McCanns release new sketch of kidnap suspect

The family of missing toddler Madeleine McCann today called for an international search to trace a man they believe may have been involved in their daughter's disappearance.

An artist's impression was released today of a man seen acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the Portuguese holiday complex where Madeleine vanished in May last year.

The sketch was based on a description given by a British holidaymaker, and bears a striking resemblance to an earlier drawing of a man seen carrying a child on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.

The McCanns' official spokesman said it was vitally important the man was traced as soon as possible.

"Who is he? Where is he? What, if any, is his connection to Madeleine's disappearance?" Clarence Mitchell said at a press conference in a London hotel.

"If he is innocent we want him to come forward for his own sake so he can be ruled out.

"We believe this man could be linked to Madeleine's disappearance."

Four-year-old Madeleine vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

The new sketch was produced by an FBI-accredited police artist, based on an interview with Gail Cooper, a holidaymaker from Nottinghamshire, who originally gave a police statement in May last year.

Mrs Cooper described seeing an olive-skinned man with collar-length scraggly hair acting suspiciously on a number of occasions.

On April 20 Mrs Cooper said she saw the man walking by himself in heavy rain on the deserted beach at Praia da Luz.

Later the same afternoon, Mrs Cooper said she received a visit from the same man, whom she described as "disturbing".

She said the man was nervous and agitated and claimed to be collecting for a local orphanage, which later turned out not to exist.

The man spoke fairly good English, but with a heavy accent, Mrs Cooper said, and she got rid of him quickly because she was apprehensive of him.

Two days later Mrs Cooper, who was on holiday with her husband John, saw the same man hanging around a children's outing to the beach organised by the Mark Warner resort.

Madeleine took part in the same outings in the days leading up to her disappearance.

After speaking to Mrs Cooper, Melissa Little, a police-trained artist hired by the McCann team, produced two sketches of the man, which Mrs Cooper described as "excellent" likenesses.

One is a full-face portrait of the man, showing thin features, heavy eyebrows, long dark hair and a distinctive drooping moustache.

The second image shows the man walking, and wearing a safari jacket and light-coloured trousers, and bears a striking resemblance to an image produced last year of a man seen by witness Jane Tanner carrying a child wearing pyjamas identical to those worn by Madeleine on the night of the disappearance.

Mr Mitchell said Mrs Cooper's information had been with the police for some time, but they had not produced an artist's impression.

"We're not going to criticise the police in any form - they have got a difficult enough job," he said.

"It seems drawings of this sort are not done as a matter of course in Portugal."

Mr Mitchell stressed that the new drawing was drawn up entirely independently of the one done last year, and said Mrs Cooper had not seen the first drawing.

He said the McCann team had drawn up an action plan for how they wanted the investigation to proceed.

First, they want a worldwide search for the man, co-ordinated by a central telephone number manned by their private detective agency to identify and locate the man in the sketches. All information would be passed on to the Portuguese police.

Second, they want a full review of all police records and witness statements, including one taken from a 12-year-old girl who reported sightings of a strange man in the Portuguese resort in May last year.

Third he called for complete collaboration between the Portuguese police, Interpol and the authorities in Spain, Morocco and Britain.

Since Madeleine's disappearance, only three people have been named as official suspects: Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, and British expatriate Robert Murat.

Within minutes of the close of the press conference, Mr Mitchell had taken a call from a British man who believes he saw the man in the sketches in the Portuguese resort of Faro several years ago.

Mr Mitchell said developments such as this gave Mr and Mrs McCann renewed hope.

"That is exactly the sort of call we want. We think the image is of such a quality that anyone who knows him will be able to identify him," he said.

"Kate and Gerry are quite buoyant at the moment - every time we do something like this and move things forward it gives them strength."