New clue in outback attack case

Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were attacked in a remote area

Two women have contacted police claiming they may have met the man suspected of abducting British tourist Peter Falconio in the Australian outback.

Cheshire police have confirmed they have been approached by the women with photographs of a man who looks similar to the moustachioed suspect hunted in connection with the attack.

The force has forwarded the information to Australian detectives, who have mounted a search for the man who attacked 28-year-old Mr Falconio and abducted his girlfriend Joanne Lees, who managed to escape.

The person in the photograph is a person of interest

Australian police spokesman

The photographs were taken by the women on a recent trip to Australia, when they befriended the man as they travelled around by camper van.

Both women live in London but were visiting family in Warrington, Cheshire, when they realised the similarity and contacted police.

Cheshire police have sent three photographs and statements from both women to detectives in Alice Springs.

However, on Saturday, Australian police played down the significance of the new information.

They said they were investigating possible links between the women's photographs and the British couple's attacker.

Police reward

A police spokesman said: "The person in the photograph is a person of interest."

Asked if the photographs were being treated as a major breakthrough, the spokeswoman said: "No. It's just another person of interest."

They have followed up hundreds of leads since the couple were ambushed in the Northern Territory on 14 July, and offered a reward of US$127,500.

Last week during a news conference, Miss Lees, 27, said: "I am feeling positive and strong and believe it is only a matter of time now before the man responsible for what's happened to Pete and myself is caught.

"I am confident that everything is being done and I'm hoping that one of these leads that police are following up will lead to Pete being found.

"I am confident that Pete will be found."

Detectives issued an e-fit of the gunman

A 35-year-old man, who was arrested last Monday in Sydney, matched the description of the gunman, but his alibi makes it impossible for him to have been anywhere near the scene.

Miss Lees, from Almondbury, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, and Mr Falconio were attacked on the Stuart Highway.

The pair had stopped their camper van after a motorist claimed there was a problem with the vehicle.

Miss Lees said she heard what she thought was a gunshot moments after Mr Falconio got out of the van.

She said the mystery man then pulled her from the vehicle, tied her up and threw her into the back of his van.

Bound and gagged, Miss Lees managed to escape by crawling from the cabin through an opening.

She hid from the gunman for almost six hours before flagging down a passing truck and raising the alarm.

Mr Falconio, of Hepworth, near Huddersfield, has not been found, although his blood has been discovered at the scene.