Parents believe missing Madeleine is alive

By Henrique Almeida

LISBON (Reuters) - The father of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann said he strongly believed his daughter was alive, rejecting reports she may have been murdered after disappearing from their apartment in Portugal.

"We are not naive but on numerous occasions Portuguese police have assured us they were looking for Madeleine alive," Gerry McCann said in a televised interview with Sky News on Tuesday.

"I don't know of any information that has changed that," he said, standing next to his wife Kate.

The Diario de Noticias daily reported on Tuesday that Portuguese police had found traces of blood on the wall of the apartment where Madeleine went missing and they now fear she might have been murdered.

The newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying: "Police have known for a month that Madeleine McCann was killed that night (May 3) at the apartment in the Praia da Luz resort."

However, it was not clear whether the blood belonged to Madeleine as tests have not yet been completed and the newspaper did not say how police had come to the conclusion that the child was murdered.

A police spokesman declined to comment on the newspaper report. But Gerry McCann said he and his wife believed Madeleine was still alive.

"Kate and I strongly believe Madeleine was alive when she was taken from the apartment," he said.