Timeline: Madeleine McCann case

Thursday 3 May
Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children in bed in their holiday apartment in the Ocean Club resort in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz and head for dinner with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

At 10pm Mrs McCann goes to check on the children and finds Madeleine has disappeared.

Monday 14 May
Police launch a search at the home of Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat, just 100 yards from where Madeleine was snatched.

Mr Murat is taken in for questioning, but is not formally arrested.

Tuesday 15 May
Police officially class Robert Murat as an "arguido", or suspect. He claims he is being made a "scapegoat" in the investigation.

Wednesday 16 May
Detectives swoop on the Praia da Luz home of Russian computer expert Sergey Malinka, who designed a website for Mr Murat, and interview him.

Thursday 17 May
It emerges that Portuguese police are investigating telephone calls between Sergey Malinka and Robert Murat on the night Madeleine was abducted.

Wednesday 30 May
Kate and Gerry McCann attend an audience with the Pope at the Vatican as they travel around Europe to publicise their campaign to find Madeleine.

Wednesday 6 June
While in Berlin, Madeleine's parents are forced to deny any involvement in her abduction when asked by a German journalist if they had anything to do with her disappearance.

Friday 6 July
Dutch police reveal they have arrested a man in Eindhoven suspected of attempting to defraud Gerry and Kate McCann demanding £1.35m for information on her whereabouts.

Saturday 4 August
Police launch a second search of Robert Murat's house.

Monday 6 August
A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the apartment where Madeleine went missing.

Detectives now believe it is most likely Madeleine is dead, having been killed accidentally, the Jornal de Noticias claimed.

Wednesday 8 August
A friend of the McCanns says she is disgusted at an apparent smear campaign against them.

Rachael Oldfield, who ate with the McCanns on the night Madeleine disappeared, said: "I think there are some leaks coming from the police because a lot of what I have read recently has been completely untrue."

Thursday 9 August
The McCanns insist they will not be "bullied" into leaving Portugal by the growing backlash against them.

Sunday 12 August
Mrs McCann tells Woman's Own magazine that she would rather know her daughter was dead than live in limbo forever.

Wednesday 15 August
Blood traces found in the bedroom where Madeleine was sleeping the night she was snatched were not hers, The Times reports. Forensic results show the blood came from a man, it adds.

Tuesday 21 August
A friend of the McCanns hits back at smears about him printed in Portuguese newspapers.

Dr Russell O'Brien, 36, was among the group the couple were dining with on the night Madeleine went missing. Portuguese newspapers have printed allegations about him.

In a statement, Dr O'Brien and his wife Jane Tanner said: "These reports in the Portuguese press are completely untrue and extremely hurtful.

Thursday 6 September
Mrs McCann arrives at a Portuguese police station to undergo further questioning by detectives.

Mr McCann will be reinterviewed separately by police the next day.

Friday 7 September
Portuguese police name Mrs McCann an "arguida". She returns to face another five hours of questioning by police, but is not formally charged with any offence.

Mr McCann arrives at the Policia Judiciaria - Portugal's CID - at 3.35pm, minutes before his wife left looking drained and shell-shocked.

He is questioned for eight hours before leaving the station shortly after midnight. During the course of the interview Mr McCann is also declared an arguido.

Mr McCann's sister Philomena McCann said detectives offered Mrs McCann a "deal" - a guaranteed jail sentence of no more than two years - if she confessed to accidentally killing her daughter.

Saturday 8 September
It is announced the McCanns will return home to Rothley on the flight they had originally booked before being named arguidos.

A family spokesman stresses they are returning with the full agreement of the Portuguese authorities.

Sunday 9 September
The McCanns return to Britain under a cloud of suspicion, following claims in Portugal that they were responsible for their daughter's death.

"We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter, Madeleine" said Gerry McCann.

Monday 10 September
Police sources tell Channel 4 News that they have been tapping the phones of Gerry and Kate McCann for many weeks.

Tuesday 11 Septebmer
Police hand their files over to Portuguese public prosecutor.

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