Madeleine McCann hunt set to continue as Met Police handed MORE funds to track down missing girl
MADDIE McCann's parents were last night given fresh hope as it was confirmed cops would get extra money to find the missing girl.
The Home Office confirmed Scotland Yard would get the funds to chase a vital “final line of inquiry”.
Kate and Gerry McCann were "incredibly grateful", a family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said last night.
He said: “They are very encouraged that the Met Police still believe there is work left to be done and they are incredibly grateful to the Home Office for providing an extra budget for the investigation.”
The Operation Grange team have been granted an as yet undisclosed sum to keep the seven-year inquiry going for the next six months until the end of September.
The current funding of £154,000 for the Maddie inquiry runs out in just five days.
The Home Office confirmed last night: “The Government remains committed to the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
"We have briefed the Mps that its application for Special Grant funding for Operation Grange will be granted.”
Last month we revealed how the missing tot's parents Gerry and Kate were given fresh hope when Met investigators requested more money from the Home Office.
Former GP turned medical worker Kate, 50, and heart doctor Gerry, 49, of Rothley, Leicestershire, cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie could still be alive after nearly 11 years.
She would be aged 14.
Detectives have refused to discuss details of the “important final line of inquiry” they are pursuing.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “We cannot give a running commentary on the investigation while it is ongoing.”
But the British force is determined to crack the world’s biggest ever child mystery despite just four officers remaining on the case.
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So far the investigation, launched in May 2011, has cost the taxpayer more than £11.2million. The inquiry, headed by Detective Chief Inspector Nicola wall, still has “important work to do and focused lines of investigation to be pursued.”
The Scotland spokesperson added: “The inquiry has not reached a conclusion and we’re continuing with focus and determination.
“There are no immediate plans to reduce officer numbers further at this time.”
Mr Mitchell said: “Kate and Gerry appreciate everything the authorities have done and are doing to get a resolution after all this time.
Scotland Yard has been requesting extra Government funding to continue chasing a vital “final line of inquiry".
The fresh cash request comes after it was revealed parents Kate and Gerry McCann had more than £720,000 in reserves for their Find Maddie Fund.
Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining with pals in a nearby tapas restaurant.
Kate and Gerry have never given up hope that their daughter could still be found alive. She would now be aged 14, nearly 15.
Her twin siblings Sean and Amelie have just turned 13.
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