Portuguese abduction attempt probe

A Dutch man has claimed that a stranger matching a description given in the McCann case tried to drag his daughter into a car in the village of Senhora da Rocha on the Algarve, southern Portugal, last month.

The would-be abductor was said to be in his 40s with a long pony tail - a description compatible with that of a man seen by British holidaymaker Gail Cooper acting suspiciously in Praia da Luz several times in the weeks before Madeleine's disappearance.

Mrs Cooper, from Nottinghamshire, spoke of seeing an olive-skinned man with long and straggly dark hair and a drooping moustache. Her account was used to generate an artist's impression of the man which led to a string of new calls.

The Dutch man reported the incident, which happened on March 11 this year, to Portuguese Police.

But it is understood that Metodo 3, the Spanish-based private detective agency working for the McCanns, is also looking into the matter.

Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, said: "Metodo 3 the investigative arm will study the details of this particular attempted abduction and will review it in liaison with the police."

He played down the significance of the latest claim saying it could be completely unrelated to Madeleine's disappearance from the McCanns' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

The McCanns are preparing to mark the 1st anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance this weekend.

The Dutch girl's father - who does not want to be named - told Sky News that his daughter had been walking back from a supermarket when she was followed by a man in a black 4x4 which stopped in front of her. "He then grabbed her but my daughter fought him," he is quoted as saying.