Greek police are trying to identify a blonde four-year-old girl who was found living with a Roman gypsy family with whom she has no biological connection.
The girl, Maria, was discovered by police during a raid on a gypsy camp under suspicions of illegal activity.
Police became suspicious when they noticed the child’s distinct physical characteristics – blonde hair, blue eyes – uncommon for individuals of the gypsy race. The case got even fishier when the ‘adoptive’ parents presented their documents which showed that the couple had different children registered in different locations.
The couple purportedly had 14 children. However, including Maria, they only had four with them at the time. The woman also claimed to have given birth to six children in less than 10 months.
DNA tests have confirmed that the child is not biologically related to the couple, who is reported to have given various explanations as to why the child ended up in their care but strongly deny having kidnapped the young girl.
The girl’s DNA was also entered into the database of international law enforcement agency Interpol to check for matches.
In the meantime, authorities are looking into “promising” calls from families seeking further information about the child.
Out of eight leads that police are chasing, four are from the USA. This is strengthening the chance that Maria may be related to an American family or someone living in the US.
The case has been gaining heavy media attention and has even been compared to the Madeleine McCann disappearance case.
A spokesperson for the McCann family even said that this case has given Madeleine’s parents “hope” that their child may be alive.
