'Viable' new leads in hunt for Madeleine
Private detectives searching for Madeleine McCann were today following up more than 600 calls and emails, including many which investigators describe as “viable leads”.
Amongst the pieces of information passed to the investigators from people in Europe and Australia are “dozens” of possible names for an e-fit of a woman, described as a Victoria Beckham-lookalike.
The woman reportedly asked a witness at a Spanish marina if he was there to deliver her “new daughter” just days after Madeleine’s disappearance, and her e-fit was issued on Thursday with an appeal for people who recognised her to come forward.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said: “Since the appeal on Thursday the investigators have had more than 600 separate pieces of information come into the inquiry via email and telephone calls.
“Amongst it all are a number of viable leads, all of which are being assessed and prioritised as necessary.”
Asked about reports that investigators are attempting to trace a motor boat said to have been in the marina in Barcelona at around the time the woman was sighted, Mr Mitchell said: “The investigators will follow the evidence wherever it takes them. Vessel movements are just one area of the current inquiry.”
Mr Mitchell added that many of the callers had passed information directly to the police in Australia and that he was aware of reports that a woman in Sydney had given police a formal statement saying she knew the identity of the woman.
“All the information received, including the reported statement from a woman in New South Wales, is being passed on to investigators and we will be in touch with the Federal Police (in Australia) in due course,” he said.
Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007 while her parents dined with friends nearby.
Around 72 hours later, in the early hours of May 7, two British men saw the woman pictured in the e-fit while on a night out in the popular Port Olimpic Marina in Barcelona.
She was well-dressed but appeared agitated and kept walking up and down outside the El Rey de la Gamba restaurant-bar as if she was waiting to meet somebody.
After speaking to the witness the woman went into a bar next door, where she had a heated conversation with a local in what seemed to be fluent Spanish.
The British man – who has not been named but is a married 41-year-old professional without children – did not disclose his brief conversation with the woman until he approached the McCanns’ investigators about six weeks ago.
The woman was described by the main witness as “a bit of a Victoria Beckham lookalike” and could be Australian based on her accent.
