The identity of Maria, the young girl found in a Roma community in Greece remains a mystery after a search Interpol's DNA database of missing people came up empty, the police body's chief said Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The blond-haired, fair-skinned girl, believed to be 5 or 6, drew the attention of police during a raid on a Gypsy camp near the central Greek town of Farsalalast week because she looked unlike the couple raising her.DNA tests showed they were not her biological parents as claimed on her birth certificate. <\/p>\n
Authorities asked Interpol to help identify the little girl, the cross-border agency said. <\/p>\n
Christos Salis, 39, right, and his companion Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, or Selini Sali as the woman has two separate sets of identity papers, pose with the little girl known as \"Maria\" who police say the couple abducted. (Greek Police\/AP) <\/p>\n
We took the DNA profile received from the Greek authorities and we compared it to our database. And there was no match in our database, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble told AFP. <\/p>\n
Noble said Interpol has asked all member countries to search the girl's DNA with their own national databases. <\/p>\n
The Interpol chief said thatthe huge publicity the girl's case has received worldwide might help find some of her relatives. The agency is asking that the DNA profile be taken for anyone who comes forward and sent to Interpol. <\/p>\n
Police spotted Maria during one of dozens of raids they have carried out on Roma camps in the past few weeks in a crackdown on drug smuggling and burglary gangs.The girl whose age was confirmed from dental checks to be five or six, was kept by a Roma couple who were placed in pre-trial detention on Monday for allegedly abducting her.The couple, a 39-year-old man and his 40-year-old wife, deny the charge and claim that she was voluntarily handed over by her Bulgarian Roma mother who could not care for her. <\/p>\n
The Associated Press and AFP contributed to this report. <\/p>\n
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\nInterpol DNA database shows no match for mystery girl in Greece<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"