Madeleine McCann 'spotted' in Southern France

Feb 20 2008

madeleine McCann

The parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann reacted cautiously to a report that she may have been seen in southern France.

A Dutch tourist, Melissa Fiering, claimed to have spotted the four-year-old in a service station near Montpellier last Friday.

A French police official said investigators had examined CCTV footage from the restaurant and determined it was not Madeleine.

The McCanns’ official spokesman said the couple had been aware of reports in the media of a possible sighting, but were still waiting to hear from the police.

“Kate and Gerry understand that Interpol are tonight liaising with the French police, Leicestershire police and the Policia Judiciaria (the Portuguese police leading the inquiry) to establish the facts,” Clarence Mitchell said.

“If, as reported initially in the Dutch media, there is CCTV footage to confirm the possible sighting by Melissa Fiering, then Kate and Gerry would obviously wish to view that material as a matter of priority.”

Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished from her parents’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

Since then there have been several reported sightings of her around Europe and north Africa, all of which have proven to be false leads.

Fiering, from Nijmegen, told a Dutch newspaper she was confident the girl was Madeleine because she looked up startled when she called her name.

The man accompanying her bundled the little girl up and drove her away before police could arrive, she said.

The teenager said the girl’s eyes had also convinced her she was Madeleine - she claimed to have seen the distinctive blemish in her iris.