New image of Madeleine McCann suspect released

A drawing of a "very ugly" wanted man, with a pock-marked face and a large nose, has been released by the family of Madeleine McCann, the English girl who went missing on holiday in Portugal two years ago. It is based on the testimony of witnesses who say they saw him loitering near the apartment in the days leading up to her disappearance on May 3, 2007.

Although four separate witnesses described the prowler to Portuguese police at the time, their accounts have only recently been linked by British detectives employed by Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, to perform a "cold case" review of all the evidence gathered during the Portuguese inquiry.

The person who first spotted the prowler near the apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, a fellow British tourist, said: "He was about 5ft 10in, slim build and wearing casual clothes. I would describe him as very ugly, [with] pitted skin with a large nose."

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "This man needs to be traced urgently and eliminated. These witnesses did talk to Portuguese police but it appears that nothing was done to find him. He is a vital part of the jigsaw."

The emergence of the prowler is one of a number of developments that are said to have given the McCanns renewed hope of a breakthrough, long after Portuguese police closed the file on their daughter.

The recent publication of a computer-generated photograph showing how Madeleine might look now aged six has led to more that 30 members of the public claiming they may have seen her. The sightings have been reported in the US, South America as well as Europe.

In a Channel 4 documentary to be broadcast tonight, Cutting Edge - Madeleine Was Here, Kate McCann says: "I actually feel the chance of us finding Madeleine is higher now."