Police in Britain have to date spent nearly three quarters of a million pounds looking into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The new figure follows revelations earlier this year that Leicestershire Police’s part in the search for the missing little girl amounted to £548,477 in 2007-08.
The force said the costs for 2008-09 put an additional £196,756 on the amount – taking the total to £745,233.
Some of the cost has so far been reimbursed by a Home Office grant of £525,069.
In February, the Home Office said if a local police force has to incur extra costs for a Government event, its authority can ask for “special grant support from the Home Secretary.”
Despite Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria leading the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from Praia da Luz in May 2007, Leicestershire Police became involved as the home force of her parents Kate and Gerry McCann.
Little Maddie was allegedly snatched from a holiday apartment in the Ocean Club resort in the Portuguese village of Praia da Luz, on 3rd May 2007, as her parents dined with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Dr McCann, 40, and his Liverpool-born husband Kate, 41, have never given up hope of finding their daughter, who would have celebrated her 6th birthday earlier this year.
A fund to aid the hunt for Maddy raised more than £1.5m but despite extensive enquires and many alleged sightings she is still missing.
trish, gosport around 2 years, 9 months ago