AUSSIE KNOWS MADDIE WOMAN; Hunt for mystery female goes Down Under as new witness speaks.

Byline: ROY BAYLISS

AN AUSTRALIAN has come forward claiming she knows the woman being sought by investigators probing the disappearance of Midland toddler Madeleine McCann.

The new witness spoke to Sydney cops after the release of an e-fit of the mystery female, described as a Victoria Beckham lookalike.

A New South Wales Police spokesman said: "Detectives have received information about a woman, who is similar in description of the woman being sought by private investigators examining the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

"This afternoon (Friday), a Sydney woman provided a formal statement to detectives.

"She claims to know the identity of the woman being sought by the private investigators attached to the McCann family.

"We will forward the information received to the Australian Federal Police for follow up."

The mystery e-fit woman is said to have an Australian accent and spoke to a British man outside a bar in Barcelona three days after Madeleine vanished in 2007.

She allegedly asked him whether he was "here to deliver my new daughter," before realising he wasn't the man she was looking for.

Private detectives working for the Leicester family are following up hundreds of calls and emails after issuing the e-fit on Thursday.

Sighted Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, said: "Investigators have had more than 600 separate pieces of information come into the inquiry, via email and telephone calls.

"Amongst it all are a number of viable leads, all of which are being assessed and prioritised as necessary."

Asked about reports that investigators are attempting to trace a motor boat said to have been in the marina in Barcelona at around the time the woman was sighted, Mr Mitchell said: "The investi-gatorwill follow the evidence wherever it takes them. Vessel movements are just one area of the inquiry.'' Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007, while her parents dined with friends nearby.

Just over 72 hours later, in the early hours of May 7, the British man saw the woman pictured in the e-fit while on a night out in the popular Port Olimpic Marina in Barcelona.

She was well-dressed but appeared agitated and kept walking up and down outside the El Rey de la Gamba restaurant-bar, as if waiting to meet somebody.

After speaking to the witness the woman went into a bar next door, where she had a heated conversation with a local in apparently fluent Spanish.

The British man, who has not been named but is a married 41 year-old professional, did not disclose his brief conversation with the woman until he approached McCann investigators about six weeks ago.

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CLOSING IN: The e-fit of the woman being sought in the hunt for Maddie.