With thanks to
mccannfilesMadeleine McCann: Investigators axed after being paid £500,000 A firm of private investigators hired to hunt for Madeleine McCann have been dropped after being paid £500,000.
Daily Telegraph
By Subhajit Banerjee
Last Updated: 10:46AM BST 24 Aug 2008
The US-based team had been given a six-month contract earlier this year and were paid from money donated to the Find Madeleine Fund.
Their contract will not be renewed after double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy - who is underwriting the fund's search - became unhappy with the progress it was making.
Oakley International, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, was hired to monitor the Madeleine Hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage of possible Madeleine sightings.
Mr Kennedy reportedly believes the agency's bills - estimated to be over £80,000 a month - were not justified by their results, the Mail on Sunday reports.
Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann have been kept informed all along and agree with the decision.
Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment, is run by Briton Kevin Halligen.
Madeleine McCann had disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, nine days short of her fourth birthday.
A spokesman for the McCanns refused to comment on 'personnel, financial or operational details'.
Update:
Madeleine McCann: Investigators dropped after being paid £500,000 Telegraph (no longer available online)
A firm of private investigators hired to hunt for Madeleine McCann are being dropped after being paid £500,000.
By Richard Edwards and Subhajit Banerjee
Last Updated: 2:30PM BST 24 Aug 2008
The US-based team, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, had been given a six-month contract earlier this year and were paid from the Find Madeleine Fund.
It is understood their contract will not be renewed at the end of the month in a review led by double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy - who is underwriting the fund's search.
Oakley International was hired discreetly just before the anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May. It monitored a Madeleine Hotline number, followed up leads and reviewed CCTV footage of possible sightings.
Mr Kennedy reportedly believes the agency's bills - estimated to be over £80,000 a month - were not justified by their results.
Most of the money spent on the agency came from a £550,000 libel pay out from Express Newspapers in March. Around £450,000 remains in the fund.
Several private investigators have been used to track down the missing girl, including Metedo3, a Spanish agency. The fund lost confidence in them, especially after they announced they would find Madeleine by last Christmas, and the agency is now used only sparingly.
Oakley International won the contract after an introduction by another company, Red Defence International (RDI), based in Jermyn Street, central London.
A spokesman for the McCanns said: "Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have continually sought to employ the best people in the search for Madeleine. Red Defence and Oakley International were part of a large number of resources employed in recent months.
"Their contract is continuing for the immediate future and will be reviewed when it ends, as you would expect. We will not be comment on the detail of any personnel, financial or operational arrangements."
Lawyers and investigators for the McCanns are still combing through the police files released in Portugal earlier this month after Mr and Mrs McCann were released from their status as official suspects or "arguidos". They are looking for leads they fear police ignored after focusing the investigation on the McCanns.
"The search is very much ongoing," said the spokesman, "and there is certainly no crisis in the fund."
