Madeleine 'sightings' in Malta probed

Sightings of missing toddler Madeleine McCann in Malta have led police on the Mediterranean island to launch a "full-scale" investigation.

On the 50th day since her disappearance, a Maltese newspaper reported that two tourists saw a girl matching the four-year-old's description in Valletta.

Subsequent reports said four other people had since come forward with possible sightings in Malta.

The reports follow possible sightings across Europe and as far away as north Africa but it is the first time that claims have been made public of a possible Maltese sighting.

One person who contacted police was Ray Roberts, from Anglesey, north Wales, who said he saw a girl in Sliema wearing what he said was a jet black wig being told: "Get up little girl" by an Arab-looking man.

"On June 17, 2007 the Malta police were in receipt of a report of a sighting of a girl who resembled Madeleine McCann who was abducted in Portugal on May 3, 2007," Superintendent Pierre Calleja of the Maltese CID said.

"Subsequent to this report, a full-scale police investigation and a magisterial inquiry were initiated. These investigations are actively in progress and all possible avenues are being pursued."

Mr Roberts said the girl he saw was taken away by a man in his 40s and a younger woman.

"It was obviously not his first language so it seemed odd that he had to speak to her in English," he said. "As a father, their reaction did not seem natural."

He added: "Then I noticed the little girl's hair. It was pitch black, very thick and cut in an unusual style for a child that age - very much like a wig rather than real hair.

"The more I think about what I saw the more convinced I became that it may well have been Maddie.

"The oddness of it all played out in my mind until I got home then I realised I had to do something."

But a spokeswoman for parents Gerry and Kate McCann say they were not giving credence to the claims at this stage and are focusing on events to boost awareness of her disappearance.

The spokeswoman said: "Their whole attitude from day one has been that they know there are going to be lots of bits of information but if they expended energy on every single one of them what would they be like by now?

"Until they hear that something has been checked out and there is a resolution of the piece of information one way or the other and that comes from an official source they are not going to focus on it."

Instead, they will lead a balloon release in up to 50 countries to mark the 50th day of their daughter's disappearance.

The two doctors, from Rothley in Leicestershire, will release 50 yellow helium-filled balloons on the beach at the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was staying when she was abducted.

Numerous similar events have been organised across the UK, as well as in countries including Ireland, Argentina, the US, Singapore, Australia - and even Afghanistan, where people will race kites emblazoned with pictures of Madeleine.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.