Girl not Madeleine McCann, say police

Reuters

BEFORE SHE WENT MISSING: Madeleine McCann, aged 3.

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Police have discounted a sighting of a girl in The Warehouse in Dunedin more than two years ago as missing British girl Madeleine McCann.

The apparent sighting by retail assistant Taryn Dryfhout, and by a security guard, in December 2007 sparked international interest.

Madeleine was four-years-old when she disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in July 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.

CCTV footage showed a girl being led into a supermarket by a man in shorts, while another photo in Britain's Daily Mail showed a young girl in The Warehouse accompanied by a man in shorts and an older boy.

Police have identified the girl and her family, and she is not the missing British girl, acting Southern District commander Inspector Dave Campbell said tonight.

Police would not name the family or give any further details about them, and asked for the image to be removed from the media.

"New Zealand police are mindful of the stress on the McCann family from possible sightings of their daughter worldwide," he said.

Ms Dryfhout was working as a checkout operator when she saw a girl with blue eyes, blonde hair and a tiny frame enter the shop in December 2007.

"I was quite stricken by the wee girl who looked just like Madeleine McCann," she told One News.

"She was quite apprehensive to talk to me and sort of stammered over her words when she was trying to think of her name."

The man and woman with the child were described as "a little bit suspicious".

The Dunedin sightings surfaced after the release of a 2000-page file from Portuguese police containing a series of

Dunedin policeman-turned-private investigator Wayne Idour said he couldn't work out why the video footage of the young girl had not been aired publicly sooner, to identify her or the man and woman she was with.

He was unsure why the footage had never been aired publicly, if only to identify the man or woman and rule out that the girl was Madeleine.

"I can't work out why they haven't shown the actual moving video footage of them walking through the store. I can't work out why that has never been put to the public. That, to me, would have been the logical thing to do,'' Idour said.

The former Dunedin policeman of 20 years who retired in 1992 and did occasional work for David Bain's defence team  said the footage could be shown in a way without incriminating the man or woman, and the case could have been resolved much sooner.

"You can show it in a way that you are not accusing them of anything, you are just appealing for information about their identity.'

Dunedin police had worked with the retailer on the case, and forwarded the file to Interpol, although no requests for further investigation were made.

British newspapers, including The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and The Sun, have carried articles on the girl apparently surfacing in Dunedin.

There has also been a reported sighting of a girl in Portugal with gypsies, wearing a black wig, 18 months after Madeleine's disappearance.

- with MICHELLE SUTTON, D Scene

- NZPA