There they found his stepson Jack, 15, who gave them
Jon's mobile number and police told him to
immediately report to the local nick.
Jon, a fire protection officer, said: "They said
someone had seen me with a girl who looked like
Madeleine McCann.
"I
couldn't believe what I was hearing - I thought it
was a prank before I realised that they were quite
serious.
"But they told me to come to the police station with
Lauren, so I went and picked her up from her
friend's house and we drove there straight away."
Jon, who is married to Lauren's mum Claire, 40,
showed officers his business card and driving
licence and Lauren's birth certificate and the pair
were then allowed home.
He
admitted that Lauren does look like Maddie, who
disappeared on holiday in the Algarve in May 2007.
He
said: "A lot of people have said she does look like
her, I can see it, she does have a similar frame and
hair, but her eyes are different.
"But I was just really surprised throughout the
whole thing - I felt a bit uncomfortable because I
hadn't done anything wrong."
He
added: "The police were very polite and I understood
that they had to follow up the lead, even if it
didn't come to anything.
"There's always a chance a tip-off like that might
lead them to Madeleine."
Jon suspects the "sighting" could have been
triggered by the story of Jaycee Lee Dugard, the
American girl found last week after vanishing 18
years ago.
He
said: "In a way it proves people are still vigilant
about Maddie - people should still be on the lookout
for her.
"People do turn up years later. It happened last
week when Jaycee Lee Dugard turned-up in the States.
It can happen.
