All Madeleine McCann 'sightings' since her disappearance 15 years ago

The tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann is marking a sad anniversary.

It's now 15 years since Madeleine went missing from the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve, Portugal, in 2007.

Her disappearance kicked off a huge search for the three-year-old and reports of 'sightings' flooded in as a result.

These were investigated but revealed nothing, and Madeleine has still not been found.

The flood of information coming in about the missing girl has been overwhelming and in 2016 it was revealed there were "nearly 9,000" reported 'sightings of the Leicestershire toddler - who would now be 18 years old - in 101 countries.

More recently, Portuguese police made German paedophile Christian Brueckner an 'arguido', or suspect, in the case and are reportedly ready to charge him by the summer.

Brueckner is currently serving time in Germany for rape but has been notified of his arguido status after telephone calls from the night of Madeleine's disappearance put him in the area.

He has always denied taking Madeleine or having anything to do with her going missing.

McCann friend Jane Tanner sighting

Some of the early hopes for finding Madeleine McCann were pinned on a sighting by Jane Tanner, a friend of the McCann's.

Jane claimed to have seen a man carrying a child near the McCanns’ apartment and an artist's impression was drawn up.

Tanner, a member of the 'Tapas 7' dined with the McCann parents as they went to a nearby tapas restaurant leaving their kids to sleep. She said she saw the man 45 minutes before Kate McCann raised the alarm at around 10pm.

It was not discounted until 2013, when a British man stepped forward to say it was him carrying his daughter from the night creche.

Martin Smith sighting

Martin Smith, his wife and two kids were on holiday in Portugal at the time of Madeleine McCann's disappearance. Smith said he had seen a man aged around 35 to 40 with a young girl in pyjamas who appeared to be sleeping, being carried towards the nearby beach.

It wasn't until September 2008 that an e-fit of the man was made.

When Brueckner was arrested, Smith was unable to draw any links between the German and the man he saw on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.

He sad: "I cannot add to the statement I gave police six years ago. This all happened 13 years ago.

"I have seen the pictures and coverage this week [of Christian B] but everything I could say I said in my statement to police. I don’t recognise this man."

What sightings of Madeleine McCann have there been?

Thousands of 'sightings' of Maddie have been reported and most of them have not been pursued due to not being credible or because of a lack of information about them.

These include the "Maddie in Morocco" sightings, one of four occasions Maddie was reportedly spotted in the country. One famous photo was ruled out, but couple Mari and Ray Pollard remain convinced they saw Maddie at a petrol station in Morocco.

They said in 2007: "She had this pretty face and long blonde hair to the shoulders, green eyes.

"She had a sad look in her face. She said with an accent, 'Can we see mummy now?'"

Mari wrote to Leicestershire Police : "It was quite odd to see a blonde little girl alone in Marrakech. The man did not look like her father."

Some of the sightings have been reported due to people seeing a young girl with the coloboma eye condition, which only occurs in one in 10,000 births.

Coloboma can make a person's pupil look a little bit like a keyhole, like with the case of Maddie's eye.

Other supposed sightings of Madeleine include:

• May 2007: A couple in Gibraltar said they saw a woman pushing a girl who looked like Madeleine in Marks & Spencer’s. They are reported to have heard the girl, seen with a woman, shout: "You’re not my Mummy. The woman then said "Of course I am."
• May 2007: Dutch woman Ana Stam said a little girl of only three or for said her name was "Maddie" and was with a Portuguese man at the time. The girl reportedly said the people she was with "took me from my holiday."
• 22 June 2007: A person in Dubrovnik, Croatia, said she saw a distressed child matching Maddie's description yelling: "I’m never going to see them again."
• May 26, 2008: A student in Montpellier, France, said they shouted out "Maddie" at a young girl who looked up surprised, before the man with her bundled her out. French police later confirmed it was not Maddie.

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