Who'd have guessed?

The picture that dashes the hopes of Kate and Gerry McCann


Well, not if they had the sense to have completely ignored this latest 'sighting' of their missing daughter.

But all is not lost. Luckily there were two children in the photo allowing speculation over an earlier missing child, Denise Pipitone. Obviously these Moroccans are into child abduction in a big way! Personally I thought the 'woman' in the hat had a look of Glenn Miller about 'her'. Mmmmm. I think I'll have a word with Interpol.

I may have posted this before but it bears repeating. Some years ago in the US a very attractive, blonde young woman disappeared together with her very distinctive open-topped, pink-coloured car (complete with personalised number plates). Several years went by during which time 'sightings' were reported in almost every state from Alaska to New Mexico. These were sightings of the woman, her car or both. Every report was followed up by police and every investigation led absolutely nowhere.

Then, a cold-case team was set up and the case was reopened. The team decided to look closer at a previous suspect and, to cut a long story short, ended up excavating an area of land owned by the man where, lo and behold, they found the missing woman's pink car with the remains of the woman still inside it. She had been abducted in her own vehicle, raped and murdered and buried, all within the space of a few hours. She had never even left the car and during the time when dozens of sightings were being reported all over North America her body was slowly rotting in the very same car people everywhere were swearing blind they had seen being driven around.

Unless a body is found these sightings will go on for years and years. There will be tabloid images of the 'What Maddie might look like now' kind every few years. Lord Lucan is still regularly spotted almost 33 years after he disappeared, the latest incident involving a hapless , homeless 'lookalike' Brit living in New Zealand.

After all, it sells newspapers.