BRITISH POLICE RELEASE MADELEINE MCCANN FILES

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/07/madeleinemccann

Madeleine McCann's parents today withdrew their high court request for British police to release documents about the investigation into her disappearance.
The legal challenge was withdrawn after a hearing in which Leicestershire police said they would share 81 pieces of information with Kate and Gerry McCann relating to calls received from the public shortly after Madeleine disappeared on May 3 last year.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, described the decision by Leicestershire police to pass the information to Madeleine's parents as "very good news for the investigation". "Each of these is important information. We have potentially 81 new leads," he said.
Mitchell did not give details about the information being released, but said he hoped more would be forthcoming.
"The critical thing is that this is early information and potentially strong information," he said.
During today's hearing, the presiding judge made an usual appeal for the child's abductor to come forward. Mrs Justice Hogg said she believed "at least one person knows what has happened to Madeleine" and urged that person to contact the police.
"I ponder about that person: whether that person has a heart and can understand what it must be like for Madeleine to have been torn and secreted from her parents and siblings whom she loves and felt secure with, and whom she no doubt misses and grieves for," she said.
"I entreat that person, whoever and wherever you may be, to show mercy and compassion and come forward now to tell us where Madeleine is to be found."
Hogg praised the police in the UK, Portugal and elsewhere for their efforts in trying to find Madeleine and added that she would remain a ward of court until a further order.
The McCanns, both 40, were not at the hearing. Mitchell thanked Hogg on their behalf for pointing out that there was no evidence that Madeleine had been harmed or was dead. He said 11,000 pieces of information were being held as part of the investigation and just one could provide the clue to her whereabouts.
Madeleine, then three, vanished from the family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz while her parents were having dinner in a restaurant nearby. Last week it emerged that Portuguese police had handed their file to prosecutors recommending that the case against the McCanns be dropped due to lack of evidence.