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Madeleine McCann - missing since May 3rd 2007 – a small child, taken from her bed in an apartment in Praia Da Luz in the Algarve in Portugal.

On holiday with her mother and father and twin siblings, Madeleine had been left alone, unsupervised and vulnerable. But who could have taken her? Who would possibly have had the chance to even know she was there? Or that there would have been a window of opportunity in which to take her so that they could do with her what they wanted and not be detected? Not be detected why – because perhaps they knew that know one would ever find her body?

As harsh as it may seem, perhaps this is the inevitable truth that perhaps Kate and Gerry McCann must by now be thinking.

The few suspects that the Portuguese Police have spent some time with have included a British / Portuguese neighbor, Robert Murat,. A frequent visitor to the villa and a Portuguese / English speaking local resident, Murat had drawn the suspicion of a Sunday Mirror journalist, Lori Campbell, who informed the police that Murat was reluctant to answer specific questions about where he was at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

The Police also questioned a Russian computer expert by the name of Sergey Malinka. Malinka is rumored to hold convictions for child sex offences and was believed to be on good terms with Robert Murat, since Murat asked Malinka to work on Murat’s computer and set up a website for the 33 year old.The two had never really spoken that frequently in the past, but on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance, the two exchanged several phone calls. This was the reason the authorities started suspecting Malinka.

Gaynor de Jesus, who attended the same school as Rober Murat said "I do know that he has been the official translator for the police". Initially, the Portuguese Police dealt with the investigation and came under a certain amount of criticism for their lack of media information. After several weeks, the British Police also became involved and the case threw light on the different methods employed by different countries investigative techniques.

The investigation has involved both the British and Portuguese police and has highlighted the differing methodologies employed by each, with regard to such aspects as the amount of information released to the public and the legal status of those involved in the case.

In many cases, the Police can suspect someone so strongly, their demeanor, body language, alibi and such just does not add up. Could we actually be looking at a case that will just never be solved because there are no other suspects other than the ones that have already been interviewed?

In the UK alone, there are over 2,000 unsolved suspicious deaths and disappearances every year. Eventually, 80% of those cases are resigned to a file of unsolved cases and to this day the total number of unsolved cases is in millions.

Robert Murat argued that he was deeply concerned about Madeleine’s disappearance because he had recently lost custody of his own three-and-a-half year old daughter who looked like the missing girl.

The Portuguese Police investigation has taken a series of different twists and turns. Recently, a tip off from a Dutch source suggested that the body of Madeleine could be found within 4 kilometers of where the family were staying and a detailed map was sent describing exactly which lane and which precise location marked the spot of where her body lay. But the allegations turned out to be a sad hoax.

Four men were questioned at Priai Da Luz marina. The German men whose boats were moored at a local marina in Lagos 5 miles from where Madeleine went missing from. Widespread reports from people who knew the location well said that an English man who had been moored at the marina for over two years had recently fled the morring. Other witnesses said that they saw a man carrying a child fitting Maddies description on the night of her disappearance.

So, is it not now time to consider that if any one of the previously interviewed suspects is in fact the right suspect but there just isn’t enough evidence to convict. In fact, there isn’t even enough evidence to charge anyone.

At the time of the child’s disappearance, the parents were dining in a restaurant only 100 yards away. They said that one adult would return to the apartment at half hourly intervals to check on the children, but later it emerged that the window of opportunity where Madeleine was taken, was in fact more than 1 hour and when the apartment was checked, the alarm was not raised until the following morning.

Even then, the manager of the complex did little to maximise the essential time period that is so crucial in cases such as these. British Police say that in order to really make the most of investigations of this nature, than speed is very much of the essence.

One British Police superintendent who spoke about the case back in June said “If we had been investigating this case in the United Kingdom then at the very outset, as soon as the child had been discovered missing, the area would have been sealed off and statements would have been gathered from every possible source”. He added “Believe it or not, statements are the single most reliable source that secure 85% of convictions in situations like these – people trip themselves up”.

It is known that Robert Murat was not brought in for questioning until 6 days after the child had been reported missing and he was originally quizzed about his whereabouts on the night of the disappearance. His initial interview lasted for 10 minutes.

The child was taken from a ground floor apartment where the family was staying. The doors were left unlocked while the couple dined with friends at the Mark Warner Ocean Summer Club.

At 07:00am the following morning of 14th May, the apartment of Jennifer Murat ‘Casa Liliana’ was searched, no more than 100 yards away from where the girl went missing. Police and forensic teams sealed off the house, at 16:00 the pool was drained.

To date, no arrests have been made. Under Portuguese law arrests can only be made when a person has been given arguido (suspect) status officially; prior to being given this status persons are treated as witnesses only. On 15 May Robert Murat was given this status but he has not been arrested or charged. It is unclear if Murat or the Police asked for the arguido status, it is thought that Murat might have asked for the status as it gives extra rights such as the right to remain silent.

Murat has since gone to an unknown destination. Despite Murat's reluctance to make a public statement, he stated that he believed the case to have "ruined his life" and that his only way of survival would be the capture of Madeleine's captor. Murat stated that he was being made a "scapegoat" so that the Police can be seen to have found a suspect.

On 16 May 2007, reports in the local news suggested that vehicles used by the Murats were seized and searched by forensic officers. Computers were taken together with mobile phones and pagers. Video tapes were also taken from the villa and it was claimed that, on examination, several links to paedophile websites were found on the computers and that some video tapes showed depraved sexual acts and bestiality though nothing was found to directly link Murat to Madeleine's disappearance.

It also emerged that the British builder/ architect who oversaw the building of Murat’s house, flagged up the fact that Murat stipulated that he wanted an underground cellar to be built and that it must be accessed only by a hidden, secluded entrance. According to the man who built the property, this cellar was never searched.

Mr Murat, a former estate agent who lived with his mother Jenny, 71 following the break up of his marriage in England. Murat has always insisted that he was at home with his mother when Madeleine was taken on May 3 and maintains that he only learnt about her disappearance the following morning when he joined in the search.

Recently, friends of the McCann’s who were dining with them on the night that Madeleine went missing were brought together to meet with Murat at the request of the Portuguese Police. It was alleged that they witnessed a man leaving the apartment but the news only came to light several weeks into the investigation.

Police at the time said: "It is normal in Portugal for the two sides to be brought together to try and find the truth.

Fiona Payne, 34, from Leicester, and Russell O'Brien, 36, from Exeter, both doctors, and another friend, Rachael Oldfield, 36, formed part of the group

When they met with Mr Murat face to face, during an interview at a special room at the police station, in an attempt to establish whether Mr Murat could have been the man they saw, the witnesses identified Murat as the man they saw.

The three family friends left the police station after two hours. But Mr Murat was questioned for a total of six hours before leaving with his status unchanged.

The McCanns have always refused to discuss the investigation, saying only that they have been assured by police that everything is being done to find their daughter.

However, Mr McCann did clarify in a personal blog message posted on the Find Madeleine website that his friends' visited the police station. "The Portuguese police interviewed three of our friends again, to clarify points in their initial statements," he wrote.

The information within this article have been derived from a number of online sources such as Wikipedia, The Times Online, BBC and from information gathered from Portuguese television. The sole intention of this article is to help to maintain the public interest in this case and to hope that one day, all questions are answered. Anyone who wishes to contribute to this article is welcome to do so.