May 3

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Niccolo Machiavelli born, 1469
American Revolution
Dartmouth tells Martin to organize North Carolina Loyalists, 1775
Automotive
MADD founder's daughter killed by drunk driver, 1980
Civil War
Confederates take Hazel Grove at Chancellorsville, 1863
Cold War
Congressional hearings on General MacArthur, 1951
Crime
Exxon executive is murdered, 1992
British girl goes missing in Portugal, 2007
Disaster
Trains collide near Tokyo, 1962
General Interest
Japanese war crimes trial begins, 1946
New Japanese constitution goes into effect, 1947
Fletcher lands on the North Pole, 1952
Hollywood
U.S. Supreme Court decides Paramount antitrust case, 1948
Literary
Lord Byron swims the Hellespont, 1810
Music
James Brown is born, 1933
Old West
Cowboy author Andy Adams is born, 1859
Presidential
FDR addresses thousands of Democratic women, 1940
JFK receives honorary degree, 1961
Sports
Shoemaker becomes oldest man to win Kentucky Derby, 1986
Vietnam War
173rd Airborne Brigade deploys to South Vietnam, 1965
Paris is chosen as site for peace talks, 1968
World War I
Austro-German forces drive Russians out of the Carpathians, 1915
World War II
The Battle of the Coral Sea begins, 1942

Crime

May 3, 2007:

British girl goes missing in Portugal

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On this day in 2007, less than two weeks before her fourth birthday, Madeleine McCann of Rothley, England, vanishes during a family vacation at a resort in southern Portugal. McCann’s disappearance prompted an international search; however, she has never been found.

In May 2007, the McCann family—parents Gerry and Kate McCann, Madeleine and her 2-year-old twin siblings Sean and Amelie—were vacationing with a group of friends at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz (“Beach of Light”), a tourist village along Portugal’s Algarve coast. On the evening of May 3, Gerry and Kate McCann went with friends to the Ocean Club’s tapas bar, leaving a sleeping Madeleine and her brother and sister in the family’s ground-floor apartment, located near the tapas bar. The McCanns and their friends agreed to check on the children every half hour. At around 10 p.m., Kate McCann went to the apartment and discovered Madeleine was missing.

Portuguese police initially believed the little girl had wandered off and would be quickly found. As a result, they failed to promptly distribute a description of the missing child or search cars crossing the Portugal-Spain border, less than two hours from Praia da Luz.

McCann’s disappearance generated widespread media coverage in Europe and beyond. English soccer star David Beckham made a televised plea for her safe return, and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling reportedly donated millions to help find the little girl. Gerry and Kate McCann, observant Catholics, also had an audience in Rome with Pope Benedict, who blessed a photo of Madeleine.

On September 7, 2007, Portuguese officials named Gerry and Kate McCann, both of whom are physicians, as suspects in their daughter’s disappearance. Soon after, authorities leaked word that Madeleine’s DNA had been discovered in the trunk of the car her parents rented in Portugal almost a month after she vanished. There was speculation that the McCanns, in order to enjoy an evening out, had given their children sedatives and that Madeleine had a fatal reaction to the dosage she received. Afterward, the McCanns faked her abduction and hid her body for weeks before transferring it to the trunk of their rental car. Gerry and Kate McCann labeled this theory ridiculous, particularly given the fact that they were under intense media scrutiny and constantly followed by reporters. The local Portuguese police chief later admitted that the DNA tests were inconclusive.

In July 2008, Gerry and Kate McCann were formally cleared by Portuguese officials of any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance. A third person who had been considered the case’s only other formal suspect, a British man living in Portugal, was cleared as well. Additionally, Portugal’s attorney general said there was insufficient evidence for police to continue their investigation.

The McCanns hired private detectives to keep looking for their daughter and have made publicity tours throughout Europe and the U.S. to raise awareness about her plight. In November 2010, the couple signed a deal to write a book about their search for Madeleine, the proceeds of which will go toward continuing to fund the investigation.

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This Week in History, May 3 - May 9

May 03, 1992
Exxon executive is murdered
May 03, 2007
British girl goes missing in Portugal
May 04, 1886
A riot breaks out in Haymarket Square
May 04, 1990
An inhumane execution
May 05, 2004
Human remains found in suitcase near Virginia Beach
May 06, 1876
The theft of Duchess of Devonshire stirs interest
May 07, 1896
A serial killer is hanged
May 08, 1988
Woman convicted for tampering with Excedrin
May 09, 1997
Cunanan continues murder spree

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