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Gib man says he saw Maddy in Tangier
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Hotelier James Valarino, 65, is certain he saw missing Madeleine in Tangier in the clutches of a European man at a market there on 8 August.
He told the Sunday Express: "I was shopping near the Old Medina about five in the afternoon when I saw a man acting nervously as he carried a little girl with blonde hair.
"At first I thought nothing strange of it because the man looked like he was the child?s father but when I got closer I saw her face and knew immediately it was Madeleine McCann."
According to Mr Valarino, she was barefooted, and the man was trying to buy some shoes from a stall.
"I got closer to try to call her by her name but the man saw me and rushed off," he added. "The poor little child looked distressed and unhappy. She was clearly under-nourished and appeared to be frightened of the man."
Mr Valarino describes the man as being "very white, overweight and about 5ft 10in with fair hair. He looked to be in his mid-30s and appeared to be from northern Europe as he was so pale."
I heard him ask the stall owner about children?s shoes in English and it sounded like his native tongue, he said.
And he added: He was carrying the youngster on his hip and stood at the stall for about five minutes. I did not get the chance to see her eyes but I have followed her story from the day she went missing and I am certain it was her. I only wish I had been brave enough to say something to him.
The paper quotes him as saying that Moroccan police had told him they could not understand him, so he waited until he returned to Gibraltar the following day to report what he had seen.
He made a statement to police on his return but nothing further was heard about it. His interview "only took half an hour", and he cannot believe that the police have not been back to ask more questions.
The RGP said that any information would have been passed to the Portuguese detectives leading the inquiry.
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