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A DNA sample taken from a restaurant where a woman reported seeing Madeleine
McCann was not that of the missing four-year-old.
Tests revealed the DNA was that of a man, but Belgian prosecutors said they do
not prove Madeleine was not there.
Spokeswoman Katja Vandoren said: "This does not mean that Madeleine's
presence is ruled out.
"The possibility exists that the bottle was finished by the man who was
with the little girl present."
Ms Vandoren said the DNA profile had been checked with Belgian and Dutch
central DNA databases and had not found any matches.
Police officers are continuing to try to trace a modern black Volvo used by a
couple and the youngster in the east Belgian town of Tongeren.
A child therapist had said she was "100% sure" she saw the missing
four-year-old at a restaurant in the town, not far from the Dutch border, on
July 28.
The witness said the girl was with a couple, a Dutch man and an
English-speaking woman, who were acting strangely and not like "normal
parents".
Sky News correspondent Greg Milam, who is in Belgium, said that the inconclusive
nature of the result means police are still desperate to find the couple and
the girl.
"There has been huge publicity here and yet they have still not come
forward and their car hasn't been located," he said.
Sightings of Madeleine have been reported all over Europe and further afield
since she was snatched from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal on May
3.
In a radio interview recorded before the test results were released Madeleine's
mother, Kate McCann, said that although there was no positive news she was
encouraged that people were still looking for her daughter.
"It says to us that people are still looking and that is really important
and we would encourage that," she said.
"I probably have more hope now than I did at the beginning."
She added: "We haven't had any news to the contrary that Madeleine isn't
alive, and that's very important."
Portuguese newspapers have claimed detectives suspected the girl was not
abducted, but died in her family's holiday flat in the Algarve village of Praia
da Luz.
Blood specks found in the apartment are now in the UK for testing to see if they came
from Madeleine.
It is thought the police investigation is moving away from Robert Murat, 33,
the only official suspect in the case.
On Saturday, it will be 100 days since Madeleine went missing. |
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