Detectives were last night desperately hunting a girl who was photographed in Sweden - after computer-matching showed she could be missing Madeleine McCann.
The girl, who was pictured at a car show, bears a strong resemblance to Maddie, who would now be six. Her jawline is identical and her eyes are the same colour as Maddie's. After the snap appeared on a website, Swedish police were inundated with calls from the public saying how much it looked like Maddie. They also received a spate of calls from visitors who believed they had seen Maddie at the car show.
Face-mapping technology used by British police identified the girl as a possible match, and Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry have now asked for an urgent investigation. But the photo of the girl in Sweden is not clear enough to show if she has the same characteristic. The girl was with a man and a woman at the car show, held in Sweden's capital Stockholm in August.
The man was Swedish but the girl spoke perfect English.
The woman remained silent, and the snapper said both adults refused to be photographed. Kate and Gerry, both 41, of Rothley, Leics, have seen the photo and believe it should be investigated. A source close to the couple said: "They feel it bears a resemblance to what Maddie would look like now. (The Sun)
Opinion: A blind trail. A cul-de-sac. A possible trojan horse (again) ... the girl does not have the same energy 'vibration' as Maddy. But there is a sense of 'necessity' in pursuing the line of enquiry.