Floating the possibility Madeleine McCann is still alive 5 years disappearing from the Portuguese resort where she was vacationing with her parents, investigators have released an image of what she might look like today.
The image, digitally enhanced to show McCann as she might appear approaching her ninth birthday on May 12, is being released in the hope anyone who's seen the girl will come forward with whatever they know.
Investigators say they have reason to hope based on the findings of a review underway since May of last year.
"As a result of evidence uncovered during the review they now believe there is a possibility Madeleine is still alive," a statement released by London's Metropolitan Police said Wednesday.
The Met said its officers have come up with 195 "investigative opportunities" culled from a total of 40,000 pieces of information compiled by Portuguese and British police as well as private investigators.
McCann vanished in 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday. Portuguese police officially closed their investigation the next year.
Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann -- who were initially questioned as suspects before being cleared of any part in a possible abduction -- have since led a worldwide campaign to find their missing daughter that's included the publication of a book and an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
According to the Met, the team of 30 officers it has dedicated to the case are working to have Portuguese police reopen their official investigation "in due course."
While they're not certain she is alive, review team leader Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said they have to assume she may be.
"From the outset we have approached this review with a completely open mind, placing Madeleine McCann at the heart of everything we do. We are working on the basis of two possibilities here. One is that Madeleine is still alive; and the second that she is sadly dead," he said Wednesday.
CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy said the release of the age-enhanced image alongside a police call to re-open the case is "quite a startling development."
Kennedy told CTV's Canada AM, "Several years ago, I think this was the most compelling missing child's case in Europe. And I think that there was a sense in this country that she probably had been killed on the night that she was abducted."
Having police speak so strongly in favour of re-opening the case will likely shift that sense, he said.
But whether it will uncover new leads remains to be seen.
This is not the first time an image has been released depicting how McCann might look years after her disappearance. Shortly before Madeleine's 6th birthday in 2009, the British Home Office's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) released a video and series of images depicting how she might have looked then.
That video also came with an appeal for anyone harbouring a secret about the girl's disappearance or whereabouts to "do the right thing now and contact your local police."
Police issued a similar appeal Wednesday, urging anyone outside the United Kingdom with information to contact them by telephone at +44 2071580 126.
