Morocco Lead Is False Alarm in Maddy Search

Photographed local girl is not missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 26, 2007 12:19 PM CDT
Morocco Lead Is False Alarm in Maddy Search
Kate and Gerry McCann, pictured outside their house in Rothley. England Tuesday Sept. 18, 2007. The family of missing toddler Madeleine McCann called Tuesday for an end to the rampant speculation surrounding the case and said the focus should return to the search for the missing girl. Family spokesman...   (Associated Press)

The resemblance between missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann and the girl in a photograph taken by vacationers in Morocco is just that: a resemblance. Journalist Rashid Razaq flew to Morocco and tracked down the girl, Sky News reports. “She has got a resemblance to Madeleine," Razaq said, “but when you see her properly, it is obvious it isn't her.”

Razaq found the girl—who is actually 5-year-old Bushra Binhisa, daughter of a local olive farmer—by showing the picture to villagers, who quickly identified the family. A McCann spokesman called it “disappointing news,” and urged a refocus of effort in the search. British photo experts will keep examining the picture until the news is confirmed. (More Madeleine McCann stories.)

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