by destro » Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:50 pm
Found this about it on CNN
The search, organized by a Portuguese lawyer who hired private divers, is due to resume Thursday, said the dive team member, Martyn Falkous, in a telephone interview. But he added it is unclear if it will continue after that.
The search was not requested by the McCann family.
The search at the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Praia da Luz, is the initiative of Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia, who told CNN he has never spoken to the McCanns but has sent them two letters and without receiving a reply.
Correia said, in a telephone interview, that he decided to search the reservoir after getting tips from his "underworld" sources, whom he declined to name publicly. But he said the Portuguese police and the McCanns' detectives know who they are.
"We've been contracted by a lawyer who's got some inclination that Madeleine was dumped in there," said Falkous, the diver.
Divers have "been picking up unnatural objects" from the reservoir's floor, including the cord, a sock and plastic bags, Falkous said.
Correia said they have found four strings, each with different lengths, and a sock. He said the items have been turned over to the McCanns' detectives, but Falkous said the items were given to "authorities."
Six divers have been involved each day, Falkous said. Because it is a very large reservoir with no visibility, he said, divers have concentrated only on the "very likely" places that a body might be found. He added that a complete search of the lake would take much longer.
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell told CNN, "Correia (the lawyer) is entitled to search the area, but we do not accept the premise that Madeleine is dead, and there is no evidence to indicate her body is in this lake. Neither police nor the McCann investigators are present at the search."
