SKY

Police: 'We Have A Suspect In Mind'

Updated:12:46, Thursday May 10, 2007

The parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have made a fresh appeal for their daughter's return.

Kate McCann clutched a small pink teddy bear as her husband thanked wellwishers for their support during his family's 'difficult time'.

Police searching for the missing three-year-old have confirmed she was abducted - but say they are hopeful she is still alive.

Detectives have a suspect in mind and have put together a sketch, but refuse to reveal any more details for fear of endangering her life.

Gerry McCann was speaking exactly 48 hours since his daughter went missing.

He said: "We have no further information, but appreciate the significant efforts everyone is making on our behalf.

"We would again like to appeal for any information, however small, that may lead to the safe return of Madeleine."

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He said he was pleased that the family liaison officers from Leicestershire Police had now arrived in the Algarve and were working with the Portugese police.

His wife, Kate, did not speak, but nodded and took several deep breaths.

Guilhermino Encarnacao, the director of judicial police in Faro, added that the police had received more than 30 calls with possible new lines of inquiry, all of which were being followed up.

And he said that today calls had flooded in from all over Portugal from members of the public reporting possible sightings of a girl matching Madeleine's description.

She went missing from her bedroom in a holiday apartment in the town of Praia da Luz while her parents were eating in the hotel dining room 40 yards away.

Madeleine was last seen by her father sleeping soundly at around 9pm on Thursday at the resort in the south-western Algarve.

But at 10pm, when her mother went to check on her, she found the shutter slid up, the bedroom window open and her daughter gone.

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said the force had sent three family liaison officers to Portugal to support Madeleine's family as the frantic search continues.

Sky News correspondent Ian Woods, who is at the holiday resort, said: "With every passing hour, one must fear the worst."

"That Madeleine simply walked out of the apartment on her own seems the least likely scenario."

Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann, who is in Glasgow, said the family was elated at the news that police believed the toddler was still alive.

"It's really important to keep your emotions in check because the last couple of days have been like a rollercoaster. It's great to have some hope but we need something to happen. We need to keep our feelings in check," she told Sky News.