Madeleine McCann went missing in May 2007. Picture: AP Photo/PA

Sunday Express reports the hunt was due to end within weeks, but a fresh lead persuaded the Home Office to extend the search until September this year.

Police told the newspaper there is one individual they want to speak to who was in the same area of Portugal when Maddie vanished.

Senior officers have admitted the new lead is the “last throw of the dice” in their nearly decade-long hunt.

British police are extending their search for Maddie McCann by six months. Picture: AP Photo/PASource:AP

Policing Minister Brandon Lewis, who signed off the new payment, said: “I am pleased to be able to support the British police who are trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Madeleine McCann and give some kind of closure and justice to her family.”

A Home Office spokesman added: “Following an application from the Metropolitan Police for special grant funding the Home Office has confirmed £85,000 in operational costs for Operation Grange for the period April 1 until September 2017.

“As with all applications the resources required are reviewed regularly and careful consideration is given before any new funding is allocated.”

Kate and Gerry McCann have vowed to fight online trolls. Picture: AFP/Leon NealSource:AFP

About 11.1 million pounds ($17.9 million) has been spent looking for Maddie.

The three-year-old disappeared from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007.

Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have vowed to “never give up” hope of finding their daughter.

The McCanns also promised to report “malicious and offensive” trolls to police as the torrent of online abuse rises in the run up to the tenth anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance.

Madeleine McCann vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal. Picture: SuppliedSource:AFP

Originally published as Maddie twist ‘last throw of the dice’