The parents of Madeleine McCann were sent two letters from German prosecutors updating them on their daughter’s disappearance but received neither, it is alleged.
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said the first letter was sent to forewarn Kate and Gerry McCann that German authorities planned to announce to the public on June 3 that they had “concrete evidence” Madeleine was dead.
Detectives in the country believe a man named as Christian B, 43, killed Madeleine soon after abducting her from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Mr Wolters, who is leading the investigation, told Italian newspaper la Repubblica that after the first letter, German police sent a follow-up.
He insisted that while he didn't write either note, “we, along with the Federal Police and British authorities, got in touch with the family".
However, on Tuesday, Mr and Mrs McCann denied receiving any confirmation of their daughter’s death, saying the claims caused “unnecessary anxiety to friends and family and once again disrupted our lives”.
In a statement on the Find Madeleine website they wrote: “Since the recent police appeals regarding Madeleine’s disappearance there have been many inaccurate stories reported in the media.
“The widely reported news that we have a received a letter from the German authorities that states there is evidence or proof that Madeleine is dead is false.
“Like many unsubstantiated stories in the media, this has caused unnecessary anxiety to friends and family and once again disrupted our lives.
“As we have stated many times before, we will not give a running commentary on the investigation – that is the job of the law enforcement agencies and we will support them in any way requested.”
Scotland Yard responded to the Standard’s request for comment saying: “We wouldn't comment on or confirm any private correspondence.”
Mr Wolters has not revealed the specific contents of either of the alleged letters.
However, he said earlier this week: “They (Mr and Mrs McCann) don’t know all our evidence, but they know that we assume that Madeleine was killed by our suspect.”
Christian B is in jail in Germany for drug dealing, and is appealing against a conviction for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old woman, also at Praia da Luz.
He has not yet spoken to investigators, who say they are convinced that he has committed other sex attacks.
The 43-year-old is a suspect in a string of unsolved crimes, reportedly including an attack on a 10-year-old British girl in Praia da Luz in 2005, one of a series of such incidents where young girls were targeted.
Mr Wolters said prosecutors have “concrete evidence”, but not “forensic evidence” that he killed Madeleine, and that they may “know more” than Met Police, who are still treating the case as a missing person investigation.
