkshire Police in 2003 at 12 weeks. Came originally from West Midlands Police, from a large litter. Period of training lasted a few months

Hobbies: Chasing her tail and eating

£129,000 MAN

Meredydd Hughes: Chief Constable of South Yorkshire

Pay: £129,963 a year

Career: Joined North Wales Constabulary, 1979. Promoted to Superintendent in West Yorkshire Police in 1995 and Assistant Chief Constable in Greater Manchester, 1999

Hobbies: Rock climbing, mountainbiking and mountaineering