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The woman
detectives are hunting in the search for Madeleine McCann
asked a
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| Lead: An
e-fit of the woman police are hunting in the search for
Madeleine |
British tourist if he was about to deliver her 'new
daughter'.
The woman,
who had an Australian accent, spoke to a British businessman in
Spain
just three days after the youngster disappeared.
She had been acting in an
'agitated' manner outside a bar in Barcelona
and, when approached, asked the man: 'Are you here to deliver my new
daughter?', a source close to the investigation said last night.
The tourist, who was chaperoning
his brother on a stag party, was too shocked to reply and the woman
repeated the question twice more. A second member of the party also
spoke to the woman before she left.
It is believed that the woman
mistook the witness for a man she had arranged to meet.
Investigators yesterday issued an
urgent appeal for information about the woman, described as a
'glamorous and well turned out' Victoria Beckham
lookalike.
Dave Edgar, the retired detective
hired by Kate and Gerry McCann
to lead a private inquiry, said it was very possible the youngster
was smuggled into Barcelona by yacht from the Portuguese resort of
Praia da Luz where she disappeared in May 2007.
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Missing: Madeleine on May 2, 2007, the day before she
disappeared |
Yesterday he
revealed an image of the woman, thought to be Australian, at a press
conference in London, appealing for help in finding her.
Mr Edgar, 52,
said the two Britons, who were part of a larger group on a
trip to
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Victoria Beckham
in New York this year. The woman police are
hunting is said to be a 'bit of a Victoria
Beckham lookalike' |
Spain,
saw the woman acting suspiciously in the early hours of May
7, 2007 during a night out at the city's Port Olimpic
Marina.
The men
said she appeared anxious as she paced up and down outside
the El Rey de la Gamba bar as if she was waiting to meet
somebody.
After
watching the woman for ten minutes, one of the Britons
approached her and they had a short conversation.
'She said
something that was potentially significant to the
investigation,' Mr Edgar said.
He
described it as a 'strong lead,' but refused to give any
more details.
The woman
then went into an adjacent bar where she had a heated
conversation with a local man in what appeared to be
fluent Spanish.
She was
last seen walking towards a hospital and more distant
ferry and cruise ship terminals. The man she talked to
described her as between 30 and 35, slim, about 5ft 2in
and with short brown hair.
She was
wearing expensive looking blue jeans and a jersey top,
possibly pastel-coloured.
The man
said she spoke with what he believed was an Australian
accent.
Mr Edgar
said: 'Madeleine most definitely could have got from the
area to Barcelona by yacht. This woman is a significant
individual, though I wouldn't describe her as a
suspect.'
He said
the witness, a married 41-year-old professional without
children, only contacted the McCanns' investigation team
six weeks ago.
Mr Edgar
said that the delay was for 'personal reasons' and that
he had insisted on remaining anonymous.
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The Barcelona
marina where the woman was last seen |
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An aerial
view of Port Olimpic marina in Barcelona,
popular with tourists, where the British
witnesses encountered the woman that
investigators now believe knew something
'significant' about Madeleine's
disappearance |
'We are satisfied that he is a very credible
witness and the account he's given is clear and
concise,' Mr Edgar said.
The man had
been drinking but was not drunk, while the woman
was sober.
The McCanns'
private detectives travelled to Barcelona in
search of extra information, but the CCTV
footage of the area had already been wiped.
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Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate
have maintained their efforts to
trace her |
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The
Ocean Club in Praia da Luz where the
McCanns were holidaying when
Madeleine was abducted while her
parents dined nearby |
They have
informed Portuguese detectives about the new lead and
plan to talk with the Australian Federal Police and the
Spanish authorities.
The e-fit of the woman by
a British police artist was described by the witness as
80 per cent accurate.
The McCanns, from
Rothley, Leicestershire, have been kept informed. Their
spokesman Clarence Mitchell
said: 'They've learned through bitter experience not to
get their hopes up.'
But he said they had
'drawn strength' from the new momentum in the
investigation.
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