Madeleine McCann timeline

Four-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared on 3 May during a holiday with her parents in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.

Here is a chronology of developments:

3 May - The girl goes missing from her bedroom between 9:30 and 10pm while her parents Kate and Gerry are dining just 100 yards away at the Mark Warner Ocean Club holiday resort in Praia da Luz. A window and shutter are open and she is presumed to have been abducted.

4 May - McCann family members and British media criticise local police for what they call a slow initial response, failure to notify ports and borders in time, and failure to secure the crime scene, which may have led to vital clues being lost.

Police say that under Portuguese secrecy laws they are unable to reveal details of the investigation.

5 May - Police say they have put together a sketch of a suspect and confirm they believe Madeleine is still alive and being held within three miles of the crime scene. Media reports say the sketch is vague and only features the back of a man's head.

8 May - Police say they have investigated 350 suspicious incidents but still have no idea where she might be.

Portuguese newspaper Correio de Manha says Madeleine may have been kidnapped by a paedophile ring.

Two criminal behaviour experts fly in from Britain.

Manchester United's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo joins appeals for her release.

10 May - The search around the resort winds down. Attention focuses on a blonde woman seen acting suspiciously before the girl's disappearance.

11 May - Scottish businessman Stephen Winyard offers a £1m reward.

Former England soccer captain David Beckham makes televised appeal for information.

12 May - Madeleine's fourth birthday.

13 May - Virgin boss Richard Branson, author JK Rowling and footballer Wayne Rooney are among those to have contributed to rewards now totalling £2.5m.

Half a million pilgrims attending the 90th anniversary of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary at the Sanctuary of Fatima pray for Madeleine's return.

14 May - Her parents say they will not return home until they have found her but say they think she is safe.

Police search a villa just up the road from where Madeleine was snatched and take a British man, Robert Murat, to a police station for questioning. He is later released.

15 May - Police say they have identified a suspect but do not have enough evidence for an arrest.

Five properties have been searched in the area, and two other people questioned as witnesses.

16 May - Deputy PM John Prescott tells parliament the government is doing everything it can to support Madeleine's parents.

Portuguese police interview a computer technician as a witness, identified by local media as a Russian man, and take away computers for examination.

Family sets up public appeal fund.

17 May - Web site, www.findmadeleine.com, is launched.

18 May - Multi-national companies help distribute appeal posters.

Several newspapers have started talking of media overkill.

19 May - Appeals are broadcast at the FA Cup final at the new Wembley stadium.

25 May - Gerry and Kate McCann speak of their guilt over Madeleine's disappearance.

30 May - They meet Pope Benedict during a general audience at the Vatican.

RTÉ.ie looks at the stories of hundreds of missing children from around the world who are forgotten.

1 June - The couple travel to neighbouring Spain where they hold a news conference to appeal for help from Spanish police.

6 June - They take their appeal to Berlin. The Algarve is popular among Germans. They move on to Amsterdam. After British and German tourists, the largest group of nationals who make up the tourists in the Algarve are the Dutch.

7 June - On their return to the Algarve, a classical and jazz concert is held in honour of Madeleine.

Web site has received more than 170m hits.

10 June - The couple fly to Morocco.

13 June - Police start searching an area of deserted scrubland 20 km north of Praia da Luz after a tip-off to a Dutch newspaper. They find nothing.

19 June - Gerry and Kate McCann appear on the RTÉ programme Crimecall, interviewed by Anne Cassin.

20 June - On a visit to London, Gerry McCann has his wallet stolen. He loses precious pictures of Madeleine

21 June - Police in Malta check two reports of possible sightings.

22 June - Worldwide balloon release to mark the 50th day since Madeleine's disappearance.

29 June - A man and woman are held in Spain on suspicion of trying to fraudulently claim a £2.6m reward.

6 July - The Dutch National Crime Squad arrests a man on suspicion of trying to extort money from the McCanns claiming to know the girl's whereabouts.

10 July - Murat is questioned for eight hours and later released.

21 July - Posters of missing Madeleine are displayed at book stores to coincide with the publication of the seventh and final Harry Potter novel.

22 July - Gerry McCann flies to the United States to consult experts on missing children. While there, he is asked persistently by the media why the couple left their children alone that night.

26 July - The McCanns' local paper the Leicester Mercury is forced to ban all comments on stories about the case after it was bombarded with messages calling for the couple to be prosecuted.

3 August - Belgian authorities carry out DNA tests on a bottle and straw after a possible sighting of Madeleine with a couple in the eastern town of Tongeren.

5 August - Police complete a two-day search of the home of Murat.

7 August - Traces of blood were found on the wall of the apartment where Madeleine went missing, local newspaper Diario de Noticias said.