Portuguese police search for British girl near resort

PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal (Reuters) - Portuguese police on Wednesday searched an area of deserted scrubland near where British four-year-old Madeleine McCann was snatched, after a tip-off to a Dutch newspaper.

Seven police officers roamed around a deserted landscape on the side of a road 20 km (13 miles) north of the resort where Madeleine McCann went missing in southern Portugal's Algarve region, according to a Reuters reporter.

Police chief inspector Olegario de Sousa said he was investigating the matter but declined to give further details.

"We are following up this information," Sousa said.

An anonymous letter published on the Netherlands' biggest selling newspaper, De Telegraaf, and passed on to authorities in Portugal, said Madeleine's "body" could be found "under branches or stones" 15 km (9 miles) from where she disappeared.

Alongside the letter were two sheets of paper with a map of an area of the Algarve, 15 km (nine miles) from the spot where Madeleine, who disappeared at the beginning of May, was last seen.

By a cross and two question marks on the map was written "possible place where Madeleine could be found."

The letter and map is thought to be similar to that sent to the same newspaper last year giving out the location of the bodies of two missing Belgian girls who were found after De Telegraaf received a tip-off.

STILL ALIVE?

Madeleine disappeared from her bed on May 3 while her parents were dining at a nearby restaurant in Praia da Luz.

Since then, parents Kate and Gerry have launched an high-profile campaign, traveling around Europe and Morocco with the aid of celebrities such as soccer star David Beckham in the hope of finding their daughter.

Sousa said earlier on Wednesday he still hoped to find Madeleine more than 41 days after the blond-haired girl went missing.

"Time is our enemy, but I am still hopeful that we can find her alive," he said, adding that despite reports of dozens of possible sightings and clues she has not been found

"Not much has changed in the investigation. Those who were identified as witnesses remain witnesses and the same suspects remain suspects," Olegario said in an interview with Reuters.

The only formal suspect in the investigation is Briton Robert Murat, 33, who lives in the resort.

(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger)