LAGOS, Portugal, May 20 (UPI) -- Authorities in the Portuguese city of Lagos have been hampered in their search for a missing British girl by scores of false tips instigated by rewards.
In apparent response to rewards of millions of dollars for clues to 4-year-old Madeleine McCann's location, the girl's family and authorities have been beset by countless likely unfounded communications, The Observer reported Sunday.
"We've received innumerable phone calls from people who say they've seen the little girl climbing into a car" a police spokesman said Saturday.
"That has provoked a lot of ambition," he added of the massive rewards. "There are always people who are out to get easy money."
The newspaper said the family of the 4-year-old, who vanished May 3, has maintained that keeping the public informed of Madeline's plight is the best way to find her.
Portuguese police did find a missing 11-year-old girl on Saturday. Authorities found the unidentified girl, who was thought to have been kidnapped, in the Spanish city of Malaga and arrested the man with her.
