Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Police Arrest Two in Case of Missing Maddy

Held in alleged plot to claim reward money

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 29, 2007 4:53 AM CDT
Email

(Newser) – Police in Spain have arrested two people in an extortion plot connected to the disappearance of British tot Madeleine McCann. The pair, one of them an Italian man wanted in France for child abuse, were arrested near Gibraltar after trying to blackmail the McCann family, the Guardian reports. The four-year-old was abducted 56 days ago on a family vacation in Portugal. 

"We are trying not to get our hopes up too much because they so frequently get dashed, the missing girl's uncle said. Her parents have been touring European and North African cities, keeping the case in the headlines.They even had an audience with the Pope, who appealed for information about Madeleine.

Kate McCann, the mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann, arrives at the beachfront to release 50 yellow and green balloons with her husband Gerry to mark the 50th day since the disappearance of their daughter, in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, Friday, June 22 2007. The British 4-year-old Madeleine disappeared...
Kate McCann, the mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann, arrives at the beachfront to release 50 yellow and green balloons with her husband Gerry to mark the 50th day since the disappearance of their...   (Associated Press)
Children hold up posters of British girl Madeleine McCann and Spanish boy Yeremi Vargas to highlight their plight in Madrid, Friday June 22, 2007. Madeleine disappeared on May 3 from a hotel in Praia da Luz, a resort town in Portugal's Algarve region and Yeremi vanished in March in the...
Children hold up posters of British girl Madeleine McCann and Spanish boy Yeremi Vargas to highlight their plight in Madrid, Friday June 22, 2007. Madeleine disappeared on May 3 from a hotel in Praia...   (Associated Press)
Missing British girl Madeleine McCann. is seen in this undated file photo. Spanish police arrested an Italian man Thursday, June 28, 2007, with possible links to Madeleine McCann, the 4-year-old British girl who vanished nearly two months ago during a vacation in neighboring Portugal. It was not clear, however, if...
Missing British girl Madeleine McCann. is seen in this undated file photo. Spanish police arrested an Italian man Thursday, June 28, 2007, with possible links to Madeleine McCann, the 4-year-old British...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

The Search for Missing Madeleine

More details - and less optimism about a breakthrough
Daily Mail (UK)

BBC reports on the extortion plot
BBC

 
Madeleine McCann • kidnapping • Algarve • abduction • blackmail • extortion • disappearance

More Newser Stories

Cops Will Name Me as Suspect: Maddy's Mom

Video Appeal Renews Maddy Search

Parents Hunt On for Maddy

Pedophile Ring May Have Nabbed Maddy

McCann Friend Says She Saw Maddy Abducted
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne