Police have examined the body of a young girl washed ashore in the United States for links to Madeleine McCann after evidence that it could have been swept across from Europe.

The body of a girl, named “Baby Grace” by police, was found by a fisherman, crammed into a blue plastic storage box on a beach in Galveston Bay, Texas, last week.

The description of the blonde-haired girl led to police contacting Interpol, the FBI and Portuguese detectives to consider the possibility that the girl could be Madeleine.

No trace has been found of Madeleine since she was reported missing from her bed in Praia Da Luz on May 3, just six days before her fourth birthday.

A post-mortem examination found that Baby Grace had been dead for at least two weeks and sustained a skull fracture. She was white, between 2 and 3 years old with long blonde or light brown wavy hair, and was wearing a pink skirt and shirt and white light-up tennis shoes.

Galveston County Sheriff’s Department received several tip offs that the description matched Madeleine. The search for Madeleine has received enormous coverage in the United States and the First Lady, Laura Bush, has made a personal appeal. But Major Ray Tuttoilmondo, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department, said that it had concluded that the body was not linked to Madeleine

“We’re confident it’s not her,” he told Fox News. “We’re still going through known missing person cases. It's a long process.

“Can I say absolutely she is not a known missing person? No," he said. “We are getting tips literally from all over the country. We’re going through every single one. This tells me that people are concerned.”

Mr Tuttoilmondo said that Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, where the box containing the body was found, is a major commercial port, and Galveston a popular tourist destination with a transient population.

Galveston County Crime Stoppers has set up a memorial fund to pay for the little girl's funeral and an account to offer rewards for anyone who helps investigators lead them to the killer.

Meanwhile, Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have been given fresh hope that their daughter is alive after learning of the discovery of a bag of clothes with a possible DNA link to their daughter.

The bag of items uncovered in the search for Madeleine McCann are said to have been found just over two weeks ago in a lay-by near Faro Airport in Portugal, an hour's drive from Praia Da Luz where Madeleine was reported missing shortly before her fourth birthday.

The News of the World reported that the bag contained a child's T-shirt, a pencil case, a shower curtain, adult jeans and a blue fleece, which were handed to the Polícia Judiciária.

It is claimed that the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham found traces of hair and skin on the adult clothes with a partial DNA match to Madeleine. The link is thought to be only partial — about three on a scale of one to eight.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39, from Rothley, Leicestershire, were described as “encouraged” by the development, which would suggest she could still be alive, and also backs up their view that Madeleine was abducted.

A friend said: “It is encouraging because we think it shows that there is a chance, this could indicate an abductor has potentially discarded clothes on the way from Praia Da Luz. It is the first clue found outside the apartment complex and could provide a trail.

“We realise this is not conclusive proof, but we are encouraged the police have examined it and sent it for analysis so quickly. Certainly we feel that whoever owned the clothing has got a lot of questions to answer.”

The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, declined to comment on the story but called for police to investigate. “Gerry and Kate trust that the police will, of course, follow up any potential lead that could indicate she was abducted as that is exactly what happened,” he said.

Mr and Mrs McCann, who are official suspects in their daughter's disappearance, have provided Portuguese detectives with a list of 25 witnesses they want reinterviewed. They believe that the witnesses will clear their names and could hold vital clues about a mystery abductor.

Private investigators hired by the couple to search for their daughter believe she was abducted and taken to Morocco. Investigators are looking for the missing girl in the Rif mountains after reported of sightings of her in the village of Fnidek, east of Tangiers.

However, the Moroccan authorities have insisted that they have no reason to believe Madeleine may be in the country.

Chakib Benmoussaas, the Interior Minister, said: “We have no new evidence suggesting such a presence in Morocco. We have co-operated for a long time with Portuguese and British police through Interpol and we have not had any new development on this case up until now.”

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