British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have contacted South Australian Police following the discovery of a young girls remains in a suitcase.
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It has been confirmed that the remains of a fair-haired girl, likely to have been aged between two and four, were found dumped on the side of a rural highway in the South Australian wild earlier this month.
However, speaking at a parliamentary committee hearing, Australian police commissioner Grant Stevens said: “There is absolutely no evidence at this point in time that the child is Madeleine McCann”.
Three-year-old Madeline went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia de Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
But Australian police have ruled out the link between the body and one of the most high profile missing person cases in the world.
“We’re prepared to consider any possibility but to suggest something like that at this point in time would purely be speculation for the benefit of getting attention”.
“We are focusing our concerns on South Australia but we would be considering any absent child that is potential”.
Near the body was a faded, greying black suitcase, the quilt, and items of children’s clothing, including a black party dress and a Dora the Explorer T-shirt.
“I thought when we started this job that we would quickly identify who this little girl was”, said detective superintendent Des Bray.
Bray said Sunday that the quilt had been homemade, and appealed for anyone who recalled having seen it to come forward.
“The child was originally in the suitcase and at some point, somebody has, we believe removed the child from the suitcase”, he said.
Two women have told police they saw a man, aged in his 60s with a clean-cut appearance, walking near the highway with a dark-coloured suitcase between 7.30am and 8am about eight weeks ago.
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Police have said that they have received a huge public response to their appeal for information, with 410 calls from members of the public.
