Student’s sighting of Madeleine McCann in France ‘encouraging’

Feb 21 2008 by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

THE parents of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann reacted cautiously last night to a report that she may have been seen in southern France.

A Dutch student, Melissa Fiering, claimed to have spotted a child with a “striking” resemblance to Madeleine at a service station near Montpellier last Friday.

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

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

“Kate and Gerry understand that Interpol are liaising with the French police, Leicestershire police and the Policia Judiciaria (the Portuguese police leading the inquiry) to establish the facts,” he 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 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, 18, who lives in Nijmegen but is a student in Barcelona, told the Hart van Nederland newspaper: “When I saw the little girl, I recognised her immediately. She was about six feet away.

“ She looked the same, though she was skinnier about the face and her hair was shorter.

“ Then I called out ‘Madeleine’ and she looked up.

“When I shouted out, he put on her coat and hat and bundled her away.

Madeleine’s grandfather, Brian Healy, from Mossley Hill, said last night he was unaware of the latest sighting.

alanweston