Ulster Tourist Spots 'Maddie' In Bosnia

There was fresh hope again in the six-month long hunt for missing Madeleine McCann.

Private detectives hired by parents Gerry and Kate McCann are now working with police in Bosnia in a bid to substantiate a possible sighting of their daughter by an Ulster man.

A man, believed to be from Co Fermanagh, was on holiday in Bosnia earlier this month when he said he spotted a blonde girl struggling with a man and shouting "I want my daddy".

He said that the girl was pushed into the back seat of a car. The man scribbled down the make and registration number of the car and forwarded it to police and the McCann's hotline.

It is understood that the McCann's private detective team are now working with police in Bosnia in a bid to track down the owner of the car.

"The detective agency are keeping an eye on the situation but at the moment we do not believe detectives from the agency have travelled to Bosnia, " a spokeswoman for the McCanns said.

She added: "They are keeping an eye on the situation and every reported sighting is thoroughly investigated.

"They are currently liaising with police on the ground and seeing what they can do from their base in Spain. If they believe there is credibility in the sighting then they will go out there.

"From their base in Spain they are following up a number of leads and are working in conjunction with the local authorities."

It has been more than six months since Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia de Luz.

They are convinced that she was abducted from her bed as they dined in a nearby restaurant and remain hopeful that she is still alive.

Writing on his internet blog on the six month anniversary of her disappearance last week, Gerry McCann said that he and his wife can only hope that their daughter is being treated well.

(BMcC)