Madeleine McCann video campaign launched
How Madeleine McCann might now look
Tuesday, 03, Nov 2009 02:30
By Richard James.
An online viral message has been released today attempting to reach people with information on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The UK's national law enforcement centre for protecting children - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre - claims the 60-second video is aimed at anyone who may be close to the person involved in the disappearance of the schoolgirl.
The centre has called on internet users to spread the video and link it into their own "online environments".
The film also includes new images of how Maddie may look today.
Madeleine was three-years-old when she went missing during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3rd 2007.
Crime agencies around the world, including Interpol and Europol, are backing the new campaign with the message available in seven different languages.
Jim Gamble, head of CEOP, said: "The person we are looking to reach is likely to be a partner, family member, friend or colleague of the person or people who were involved in Madeleine's disappearance.
"It is also highly probable that they, or someone close to them, is using the internet to search for any updates that may suggest the police are getting closer to discovering the truth.
"Today we want to deliver a message to that person and we're asking everyone who goes online to help us. We want the message to become so widespread that it becomes just one click from any Madeleine search as a constant reminder to that person that it is never too late to do the right thing - that it is never too late for that person to redeem themselves."
Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning Maddie's father Gerry McCann said the new message was a "call for action" urging people to come forward with information.
He added it would challenge the iconic images of Madeleine by providing an idea of what she might look like today, as well as attempting to "get under [the] skin" of people who may know what happened to her.