MISSING KIDS

Hopes that a blonde girl photographed in Morocco could be Madeleine McCann have been dashed after British journalists said they had tracked her down.

Reporters descended on the remote hillside village of Zinat in the north of the country after the image of a young girl being carried on a Moroccan woman's back was flashed around the world as a possible sighting of the missing girl.

But it quickly emerged that the girl in the photograph is believed by villagers to be five-year-old Bushra Binhisa, the daughter of an olive farmer.

Evening Standard journalist Rashid Razaq, who flew to Morocco from London, said he saw the youngster today.

He said: "She has got a resemblance to Madeleine but when you see her properly, it is obvious it isn't her."

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Clearly, if these reports that the girl in the photograph isn't Madeleine are true, it is disappointing news.

"This is why Gerry and Kate refused to comment on individual sightings and why I was advising caution overnight.

"Clearly, the search for Madeleine will continue and I would appeal for everyone to refocus their efforts to achieve her safe return."

Sky News Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said photo experts in Britain would continue to look at the picture until this latest information is confirmed.

Skynews 26/09/07