Madeleine McCann search focuses on Russia after confession from dying paedophile

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The World

The search for Madeleine McCann, abducted in Portugal in 2007, has moved to Russia after a deathbed confession from a serial paedophile that he knows what happened to the British girl. 

Serial paedophile Raymond Hewlett is believed to have told his son he knew who had abducted Madeleine from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal, the Daily Mirror reported.

The information by Hewlett came before his death three years ago, and it is not known when the information was passed on.

Media reported however that the McCanns were told of this information and contacted a Russian missing persons bureau to ask for help. 

As a result posters of the three-year-old girl have been distributed throughout Russia and the Ukraine. 

Earlier this week, police said DNA from a New Zealand girl bearing a striking resemblance to Maddy confirmed she was not the missing girl, Sky News reported.

British authorities asked for the sample after people had reported sightings of McCann in Queenstown, New Zealand, the London Telegraph reported.

Police said the New Zealand child's family provided the sample voluntarily and the DNA "does not provide a match for that of the missing girl".

New Zealand police say the unnamed girl's family has requested privacy.

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