PORTUGAL:Police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal say they are following several different leads but admit there is still not enough evidence to make any arrests.
Madeleine went missing more than two weeks ago, apparently snatched from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz while her parents ate dinner in a tapas bar just metres away.
At a press conference in the nearby town of Portimao yesterday evening, Chief Insp Olegario de Sousa denied the investigation had stalled. He said police were following "several different leads" and "several different links". Evidence was still being gathered, he added.
Chief Insp de Sousa confirmed that a further property had been searched and a new witness questioned. He did not name this individual but it is believed he was referring to Russian national Sergey Malinka.
Mr Malinka (22) was taken to a police station in Portimao on Wednesday evening and computer equipment was removed from his apartment in Praia da Luz. An IT specialist, he designed a property website for Robert Murat, the British man who remains the only formal suspect in the case so far. Mr Murat was questioned for 12 hours earlier this week and detectives removed computer equipment from the villa he shares with his elderly mother.
The house is just a few minutes' walk away from the apartment Madeleine was sharing with her parents and two siblings. Portuguese daily Correio da Manha reported that police discovered there were a number of phone calls between Mr Murat and Mr Malinka on the night Madeleine went missing.
Mr Malinka and Mr Murat have strenuously denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine. Chief Insp de Sousa said police are continuing to examine items seized from the last property they searched.
Amid a clamour of questions from reporters, he again emphasised the Portuguese laws restricting how much police could reveal on active investigations. Asked about the relationship between Mr Malinka and Mr Murat, he said he could not comment.
Asked if police had extended their focus beyond Portugal's borders, he said the inquiry was still centred on the Algarve.
There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that a girl who looked like four-year-old Madeleine had been seen in a southern suburb of Lisbon.
Chief Insp de Sousa said police had checked information about a number of reported sightings, but none had transpired to be the missing toddler.
Meanwhile, the McCann family disclosed there had been an "overwhelming" response to their campaign to highlight her disappearance.
Michael Wright, a close relative of Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate, said a campaign website has clocked up more than five million hits since it was launched earlier this week.
Speaking to reporters in Praia da Luz, Mr Wright said the family were determined to extend the poster campaign across Europe. "This is just the start and Kate and Gerry are open to anything to help bring Madeleine home," he said.
"If Madeleine is not in Portugal, we want to make sure that the rest of Europe is aware of this little girl. We want everyone to have an image of Madeleine in whatever country in Europe they visit."