Police analyse 'Madeleine photo'

Madeleine McCann’s parents will today anxiously await the opinion of experts analysing a striking photograph of a girl taken by a holiday maker in Morocco.

Madeleine McCann’s parents will today anxiously await the opinion of experts analysing a striking photograph of a girl taken by a holiday maker in Morocco.

The image, which shows a light-skinned, blonde haired girl being carried on an elderly woman’s back, was taken just over three weeks ago in Zinat in northern Morocco by a Spanish woman.

Kate and Gerry McCann are understood to have seen the picture after it was passed to their lawyers yesterday and now computer experts are analysing the image, which was originally taken from some 200 metres away.

Madeleine, four, went missing from her parents’ holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, on May 3.

Despite being declared suspects in the disappearance of their own daughter, Mr and Mrs McCann have repeatedly insisted that they believe Madeleine could still be alive.

The photograph emerged after a series of other reports of possible sightings of Madeleine in Morocco were publicised in recent days.

It follows two sightings of a blonde girl matching Madeleine’s description in Marrakech on May 9, and reports of a third sighting in northern Morocco later the same month.

According to Spanish radio network COPE, the photograph was taken by a Spanish tourist called Clara Torres, from Albacete, on August 31.

She told the network that she saw the fair-skinned girl, who was being carried in a sling, with a group of North Africans walking by the side of the road.

The image was passed to local police in Albacete by Ms Torres after she heard news of the various possible sightings of Madeleine in Morocco.

A Spanish government official in Albacete said the photograph had then been passed on to Interpol.

The photograph is now expected to be analysed by experts at the British Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop).

They are already scouring photographs taken by holiday makers in the Algarve around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance using high tech face mapping technology to identify potential suspects.

It is hoped that the same technology could be used to establish whether the child in the image could be Madeleine.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s spokesman, said last night: “We do not comment on any individual sightings however in this case the picture was passed to the relevant authorities as soon as it was received and Gerry and Kate are obviously keen for it to be analysed as quickly as possible.”

A Ceop spokesman could not confirm that it had been given the photo, but he added: “We do have experts who are specialists at analysing photographs and video material.”

The latest development follows a report from another Spanish woman who is convinced that she saw Madeleine in the town of Zaio in northern Morocco at the end of May.

The woman said she saw a girl she believed was Madeleine being led by a Moroccan woman in Muslim dress across a street.

It is reported that a gust of wind blew the child’s hat off, revealing her blonde hair underneath.

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