It has been more than 18 years since three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal — yet a resurfaced witness statement is now sending shockwaves through the investigation once again.
According to confidential police files reviewed by investigators earlier this year, a witness who lived near the Ocean Club resort told officers in May 2007 that they had noticed “a man standing unusually close to the shutters of Apartment 5A” shortly before Madeleine was reported missing. The detail, astonishingly, was logged but never followed up.
The witness, described as a British tourist in their 40s, recalled seeing the man just metres from the McCann’s ground-floor apartment. He was said to be holding something in his hand — but the statement never clarified what.
“The file was there all along, buried in the paperwork. For some reason, it wasn’t prioritized. Looking at it now, it could be crucial,” a senior source close to the review team told reporters.
The resurfaced testimony has sparked fresh questions about why such a potentially vital observation lay dormant for nearly two decades. Forensic experts have now been dispatched to re-examine the precise spot described — outside the window where police long believed Madeleine may have been taken.
Chillingly, the statement also noted a small object “glinting in the man’s hand,” something the witness assumed was a phone. Detectives are now considering whether it could have been a key or tool connected to a possible break-in.
The McCann family, who continue to fight for answers, have been informed of the rediscovery. “Every overlooked detail is another reminder that we may have been closer to the truth all along,” one family friend said.
The revelation comes amid renewed pressure on Portuguese authorities to explain early investigative failures. For many, this overlooked testimony may prove to be a haunting symbol of the mistakes that have plagued the case since day one.