A photogaph of a small girl with striking facial similarities to Madeleine McCann in the clutches of a group of Moroccans was being studied by Interpol detectives last night.
The grainy image, taken only four weeks ago, shows a blonde youngster being carried on the back of a dark-skinned woman in traditional North African dress with companions carrying their worldly possessions along a dusty roadside near Tangiers.
It is the fourth reported sighting of Madeleine in Morocco, the first two having come only six days after she disappeared.
Scroll down for more
The photo which could show Madeleine McCann in Morocco
Her anguished parents last night insisted they would not raise their hopes until forensic analysis had strengthened or ruled out suspicions that it could be her.
But their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They are aware of the picture and are very interested in it."
The picture was emailed to them and they spent several minutes studying it. Privately the couple are understood to think it could be her, but the poor quality of the image has meant they simply cannot say with any certainty.
Scroll down for more
The quality of the photograph makes it difficult to tell whether it really is the missing four-year-old
Read more...
The existence of the picture was revealed on a Spanish radio station by the woman who took it near the northern town of Zinat, just south of Tangiers, on August 31.
Spaniard Clara Torres and her partner spotted the likeness after taking what they thought would simply be a colourful shot of Moroccan life.
They were immediately suspicious that a blonde, pale-skinned, European-looking child should be with the group of wanderers. When they heard about other sightings in Morocco they emailed it to the Spanish national police, who forwarded it to Interpol.
Scroll down for more...
Even with this close up of the little girl's face it is difficult to tell if it is Madeleine
It will be analysed by experts, possibly from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre who have used state- of-the-art facial recognition computer software to study thousands of pictures sent in by holidaymakers who were in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished on May 3.
Mrs Torres told the Spanish radio station COPE: "I was with my family and my partner. I was taking photos of everything we saw, and we saw a group of people and took a photo.
"As soon as I took the photo wewere struck by the little girl, who was very blonde.
"The truth is we said the name of the girl, but we couldn't believe it could be her, it was just impossible that it was her.
Scroll down for more...
The familiar photos of Madeleine, above and below, used in the campaign to find her
Could the girl in this picture be Madeleine McCann? | the Daily Mail
Could the girl in this picture be Madeleine McCann?
A bag of songs and a heavy heart...
Girl snapped by Spanish tourist
The child is said to be Moroccan
Linear Mode
