Maddie Silves sighting probed

This historic Portuguese town is where detectives fear Madeleine McCann’s abductors handed her over to a paedophile gang. It is 25 miles from Praia da Luz, the Algarve resort where Maddie, four, vanished on May 3.

A trucker has reported seeing a blonde woman handing a child wrapped in a blanket to a man in Silves.

Private detectives from the Metodo 3 agency hired by Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry believe she was then spirited out of the country to Morocco. A source at the Spanish agency revealed the trucker’s claims of seeing the exchange two days after Maddie went missing. He rang a hotline a couple of weeks ago, saying he saw her given to a man in a rental car.

He said it was daylight on a warm day – which made him suspicious that the child was wrapped up. The source said: “The detectives are working on the theory Madeleine was identified as an easy target, stolen to order and then handed over to a paedophile gang. Because of all the publicity she became too dangerous to keep – and was passed on or sold. The detectives believe she was taken to North Africa, either on a boat from Portugal or via Spain on a ferry to Tangier. They believe they can find the vehicle seen in Silves. It’s an unusual make and colour in Portugal.”

Another witness has told investigators she saw Maddie in Zaio, northern Morocco, on June 15.Isobel Gonzalez, 60, from Spain, reported the sighting to police that evening and later told The Sun: “I’m sure it was Madeleine.”

She told the agency that moments later she spotted a blonde woman. A source said: “We have spoken to the woman and are looking into the claims.”Metodo 3 has up to 40 agents following hundreds of leads."

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said yesterday: “This is only one line of investigation that is being explored. The witness who says he saw Madeleine was deemed to be credible.” (The Sun)