Missing Madeleine McCann: Father 'Confident' New Evidence Will Find Daughter

The father of missing Madeleine McCann has said he is confident new evidence from the latest appeal in the search for his daughter will help find her.

Gerry McCann said he is "pleased" at the progress made by Scotland Yard since it opened its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in July.

Madeleine went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve in May 2007 when she was three.

As part of the latest investigation into her disappearance, a Crimewatch reconstruction of what happened the day Madeleine went missing will be broadcast on 14 October.

It comes after police said phone records from the resort may be key to solving the case and confirmed they have identified 41 people of interest.

Madeleine's father Gerry said: "As parents, we won't accept Madeleine is dead until we see clear evidence that that is the case.

"We've been very pleased with the work of the Metropolitan Police and their review and they've now moved into an investigation phase.

"We're confident the appeals will lead to new information and bring us a step closer to finding Madeleine and those responsible for taking her."

Mr McCann also blamed the press for disrupting the search for his daughter when she first disappeared.

He said: "My belief is that the damage for the search for Madeliene occurred with a lot of unfounded stories, but we've always tried to look forward not backwards. As parents we want [to do] everything reasonably that can be done in the search for Madeleine and I think we're moving in the right direction."

Kate and Gerry McCann previously said they were "encouraged" at how "pieces of the jigsaw are now fitting together" with regards to the investigation.

However the Metropolitan Police have warned that there is still "much ground to cover" with regards to the investigation and a conclusion could still be a long way off.

Assistant Commander Mark Rowley, from the Specialist Crime and Operations Unit, said: "Just to be clear, we are focused on the appeal on Crimewatch which we hope will produce new witnesses. It is clearly too early to speculate about where this will lead.

"It remains vital for us, and the success of the appeal, that the public are focused on new facts that can be released by the investigative team rather than speculation. I am impressed by what detective chief inspector Redwood and his team have achieved but a conclusion is not imminent, there is much ground to cover and we still need assistance."

The McCanns will also be speaking to Crimewatch presenter Kirsty Young live in the studio as part of the fresh appeal.