MARRAKESH, Morocco (AFP) - Authorities in Morocco have no reason to believe missing British toddler Madeleine McCann may be in the country as suggested by British press reports, Moroccan Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa said Sunday.
British newspapers reported Saturday that Moroccan police were looking for the girl, who disappeared from southern Portugal in May, in the Rif mountains following reported sightings of her in the village of Fnidek east of Tangiers.
"We have no new evidence suggesting such a presence in Morocco," the minister told AFP when asked about the press reports.
"We have cooperated for a long time with Portuguese and British police through Interpol and we have not had any new development on this case up until now," he added.
A previous sighting of a girl in Morocco who looked like Madeleine by a Spanish tourist last month proved to be a false lead, the minister recalled.
Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal on May 3, a few days before her fourth birthday, while her parents dined nearby with friends.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who are both doctors, returned to England in the beginning of September after being named as official suspects in the case by Portuguese police. They have not been charged.
The director of a Spanish private detective agency hired by the couple to look for Madeleine has said he believes she was abducted and taken to Morocco.
No comments:
Post a Comment