Madeleine McCann: Pictures of Portugal flat released

Aug 5 2008

Picture of Madeleine McCann's apartment

Pictures from inside the apartment where Madeleine McCann is believed to have been snatched were released for the first time today.

The images include that of the room in which the missing British toddler was staying at the time of her disappearance and an empty bed in which she once slept.

They were included as part of a massive dossier of police files handed to journalists following a decision by Portuguese police to shelve the case two weeks ago.

Scores of pictures number among documents that also include forensic reports, witness statements and transcripts of interviews.

Almost twenty images of the crime scene were included in one section of the dossier.

It shows the interior of the holiday flat in which Kate and Gerry McCann were staying, alongside Madeleine and her two siblings.

In one can be seen the bed in which the young girl was sleeping during the holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

The bed, which has been made, is next to a play pen. On it lays a pink object which could be cuddle cat, the soft toy left behind by Madeleine.

Kate McCann was often seen carrying the stuffed toy for support during the months following Madeleine’s disappearance on May 3 last year.

Other photos show the view from the apartment’s balcony which looks on to the tapas bar at which the McCanns dined with friends on the evening their daughter went missing.