PORTUGAL:The mother of three-year-old Madeleine McCann yesterday begged people to pray for her daughter as the police efforts to find the missing girl appeared to be floundering.
In the upmarket Algarve resort from where Madeleine vanished last Thursday night, presumed abducted, Kate McCann said: "Please continue to pray for Madeleine." Her voice cracked as she added: "She's lovely."
Her husband Gerry said the family continued to "hope for the best possible outcome from this for us and Madeleine".
However the police hunt for the missing girl seemed to have hit a brick wall. About 150 police have been involved but the only lead appeared to be a fleeting glimpse of a man seen from behind with a blonde girl not far from the apartment where the McCanns were staying.
Portuguese detectives have refused to release a sketch that has been prepared of the suspect for fear it might panic him if he is holding Madeleine alive.
The police have also been criticised for not reacting more quickly when Madeleine went missing. They did not inform border police until the following day, a delay that would have given a kidnapper plenty of time to cross into Spain.
Madeleine vanished from an apartment inside a complex as her parents dined at a tapas bar about 100 metres away.
Mr and Mrs McCann were checking the girl, who was sleeping next to her two-year-old brother and his twin sister, every few minutes, but when they returned at the end of their meal, Madeleine's bed was empty. - (Guardian service)