Police seek mystery woman in hunt for Maddy

Police in the UK are hoping to speak to a woman they believe could hold the key to finding out what happened to Madeleine "Maddy" McCann a decade ago.

Detectives are understood to have scoured Europe looking for the woman who was spotted near the family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 2007 when Madeleine disappeared.

• SA man faces charge in Maddie sagaAs British police this week arrived in Portugal to dig for clues linked to missing toddler Madeleine McCann, a Cape Town property developer who is fixated with the case has been told he is facing possible criminal charges after sneaking into the property where he believes Maddie's body is buried.

Sources have claimed that they are ready to "move in" and interview the woman in a "hugely significant line of inquiry".

The breakthrough coincides with the 10th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. To mark the occasion her parents Kate and Gerry gave a moving interview in which they said they would do "whatever it takes for as long as it takes" to find their daughter.

• Maddie cops target serial molesterDetectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have launched a fresh appeal for information after revealing that five British youngsters were sexually assaulted by a man who broke into their holiday apartments on the Algarve, Portugal.

Detectives have scoured Europe looking for this woman who is thought to hold the key to solving the case. After months of tireless police work they will soon be in a position to get answers that will end a decade of frustration.

"It is a hugely significant line of inquiry that officers hope could lead to an arrest," a source close to the operation said.

Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said there were still several critical lines of inquiry. One lead "could provide an answer" for the four detectives still dedicated to the case.

• Madeleine McCann parents 'very pleased' at new Portugal probeThe parents of Madeleine McCann said on Wednesday they were "very pleased" that Portuguese authorities were reopening their investigation into the disappearance of the British girl from a resort in 2007.

The initial Portuguese police probe was closed in 2009, but in 2011 the UK government provided funding to the Metropolitan Police to review the case.

During their six-year-long review of the case, UK officers have examined more than 40000 documents and investigated about 600 people of interest.

In 2013 four potential suspects were interviewed by police in Portugal, but were subsequently ruled out.