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MADELEINE MCCANN

Norwegian woman claims she saw Maddie McCann

A Norwegian woman has claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine McCann with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.

Norwegian woman claims she saw Maddie McCann
The e-fits released by police on Monday
The woman contacted former police superintendent Finn Abrahamsen with the tip-off on Monday, after the ex-policeman appeared on Norway's TV2 channel to discuss a new suspect in the long-running case. 
 
"There was a lady who had been on holiday in Spain two and a half years ago," Abrahamsen told TV2. "At a mall, she believed she observed the girl with an older man, and was quite sure about this."
 
He said that the tip-off, coming two years after the alleged sighting, would be of little use to police. 
 
"When it comes so long after the event,  you could say that it's ok that you get to hear it. But on the other hand there's not much you can do with it." 
 
The news comes as nearly 1,000 people have contacted London's Metropolitan Police with information about the new suspect in two new e-fit images released by investigators in an appeal on Monday. 
 
"We have now had over 730 calls and 212 emails as a direct result of the specific lines of enquiry we issued yesterday concerning events in the lead up to, and on the night of Thursday 3rd May 2007 when Madeleine was abducted," Deputy Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said. 
 
“Detectives are now trawling through and prioritizing that material. This will take time. We continue to appeal for information and I will be repeating similar appeals in Holland this evening on a programme called Opsporing Verzocht, and in Germany tomorrow night Aktenzeichen XY…ungelost."
 
"The MPS [Metropolitan Police] is offering a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person(s) responsible for the abduction of Madeleine McCann from Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3 May 2007."
 
He said people with tips should call 0800 0961011 in the UK, or +442071580126 from abroad, or send emails to [email protected]
 
Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she went missing, meaning she would now be eight years old. 
 
A new police reconstruction of the events is below. 
 

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MADELEINE MCCANN

German prosecutors probe Madeleine McCann suspect over 2004 rape

The prime suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann is now also being investigated over the unsolved rape of an Irishwoman in Portugal, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

German prosecutors probe Madeleine McCann suspect over 2004 rape
The prison in Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein where Christian B. is staying. Photo: DPA

“I can confirm that we are also investigating the accused on suspicion of raping a young Irishwoman in the Algarve in 2004,” Brunswick prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told AFP.

The woman came forward after seeing pictures of the suspect, named only as 43-year-old Christian B., in the media.

“The victim believes she may have recognised her tormentor. As a result, an investigation was opened here at the end of June,” Wolters added.

In a stunning development in the years-long mystery of Madeleine McCann's disappearance, German prosecutors said in a TV appeal in June that they believed Christian B. had kidnapped and murdered the girl.

READ ALSO: German prisoner identified in disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann, who was three at the time, went missing from her family's holiday flat in the Portuguese resort Praia da Luz in 2007 where she was sleeping while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.

Despite a huge international manhunt, no trace of her has been found.

German prosecutors say they have “concrete evidence” that Madeleine is dead, despite British police continuing to treat her disappearance as a missing persons case.

Christian B. has a long history of sex offences, including child abuse and rape.

He is currently serving time in a German prison for drug trafficking.

He has also been convicted in Germany of the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz, though the sentence is not yet final because of an extradition dispute.

Police in Germany have also linked Christian B. to other unsolved crimes.

Confirming earlier media reports, Wolters said Christian B. was under investigation for the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl in Portugal's Algarve region in April 2007, shortly before Madeleine's disappearance in the same area.

The suspect stands accused of masturbating in front of the girl, Wolters said.

READ ALSO: German police resume Maddie McCann allotment search

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