'Malta cops draw blank'

The reported sightings of missing Madeleine McCann have continued to be reported widely around the world. In this report, Bruce Walker writes in the Sunday Glasgow Herald that her parents 'clung to hope' last night after being told there was no evidence she was in Malta despite the numerous sightings:

..Police received 14 reports from people claiming to have seen the four-year-old on the island. But officers yesterday revealed there was no firm evidence to suggest she was there. A spokesman said: "So far, police investigations have yielded negative results. We will continue investigating this case."

..Maltese police said the first report of a girl matching Madeleine's description went back three weeks. A local woman said she saw a girl who looked like her in the capital city, Valletta, a week earlier. On June 17, police looked into a sighting by two English women near the Valletta bus terminal. A Maltese man also reported seeing a girl he thought was Madeleine at an outdoor religious feast last Sunday. He took a photo of the girl on his mobile phone but the image did not match Madeleine's features.

The police received another two reports on Friday. But yesterday, police admitted the dozens of leads had so far yielded nothing. Madeleine's parents, Scots-born Gerry and wife Kate, have refused to give up hope of finding their daughter alive. And yesterday, they revealed there would be a new phase in their campaign to raise awareness of the hunt to find her - focusing on events rather than them...