Madeleine McCann "has been totally excluded as a potential victim," Detective Superintendent Des Bray announced Wednesday. McCann has been missing since May 2007. A body discovered in Australia was believed to be a potential match for McCann, but authorities have confirmed that she is not.
The child's body was found along the highway in a suitcase, near the small town of Wynarka, Australia. Clothing items and a quilt were also inside. The girl is believed to be between two and four years old. She was about 35 inches tall and had light-colored hair, 7 inches long, according to NBC News.
The body was mainly reduced to bones, and could have been there for eight years. The suitcase itself was next to the highway for as long as four months, according to Adelaide Now. Police have released digital images of the homemade quilt inside the suitcase, and hope to use it to identify the little girl inside and possibly her killer.
On late Wednesday, Bray said that 43 children have been ruled out as a match for the bones, including McCann. Australian and British authorities communicated with each other to exclude McCann, according to ABC News.
Madeleine McCann went missing during a family vacation in Portugal. She was three years old at the time. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to locate her. To this day, her whereabouts remain unknown.
