Madeleine fund paid for mortgage

(CNN) -- The parents of Madeleine McCann used money donated to hunt for their missing daughter to make two mortgage payments, it was reported Tuesday.

The British Press Association said a spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, whose daughter has been missing since May, confirmed the couple used the money to make housing payments.

"The fund has always had the ability to assist the family financially if necessary, and they've only used it to pay for two mortgage payments, earlier this year," Clarence Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the couple stopped using the fund for personal payments after they were declared official suspects in the case by police in Portugal's Algarve region, where the child went missing.

"When they were made arguido (suspects), it stopped, which was a mutual decision on the part of the fund and the McCanns -- they were happy to accept that their changed status meant they were no longer entitled to that assistance," he said.

In a further development, it was reported that private investigators hunting for Madeleine had found a blonde girl who had been kidnapped by a Moroccan family.

PA quoted sources saying Interpol was investigating the discovery of the girl living in the Rif mountains.

This weekend marks six months since Madeleine, who was three at the time, vanished.

Her parents have steadfastly denied any involvement in her disappearance, shrugging off Portuguese police claims that DNA evidence could implicate them. E-mail to a friend