Girl in New Zealand not missing Madeleine McCann, DNA confirms

DNA tests have confirmed that a girl mistakenly identified in New Zealand as missing Madeleine McCann is not her, police said.

Officers in England requested a DNA sample from the girl after there were reports she could be Madeleine, from Rothley.

However, tests proved it was not her, New Zealand Police said.

Detective Inspector Steve McGregor said: "We have received confirmation from Scotland Yard that a DNA sample provided voluntarily from a girl mistaken as missing British girl Madeleine McCann, on New Year's Eve in Queenstown last year, does not provide a match for that of the missing girl.

Cheap Van Insurance For 17,18 & 19 Year Old Drivers - Call...

Insure365

View details

Print voucher

Cheap Van Insurance For 17,18 & 19 Year Old Drivers - Call Insure365 01782 898188, Free Legal Expenses Included valued at £25.00!

Terms: 1 Voucher Per Customer

Contact: 01782 898188

Valid until: Saturday, June 22 2013

"At the time of the sighting police made thorough inquiries into the sighting and were completely satisfied the girl was not Madeleine."

A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that following the DNA submission police were "satisfied" the girl identified in New Zealand was not Madeleine.

The "sighting" in Queenstown, on New Zealand's South Island, was the second time the girl was mistaken for Madeleine last year, the other being in March.

Madeleine was nearly four when she disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal's Algarve, on May 3, 2007, as her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined at a tapas restaurant with friends nearby.