Abducted girl's family pray for her safe return

THE family of missing three-year-old Madeleine McCann was clinging to hopes that she is alive last night despite confirmation police are now convinced she was abducted.

Detectives in the Algarve said they are hunting a "suspect" after evidence appeared to rule out the possibility that Madeleine had gone missing by herself.

While Portugal's Judicial Police - the equivalent of Britain's CID - refused to give precise details of who they are hunting, they revealed that they believe Madeleine is still alive.

Hundreds of tourists, British expats and Portuguese residents yesterday joined a search for the girl.

Madeleine went missing from her family's rented holiday apartment in the Algarve village of Praia Da Luz on Thursday night while her parents, Gerry and Kate, were eating dinner less than a minute's walk away.

The couple said they had been making regular trips back to the apartment from a tapas restaurant opposite to check on Madeleine and their two-year-old twin son and daughter Sean and Amelie.

Borders and airports in Portugal and Spain were placed on alert but Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the Judicial Police in the Faro region, said detectives believe she could still be in the country, even still in the Algarve.

Her parents, from Leicester, are being supported by a team of British police who flew in yesterday as searchers travelled from up to an hour away to join the hunt for Madeleine.

Encarnacao made clear that police are considering the possibility that she was abducted for sexual abuse. But amid speculation that police may be hunting a known paedophile, he refused to give details of the suspect. Nor would he reveal the suspect's nationality.

It was not clear whether this means police are looking for a specific, named individual, or simply someone fitting a description.

Experts have put together a sketch of a suspect for police, but the image has not been released to the public for fear of endangering Maddy's life.

Encarnacao confirmed that among lines of inquiry police are investigating is a report that a young girl was spotted walking along a road with two people.

Local expats said there had been a report of a couple spotted walking along a road outside the town early on Friday morning with a child.

But Encarnacao said calls had also flooded in from across Portugal with possible sightings.

The news that police think Madeleine, whose paternal grandparents are from Glasgow, may be alive brought comfort to her parents.

Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann, said the family was elated at the announcement.

"It's more than hope. It's a distinct feeling of elation," she said. But she added that the family is desperate for a breakthrough. "It's really important to keep your emotions in check because the last couple of days have been like a roller-coaster.

It's great to have some hope but we need something to happen. We want her back."

She said Madeleine's parents had the support of family and friends but felt exhausted and helpless.

She added: "Kate and Gerry are doing their best. They've got their twins to look after as well but they've got the support of their family.

"They're living on nervous energy just trying to look after each other and the kids, but at times it's just exhausting."

Friends said the family initially felt "left on their own" by police during the first terrifying night of the search.

But asked about criticism of how police had handled the search, Encarnacao said police were not alerted immediately as frantic holidaymakers mounted an initial search.

Dr McCann yesterday returned to the apartment where they had been staying - now a crime scene - to retrieve a suitcase of belongings and a bucket and spade for the couple's two-year-old twins.

The couple, who on Friday night made a brief appearance before the cameras to plead directly to anyone holding their daughter to let her go, kept a low profile yesterday.

At one point they were seen walking hand in hand to the apartment where they are now staying after dropping off the twins with friends. They later met British ambassador John Buck.

Residents and holidaymakers in the village - dubbed the biggest British colony in the Algarve - told of their horror at what had happened.

Holidaymaker Helen Nelson, 40, from Cumbria, who has a 20-month-old son said: "It sends a shiver down your spine."

Julio Barroso, mayor of Lagos, the nearest main town, said the mood in the area was one of "the biggest regret, the most painful feelings and solidarity with the British people".