Madeleine McCann detectives travel to Bulgaria in search of paedophile's widow

On the evening of the toddler's disappearance an eyewitness saw a woman staring intently at the apartment block next to where the McCann’s were staying

Madeleine McCann (Getty)

Detectives working on Madeleine McCann’s case have travelled to Bulgaria in search of a paedophile’s widow known as the “woman in purple”.

On the evening of Madeleine’s disappearance an eyewitness saw a woman startng intently at the apartment block next to where the McCann’s were staying in Portugal.

The woman is believed to have been the wife of a man of a convicted peadophile, who has is now believed to be dead.

Police have now travelled to the woman’s home country, Bulgaria, in an attempt to make a breakthrough in the case.

"There is no evidence they were involved but it would be good to eliminate them from the investigation," a source apparently told The Sun.

British expat, Jenny Murat, saw the women standing on the street on the night of the disappearance.

“She caught my eye because she was dressed in purple-plum clothes. It struck me as strange,” Ms Murat said.

“It’s so usual for anyone, particularly a woman, to be standing alone on the street in our resort, just watching a building.

“The next morning, we heard that a little girl had gone missing, and I later told police about the woman I’d seen right outside. I didn’t recognise her and don’t have a clue who she is, but she seems a bit suspicious,” she added.

So far approximately 600 “persons of interest” have been examined and there have been “sightings” of Madeleine all over the world.

She was believed to have been spotted in a supermarket in New Zealand and there also separate sightings in Morocco, Paraguay and India.