A number of persons of interest have been identified by UK detectives reviewing the case of the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine McCann, from Rothley, Leics, was nearly 4-year-old when she went missing from her family’s Portuguese holiday flat in an Algarve resort.
Scotland Yard said officers were working closely with Portuguese police and considering their next steps.
They denied asking Portuguese police to make any arrests.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police went on to say Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were being kept up-to-date with their progress.
Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the couple, said: “Kate and Gerry remain very, very pleased with the work that Scotland Yard are doing and have been encouraged by Operation Grange [the case review] from the day it began.
“Beyond that, they simply will not comment on what are police operational matters.”
A number of persons of interest have been identified by UK detectives reviewing the case of the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann
The Met Police statement also said: “Our investigative review is ongoing and we are encouraged by the progress we are making.
“We are reviewing a significant number of documents and continue to identify potential lines of inquiry.
“We can confirm that as part of this process we have identified a number of persons of interest, but any suggestion that the MPS [Met Police Service] is asking the Portuguese police to make arrests in connection with this inquiry is entirely inaccurate.”
The UK review into Madeleine McCann’s case – known as Operation Grange – began last May after Prime Minister David Cameron responded to a plea from her parents.
Its objective is for a team of UK officers to work with the Portuguese authorities with a view to reopening the case, which has been closed since 2008.
As part of the review, a computer-generated image of how Madeleine McCann might look now was produced.
Detectives are also poring over thousands of pieces of information from the Portuguese investigation, inquiries by the UK law enforcement agencies, and the work of private investigators and agencies.
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A witness claimed a blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen at a campsite in Spain just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago.
The groggy-looking blonde girl appeared alienated from the German family she was staying with at the resort on the Costa del Sol, according to a witness.
The potential sighting came three days after Madeleine McCann was abducted from Praia da Luz in Portugal, a few hours drive away.
British detectives investigating her disappearance have been told the German family paid extra after arriving at the campsite with one more child than expected on May 6, 2007, reports The Sun.
It is also believed that their vehicle had fake number plates to avoid detection.
The alarm was raised by holidaymaker Karen Sisson, 49, who was staying at the Cabopino campsite near Fuengirola.
A witness claimed a blonde girl identical to Madeleine McCann was seen at a campsite in Spain just three days after the British toddler went missing five years ago
Karen Sisson, from Gibraltar, told police at the time that the girl was wearing a pink T-shirt, shorts and a beige hat and seemed “out of it”.
She said that the girl seemed out of place with the German couple and their two curly-haired children.
Karen Sisson’s suspicions were further raised when she saw the girl wearing the same outfit the following day.
The mother-of-two left the next day but records show the German family stayed at the campsite for two weeks.
They checked in under the name Karsten Mayer, who gave 1970 as his year of birth.
Their car had a “BE” German number plate, which went out of official use 38 years ago – but the vehicle was a Mercedes Vito people carrier that was first manufactured in 1996.
A spokesman for the McCanns said yesterday: “This lady has done the right thing in reporting what she saw to the police.”
The development comes as Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann on Sunday declared they will never give up their search for their missing daughter as they took part in a ten-kilometre charity run.
Just three days after the fifth anniversary of Maddie’s abduction, the couple took part at the busy Liverpool event for the first time.
Kate McCann, 44, wore a white vest with a picture of Madeleine on the front and the words “Never give up” on the back.
It was the first year they felt able to take part in the event.
