SHE is perhaps the most recognisable four-year-old in the world, but despite a range of theories, some of them mere lurid rumour, Madeleine McCann's whereabouts remain unknown.

There has been a raft of unabated speculation in the 112 days since the girl disappeared from her bed in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz as her parents, Kate and Gerry, ate with friends in a nearby restaurant.

The main theories, outlined below, have provoked anger, wild speculation, and potential libel action. Yet none has left the McCanns closer to learning the fate of their daughter.

ABDUCTED AND ALIVE IN SPAIN
Suggested - 23 August.

The latest theory emerged yesterday, after a reported sighting of a young girl matching the four-year-old's description in Spain. A woman told police the child had been holding the man's hand at a petrol station near Cartagena, in the south-east of the country, and that when he felt he was being watched, he led her into the car and drove off.

BOTCHED BURGLARY
Suggested - 20 August.

Police are still investigating reports of a series of break-ins at the resort complex from which Madeleine disappeared. Some have suggested the girl was woken by a thief, and killed to prevent her screaming.

Portuguese police are still waiting for DNA test results on blood specks found by British sniffer dogs on the wall of Madeleine's bedroom.

DIED IN AN ACCIDENT IN THE ROOM
Suggested - 7 August.

Unnamed Portuguese sources suggested the child may have been killed by accident. Supposedly a theory favoured by the three senior police officials in Portugal, no evidence was offered to support its credibility.

KILLED BY FAMILY FRIEND
Suggested - 10 July.

Three couples holidayed with the McCanns in Portugal, some of whom helped check on the sleeping children by listening outside their rooms. Rachael Oldfield, Russell O'Brien, and Fiona Payne were asked about their accounts of the night Madeleine vanished. In recent days, Mr O'Brien, a doctor, has condemned reports in the Portuguese press linking him with the incident.

KILLED BY PARENTS
Suggested - 6 June.

The most controversial of theories. It was a month before the McCanns themselves were asked the most painful of questions, provoking a flurry of debate over their parenting.

RANSOM PLOT
Suggested - 3 June.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, of the Policia Judiciaria in Portugal, said the worldwide media interest could have made a kidnapper feel too vulnerable to make a ransom demand.

No demand has been forthcoming.

ROBERT MURAT
Suggested - 14 May.

Robert Murat, the only formal suspect, has been effectively ruled out and is expected to have this confirmed within weeks. Officers have found no evidence against the 33-year-old, despite repeated searches of his villa, garden and car.

REVENGE
Suggested - 13 May.

Again, a theory initiated by the Portuguese media. Nothing, however, has suggested that the McCann family history would have provoked a revenge attack involving either the abduction or murder of their daughter.

ABDUCTED 'TO ORDER'
Suggested - 9 May.

The theory that Madeleine was kidnapped to order by a paedophile network has come and gone over the course of the inquiry, first emerging after less than a week.

ABDUCTED BY STRANGER
Suggested - immediately.

It has been the main theory all along, and remains a strong one, despite the ruling out of the only suspect so far.

WANDERED OFF
Suggested - immediately.

A theory put forward, in hope more than anything, immediately after Madeleine's disappearance. As time went by, however, it became apparent she was not in the area.

ABDUCTED AND ALIVE ELSEWHERE
Suggested - at various times.

Madeleine, or a child bearing her description, has been allegedly seen spotted wearing blue pyjamas at a service station in Marrakech, Morocco; boarding the yacht of a wealthy Arab family in Malta; and in Belgium.

Reports have also said she was kidnapped by Romanian travellers, while a Dutch newspaper story - about an anonymous letter claiming she had been killed - turned out to be false.

TRIAL BY TELEVISION
THE parents of Madeleine McCann are threatening to sue one of Portugal's best known television reporters for libel, it was reported last night.

Sources close to Kate and Gerry McCann say the couple are incensed over at least one live broadcast by Sandra Felgueiras, a journalist with the national television station RTP.

It is alleged that in one report, broadcast about ten days ago Ms Felgueiras suggested that Mrs McCann could have murdered her daughter.

A source close to the McCanns said: "This is about trying to stop lurid accusations being aired.

"Both the McCanns are hard-working, law abiding professionals.

"It is very important to protect their reputation."