McCanns wait for news over reported sighting

KATE and Gerry McCann were yesterday waiting to hear whether a reported sighting of their daughter Madeleine in Spain was valid, their spokesman said.

They were told police in Majorca launched a search for the missing Leicestershire youngster on Sunday after a suspected sighting by a British couple.

The tourists claimed to have seen the little girl, missing since May last year, with two women in the southeast of the island.

Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: “Kate and Gerry are aware of this report, as are their investigators, and are grateful to the couple for informing the Spanish police.

“Kate and Gerry are awaiting to hear from the Spanish authorities whether this is valid. There have been so many reported sightings which sadly have come to nothing that they have long learned not to get their hopes up.”

The tourists claimed they saw a girl similar in appearance to Madeleine with two women in their 40s or 50s who did not look Spanish, said Mitchell.

They returned to their hotel after the “sighting” on the beach in Cala d’Or at about 10.30am, checked the internet for Madeleine’s appearance and remained convinced it could be her.

Police have since reportedly been searching all surrounding hotels and buildings to try to trace the child. A police spokesman in Cala d’Or said: “We have all our personnel investigating this. We are looking in all hotels and holiday apartments, all the places possible.”

There have been a string of reported sightings of Madeleine McCann across Europe and north Africa since she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007.

However, investigations of reports in countries such as Belgium and Morocco have so far proved fruitless.