Detective vows to find Madeleine

Francisco Marco said he believes the four-year-old is alive in Morocco and is already following up reported sightings of a blonde-haired girl with her distinctive right eye.

The detective's Spanish-based agency, Metodo 3, was given the job of finding Madeleine in September.

He said: "We have a six-month agreement with the McCanns. We have already spent a month and a half working. I will find her before that period is up."

Mr Marco said he is certain Mr and Mrs McCann had nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance from Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3.

Mr Marco, head of a 40-strong team, said: "Our staff interviewed the McCanns for 10 hours - enough time for us to tell if they were trying to fool us.

"My specialists assure me they are not hiding anything. I would not risk the prestige this agency has gained over 23 years without being convinced there is a case."

Mr Marco, a father of two, believes Madeleine was stolen to order from the family's holiday villa in the Algarve.

The detective's team has already investigated a sighting in Morocco of a blonde girl with the same distinctive mark in one eye as Madeleine.

Naoual Malhi, a Spanish woman of Moroccan origin, saw the child with a woman in the village of Fnidk on August 21.