Up to 10 officers returned to the home of the only official suspect in the case, in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve. Four-yearold Madeleine went missing from the resort in May, while she was on holiday with her family. Murat's property was initially searched days after Madeleine was abducted while she slept.

Police . . . including two British detectives . . . arrived at the house at 7am. The property is thick with vegetation and the officers are using rakes and hedge trimmers to clear the search area.

Murat, who is currently away from the premises with his lawyer, was not arrested. He was declared a suspect 10 days after Madeleine was last seen, on 3 May, but has strenuously denied any involvement in her disappearance. Murat's house is about 100m from where Madeleine's family was staying. He has been told the search will take up to four days.

Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann have travelled to Spain to mark the three months since her abduction.

Mrs McCann has told her story for the first time this weekend, speaking at length and in detail about her elder daughter, the night she was taken, her family's life as the investigation continues, and much more.

She reveals that Madeleine's last words to her on the night she disappeared were almost unbearably poignant: "Mummy, I've had the best day ever."

Mrs McCann also tells what really happened when she discovered that her daughter was missing, how her twins are coping without their sister, and why she may never want to return to the family home again.

She also takes time to answer those who have criticised her for leaving the children alone.

Meanwhile, as her story is published, Belgian police were awaiting results of DNA tests done on a straw and drinks bottle which were used by a girl spotted in a restaurant in the Flemish town of Tongeren.

A customer . . . described by police as a "highly credible witness" . . . said she was "100% sure" that the youngster she saw was Madeleine herself. The girl was sitting with a couple . . . a Dutchman and an English-speaking woman of Mediterranean appearance.

The witness . . . a child therapist . . . said that the couple with the child did not seem to be acting as a real mother and father would be expected to, and told a waitress, Jolien Houbrech.

Houbrech said: "She said that, because of her experience as a child therapist, she had noticed that the people's behaviour was not that of normal parents."

The couple left quickly in a Volvo estate car which had a Belgian numberplate. Belgian police have now issued an identikit drawing of the man which is based on the description by the "trusted witness".

It is the latest in a string of possible sightings since Madeleine disappeared, although none has turned into a concrete lead. Madeleine was snatched on 3 May, towards the end of a week's holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal.