In a revelation that has left investigators stunned, a handwritten diary locked away for nearly two decades has been discovered — and it claims to document Madeleine McCann’s final known moments in chilling detail.
The diary, said to belong to a long-forgotten witness who stayed at the Ocean Club resort in May 2007, was unearthed during a routine estate clearance in the Algarve. Inside were minute-by-minute notes of the night Madeleine vanished, including details never before shared with police.
“It’s like stepping back into that night. Whoever wrote this was watching closely — far more closely than anyone knew,” an officer close to the investigation revealed.
According to early leaks, the diary describes Madeleine playing with her siblings on the balcony shortly before 9 p.m., followed by a mysterious knock at the apartment door that the writer claims to have overheard.
More disturbingly, the notes reportedly state that at exactly 9:32 p.m., a shadowy figure was seen moving swiftly across the resort grounds in the direction of Apartment 5A. Minutes later, the witness wrote that the McCanns’ apartment seemed “too quiet.”
The diary, sealed in a dust-covered box, was handed over to police last week. Forensic experts are now analyzing the handwriting, ink, and paper to verify authenticity.
The McCann family have been informed, with a close friend describing them as “deeply shaken but desperate to know every word inside.”
If genuine, this diary could represent the most precise timeline of Madeleine’s disappearance ever uncovered, offering investigators the chance to reconstruct the events of that fateful night down to the second.
Portuguese police are expected to hold a press conference within days to reveal excerpts from the diary. Until then, speculation is swirling across Britain and beyond: who wrote it, and why was it hidden for 18 years?