British detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are probing claims a middle-aged couple 'soothed' the child the evening before she was abducted, it has been reported.
Scotland Yard are also believed to be re-interviewing holidaymakers and staff at the complex where the three-year-old was last seen as part of an ongoing review into her abduction.
Scotland Yard are also believed to be re-interviewing holidaymakers and staff at the complex where the three-year-old was last seen as part of an ongoing review into her abduction.
They have drawn up a list of suspects, including British cleaners and Portuguese manual workers, who have been identified as 'people of interest' during a review of the inquiry.
Detectives are also probing whether the kidnapper was staying on one of the holiday flats at the Ocean Club.
Madeleine disappeared in May, 2007, as her parents Gerry and Kate ate dinner with friends about 50 yards away at a tapas bar.
She was left in the family's rented apartment at the resort in Praia de Luz, along with twin siblings Sean and Amelie.
Two witnesses said they saw a middle-aged couple enter the apartment to comfort Madeleine, who was crying, The Sunday Express has reported.
The newspaper quoted a source as saying: 'Apparently they were concerned about the crying and went to see if they could comfort the girl.'
Detectives are now believed to be trying to identify the couple as part of an ongoing review into the case - codenamed Operation Grange.
The investigation is now thought to be focusing on a small number of apartment blocks close to block 5, where the McCann family were staying.
The investigation includes identifying the owners, holidaymakers and those who may have illegally been subletting the flats at the time Madeleine disappeared.
Blocks four and six, which are situated either side of the McCann building, and block two, which is behind their apartment, are the central to the investigation.
There are fears that someone staying in the complex may have been able to watch the family's movements from their flat.
Among those detectives want to speak to are British cleaners and 'low-level' workers, such as handymen and gardeners, The Mail on Sunday learned.
Some are thought to have been employed by the Ocean Club complex on a casual basis and may have already been interviewed.
Police are said to be keen to trace six British cleaners who were working in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished and who did not appear in the Portuguese files.
They are said to have used a white van and went from apartment to apartment offering their services, chiefly concentrating on expats.
A British owner of one of the apartments said he had been asked about the cleaners by police from Operation Grange and had been told that blocks five, six, two and four were of particular interest.
He told The Sunday Mirror: 'Every one of the properties they are interested in is right next door to, or on top of, the one where the little girl went missing.
'The officer said the people of interest were located in one of those blocks at the time'.
Detective Chief Superintendent Hamish Campbell, head of Scotland Yard’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said this week that he believes Madeleine may still be alive - despite it being five years since her disappearance.
He said: 'You only have to look at the case in Cleveland, Ohio, and the European cases. Of course there is a possibility she is alive. But the key is to investigate the case and, alive or dead, we should be able to try and discern what happened.’
Despite the extraordinary amount of publicity Madeleine's disappearance generated, she has not been seen since May, 2007.
Read more: MailOnline
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