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Madeleine McCann latest: Met police contact Australian authorities over 'human remains of a fair-haired girl' Madeleine McCann latest: Met police contact Australian authorities over 'human remains of a fair-haired girl'
(about 11 hours later)
British detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have contacted Australian authorities over their discovery of a human remains believed to be that of a fair-haired girl aged two to four who was killed up to eight years ago.British detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have contacted Australian authorities over their discovery of a human remains believed to be that of a fair-haired girl aged two to four who was killed up to eight years ago.
Australian authorities have so far been unable to identify the girl, who is believed to have been dumped on a roadside in Wynarka near Adelaide in South Australia earlier this year.Australian authorities have so far been unable to identify the girl, who is believed to have been dumped on a roadside in Wynarka near Adelaide in South Australia earlier this year.
Police believe the decomposed body of a young, fair-haired girl aged between two and four was killed in at least 2007. It was discovered in a suitcase next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide in South Australia earlier this month, local police said.Police believe the decomposed body of a young, fair-haired girl aged between two and four was killed in at least 2007. It was discovered in a suitcase next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide in South Australia earlier this month, local police said.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities."A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We are aware of reports of the remains of a child having been found in South Australia and we have made contact with the Australian authorities."
One of the last photos of Madeleine before her disappearance
EPA
Madeleine McCann was three when she was abducted during a family holiday in 2007
A computer generated image of the distinctive burgundy long sleeve top worn by a man that detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are looking for
An aerial view of the Ocean Club apartments and pool where Madeleine McCann went missing
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Kate McCann speaks to the press outside the court house in Lisbon on 12 September 2013 following the first audience of the McCann couple's libel proceedings against former inspector Goncalo Amaral for a book written about the case of their missing daughter
Kate McCann and Gerry McCann before the start of the 'Miles for Missing People' charity run in Regent's Park in London, 2011
Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal at a press conference in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal 7 May 2007
The McCann's give an interview with a Spanish television channel at their home in Rothley
Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal in May 2007
AP
Preliminary forensic analysis on samples recovered from the McCanns' hire car raised the possibility of a match with Madeleine's DNA profile, according to the leaked report
Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI blesses a photo of four-year-old abducted British girl Madeleine McCann, while meeting her parents Gerry and Kate McCann, after his weekly general audience at the Vatican, 2007
Reuters
Gerald McCann and Kate McCann speak to the press on 4 May 2007 at the Ocean club appartement hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos after Madeline vanished while her parents were out to dinner
Dozens of Portuguese police aided by dogs search for missing three-year old British girl Madelaine McCann in front of the Ocean club appartment hotel in Praia de Luz in Lagos
Gerald McCann and Kate McCann walk holding their two other children outside the Ocean club apartment hotel in Praia de Luz in May 2007
Madeleine McCann pictured at the age of three, left, and as she might have looked aged nine
PA/Teri Blythe
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have described as "pure speculation" reports in the Portuguese press suggesting that a chief suspect in the disappearance of their daughter was killed in a tractor accident four years ago.
PA
Three year old Cally prepares to add a yellow ribbon to a floral tribute for missing Madeleine McCann in Rothley in Leicesteshire, 2007
Everton captain Lee Carsley (L) leads his team onto the field, followed Mikel Arteta (C) and Manuel Fernandes (R) wearing Tshirts bearing a message of support for the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann, prior to the English Premiership match between Chelsea and Everton, at Stamford Bridge in London, 2007
A poster appealing for information about Madeleine McCann at a Spanish railway station
PA
Former porn star Mark Sloan (L) was cast in the BBC's Crimewatch reconstruction of Madeleine McCann's disappearance
BBC
McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell holds two artist's impression of the new suspect on 20 January 2008 in London. The description has come from British woman Gail Cooper, who was staying with her family close to the McCann's apartment in Portugal
Clarence Mitchell, the press spokesman for the McCann family, releases a photofit image of a woman sought in the search for missing Madeleine McCann
Getty Images
Police released two e-fits of suspect in disappearance of Madeleine McCann
Getty Images
Convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett, who is being sought in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann
PA
An artist's impression of a suspicious man seen by a witness apparently watching the McCann family's apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, the day before Madeleine McCann went missing
Channel 4
While the discovery has led to suggestions that the case into the missing British girl may be advancing, Australian police have ruled out the link between the body and one of the most high profile missing person cases in the world.While the discovery has led to suggestions that the case into the missing British girl may be advancing, Australian police have ruled out the link between the body and one of the most high profile missing person cases in the world.
Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said there is "absolutely no evidence" that the child is Madeleine, The Australian newspaper reported. "There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann ... to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention,” he told a parliamentary estimates committee hearing.Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said there is "absolutely no evidence" that the child is Madeleine, The Australian newspaper reported. "There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann ... to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculating to get attention,” he told a parliamentary estimates committee hearing.
"We are focusing our inquiries on South Australia but we would be considering any potential missing child. Until we ascertain the identity of the child we need to be open to all possibilities.""We are focusing our inquiries on South Australia but we would be considering any potential missing child. Until we ascertain the identity of the child we need to be open to all possibilities."
Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. Despite numerous leads, she has hitherto never been found.Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. Despite numerous leads, she has hitherto never been found.