Madeleine McCann's parents faced the cameras again to affirm their belief that their daughter is still alive amid new speculation she was killed on the night she vanished.
Portuguese newspapers reported that detectives now suspect the young girl was not abducted at all, but died in her family's holiday flat in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz on May 3.
Blood specks found in the apartment are now being tested to see if they came from the missing four-year-old, reports claimed.
Sitting side by side, Kate and Gerry McCann spoke in subdued tones as they gave an interview to rebut suggestions that police now think Madeleine is dead.
The couple said they continued to "hope and pray" every day for the key breakthrough in the police investigation that would bring their daughter back to them.
Mrs McCann told Sky News: "Even last week when we met with the police they said, 'we are looking for a living child'. And they've said that a lot."
British sniffer dogs trained to find human remains discovered traces of blood, believed to be Madeleine's, on a wall in the McCann apartment, the Portuguese paper Jornal de Noticias reported. Detectives now believe it is most likely the young girl was accidentally killed inside the flat, the newspaper claimed.
Another Portuguese paper, the Diario de Noticias, reported: "The Policia Judiciara has known for a month that Madeleine McCann was killed on the night of May 3, in the apartment in the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, having definitely abandoned the theory she was abducted."
The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, have found recent press reports like this "very hurtful", a family spokeswoman said. Asked about the reports that blood was found in the flat, Mr McCann said he could not comment on specific details of the police inquiry.
Portuguese newspapers have suggested the police investigation is moving away from Robert Murat, at present the only official suspect or "arguido" in the case.
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