daily express today Posh Spice appeal

‘POSH SPICE’ APPEAL RAISES 1,000 LEADS IN MADDIE HUNT







An e-fit of the woman in Barcelona



Tuesday September 22,2009

By David Pilditch




THE parents of Madeleine McCann have launched a fresh bid to trace a Victoria Beckham lookalike after an appeal sparked 1,000 new leads.




Private detectives working for Kate and Gerry are pursuing a string of “viable leads” after issuing an e-fit image of the potential new suspect.

The investigators revealed last month that a glamorous woman with short Posh Spice-style hair had been spotted acting suspiciously in Barcelona 72 hours after Madeleine disappeared from her family’s apartment in a Portuguese holiday resort.

The well-dressed woman, who was said to be in an agitated state, asked a British tourist if he was about to deliver her “new daughter”.

She was pacing outside a restaurant at the city’s Olympic Marina at 2am on May 7, 2007.

After speaking to one of the witnesses the woman went into a bar next door, where she had a heated conversation with a local in what seemed to be fluent Spanish.

The McCanns revealed that their lead investigator, former detective inspector Dave Edgar, and his team had sifted through more than 1,000 emails and phone calls following the appeal about the incident.

One witness said the woman, described as being aged 30-35, of slim build with short brown hair, may have had an Australian accent. But now the investigators believe the witness could have been mistaken.

Launching a fresh appeal for information the McCanns said on their website: “At the start of August this year, our investigators appealed to the general public for more information following a credible account by a witness.

“This related to a lady acting suspiciously in Barcelona on the 7th May 2007 in the early hours of the morning.

“Our investigators received approximately 1,000 emails and phone calls following this appeal and have been busy working through this information.


Thank you to everybody who passed information on to our team.

“We would like to encourage anyone who may still have potentially ­relevant information to come forward. It is important to note that although the witness thought that the woman in question may have had an Australian accent, it is possible that this may not be the case.”

The McCanns, from Rothley, Leics, are convinced Madeleine is still alive. She was snatched from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday.

Her parents were given new hope after the discovery last month of Jaycee Lee Dugard who was held captive for 18 years after being kidnapped near her Californian home.

The McCanns said: “It emphasises yet again how vital it is to never give up on missing children and how ­criminal and unjust to assume they are no longer alive.”



http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/129043/-Posh-Spice-appeal-raises-1-000-leads-in-Maddie-hunt

The McCanns said: “It emphasises yet again how vital it is to never give up on missing children and how criminal and unjust to assume they are no longer alive.”