Lisbon, Portugal — In a development that has sent shockwaves across Europe, Portuguese authorities have released newly recovered CCTV footage showing a young girl sprinting through a Lisbon train station — and forensic testing from the scene has revealed DNA linked to missing British child Madeleine McCann.
The footage, recorded more than a decade ago but only retrieved during a recent digital archiving review, shows a small girl who appears to be around four or five years old running alone across the concourse of Santa Apolónia station. Investigators say her height, build, and hairstyle are “strikingly consistent” with how Madeleine would have looked shortly after her disappearance.
A Startling Forensic Breakthrough
According to the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), a metal railing near the path where the girl ran was swabbed as part of a broader forensic sweep. Last month, specialists confirmed that the swab produced a partial DNA match “compatible with Madeleine McCann’s genetic profile.”
The match, while not definitive, has been described by senior investigators as “the most significant forensic development in years.”
A PJ official said the discovery demands “immediate and exhaustive re-analysis of all surrounding evidence,” noting that the DNA could suggest the girl physically touched the railing — or that a transported object containing her DNA was placed there.
Footage Was Lost in an Unprocessed Archive
Authorities revealed that the video had been stored incorrectly in an untagged folder, meaning it was never cross-referenced during the original McCann investigation.
“This footage should have been reviewed in 2007,” a PJ source admitted. “It went undiscovered due to a cataloguing error that we now regret.”
The 18-second clip shows the girl clutching what appears to be a soft toy or small cloth. She looks over her shoulder repeatedly before darting behind a column near Platform 3. No adult is visible in the frame.
No Matching Missing-Child Reports from That Day
Detectives have verified that no missing-child case filed in Portugal or Spain on the date of the footage matches the girl seen in the clip.
Witness statements from the station also contain no record of an unaccompanied child, raising further suspicion that the girl may have been moved quickly through the area.
British and German Authorities Alerted
Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team and German federal investigators, both still cooperating with Portugal on the case, were briefed prior to the public release of the video.
A UK source familiar with the briefing described the footage as “deeply unsettling” and the DNA match as “impossible to dismiss.”
The McCann Family Reacts
A spokesperson for Kate and Gerry McCann confirmed that the couple had been informed and were “shocked by the footage and the forensic findings.”
“They know better than anyone to proceed with caution,” the spokesperson said. “But this is the first time in years they’ve seen a lead that combines both visual evidence and tangible forensic material.”
Investigators Reviewing Train Movements and Passenger Logs
Teams are now reconstructing movements from the station on the captured date, including:
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reviewing train departure schedules,
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identifying passengers who boarded international trains,
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analysing additional cameras that may show where the girl entered or exited.
Officials are also attempting to enhance the grainy clip using modern digital reconstruction tools.
Public Appeal
Police have urged anyone who recognises the distinctive dress worn by the child or who was at Santa Apolónia station on that day to come forward immediately.
“This case is far from closed,” a PJ spokesperson said. “This footage, and the DNA found at the scene, opens new lines of inquiry we must follow to the very end.”
