A three-year-old child disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal.
Updated 20 Aug 2026
Madeleine McCann was on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when she disappeared from a ground-floor apartment on the evening of 3 May 2007. [1]
Portuguese police led the initial investigation. Britain’s Metropolitan Police later established Operation Grange, while German prosecutors have pursued a separate suspect-focused investigation. [2]
7 sourced milestones
Major events in the case, shown in chronological order.
Madeleine McCann disappeared from a ground-floor holiday apartment in Portugal while her parents were dining nearby.
Source: Metropolitan Police ↗Portuguese authorities investigated the disappearance and later archived the inquiry without establishing what happened to Madeleine.
Source: Wikipedia ↗The Metropolitan Police began Operation Grange to review and investigate the disappearance with support from Portuguese authorities.
Source: Metropolitan Police ↗Portugal's public prosecutor reopened the investigation after police identified new lines of inquiry, while the British investigation continued separately.
Source: Associated Press ↗German authorities identified a German prisoner as a suspect and said they believed Madeleine was dead; he has denied involvement and has not been charged in her disappearance.
Source: Associated Press ↗Portuguese prosecutors formally designated the German suspect an arguido, a procedural status that did not amount to a criminal charge or finding of guilt.
Source: Associated Press ↗German and Portuguese teams searched sites near Praia da Luz in a renewed evidence-gathering operation. No person has been charged in the disappearance.
Source: Associated Press ↗0 videos
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