Daily Express
28 November 2007
Nick Fagge
A British expat says he saw Madeleine McCann being dragged towards a marina by a "very suspicious" couple, just hours after she vanished, it was reported last night.
Businessman George Burke says he saw a small girl resembling Madeleine being hauled along by a "viciouslooking" man and woman, as he drove past Lagos marina in the early morning of May 4, just eight hours after she vanished.
He said:
"It was dark and they were hurrying towards the marina. There was no one else around at the time and they looked very suspicious."Mr Burke, who is from Liverpool but lives in Portugal, reported the sighting to Portuguese police but said they did not take him seriously. He is now being quizzed by the McCanns' private detectives who say the sighting may be crucial.
The claims came as it was revealed that police in Portugal have carried out fresh searches for Madeleine's body – or a place she could have been hidden – in countryside surrounding Praia da Luz.
The Policia Judiciaria has refused to reveal the exact locations, and inquiries continue.
Detectives are believed to have identified a number of locations several miles away from the Algarve resort, in countryside between the towns of Lagos and Portimao.
Sources said the theory that Madeleine was killed by an intruder at the villa, who then disposed of her body elsewhere, was gaining strength at the centre of the investigation.
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