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| Greek police appeal over mystery blonde girl | Greek police appeal over mystery blonde girl |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Greek police are trying to discover the identity of a young blonde girl who was found living on a Roma settlement with a family she did not resemble. | |
| DNA tests revealed the child, called Maria and aged about four, was not related to the couple she lived with. | |
| The little girl is now being looked after by a charity. Her photo has been released to help find her family. | The little girl is now being looked after by a charity. Her photo has been released to help find her family. |
| Officials fear she may have been a victim of abduction or child trafficking. | Officials fear she may have been a victim of abduction or child trafficking. |
| Police are appealing internationally as the little girl looks like she might be from northern or eastern Europe. | Police are appealing internationally as the little girl looks like she might be from northern or eastern Europe. |
| A spokesman for the British couple Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing in Portugal in 2007, said the case gave them "great hope" that she would one day be found alive. | |
| Raid | Raid |
| Police raided the Roma camp, near Farsala in central Greece, on suspicion of criminal activity. | Police raided the Roma camp, near Farsala in central Greece, on suspicion of criminal activity. |
| They noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned little girl and her parents, and found further discrepancies when they investigated the family's documents. | |
| The couple had registered different numbers of children with different regional family registries. | The couple had registered different numbers of children with different regional family registries. |
| The woman claimed to have given birth to six children within a 10-month period. | The woman claimed to have given birth to six children within a 10-month period. |
| When questioned about how they came to have Maria, the couple gave "constantly changing claims," Thessalia Province Police Director Vassilis Halatsis said. | When questioned about how they came to have Maria, the couple gave "constantly changing claims," Thessalia Province Police Director Vassilis Halatsis said. |
| They have been arrested on suspicion of abducting a minor. | They have been arrested on suspicion of abducting a minor. |
| The president of the Smile of the Child organisation that is looking after the little girl, Kostas Yaaopoulos, says the child is confused and shocked by the change in her environment. | The president of the Smile of the Child organisation that is looking after the little girl, Kostas Yaaopoulos, says the child is confused and shocked by the change in her environment. |
| She was being used to beg on the streets of Larissa because she was blonde and cute, he alleged. | She was being used to beg on the streets of Larissa because she was blonde and cute, he alleged. |