Scotland Yard believe Madeline McCann may still be alive and have released an age progression image of the missing child.
The image has been created in close collaboration with the family and is being released ahead of the fifth anniversary of her disappearance on 3 May showing how Madeline may look today.
Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2007 whilst she was on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. She went missing from an apartment, in the central area of the resort of Praia da Luz, a few days before her fourth birthday, and has still not been found.
Detectives believe that as a result of evidence uncovered during a review they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive and are appealing for anyone who is able to provide direct information as to her whereabouts to contact the team.
Work of the special team involves close collaboration with a senior investigating officer from the Policia Judaria whilst detectives have been to Portugal several times to help with new inquiries.
In a statement Scotland Yard said "Throughout the course of the review officers have been in close contact with the McCann family who have been assigned a Family Liaison Officer as is standard in accordance with national family liaison policy.
"The review team are in a unique position in that their task is to compile and review material from three separate strands - the Portuguese investigation, inquiries by UK law enforcement agencies, and the work of private investigators/agencies.
"Officers are now methodically going through that material which they believe amounts to around 40,000 pieces of information equating to approximately 100,000 pages."
Scotland Yard said that the intention of the review is to identify, from that material, new investigative opportunities which we will then be presented to the Portuguese authorities who Scotland Yard say "retain primacy for the investigation".
"Officers have so far identified around 195 such opportunities within the historic material, and are also developing what they believe to be genuinely new material. The objective of the review team is to work with the Portuguese authorities with a view to having the case, which has remained closed since 2008, re-opened in due course."
DCI Andy Redwood said: "From the outset we have approached this review with a completely open mind, placing Madeleine McCann at the heart of everything we do. We are working on the basis of two possibilities here. One is that Madeleine is still alive; and the second that she is sadly dead.
"Based on the former we are releasing the age progression image today with a specific appeal."
Quotes: Scotland Yard Press Release
Image: Teri Blythe
