|
|
|
|
LISBON, Portugal - Police searching for a 4-year-old girl
who disappeared during a vacation in southern Portugal released a suspect they had
questioned because there was not enough evidence to file charges, an
official said Tuesday.
Detectives searched five houses Monday as part of their
investigation of the 33-year-old man, identified in media reports as
British, and seized some of his belongings, inspector Olegario de
Sousa told a news conference. Detectives also questioned two other
people in the inquiry into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, he
said.
Portugal's
national news agency, Lusa, quoted unnamed police sources as saying
detectives and forensic experts searched the man's villa Monday,
taking away computers and cellular phones, Lusa said. Portuguese
media said police drained the villa's pool.
The villa is about 100 yards from the hotel where Madeleine, from
central England, was
apparently abducted while vacationing with her parents.
The girl vanished May 3 after her parents left her, and her brother
and sister, both aged 2, alone while they went to a nearby
restaurant within their hotel complex in Portugal's Algarve region,
a popular European tourist destination.
Last week, police called off their ground search for Madeleine,
whose parents are still at the hotel.
British media have said that promised contributions to a reward fund
total some $5.1 million, including reported donations from Harry
Potter author J.K. Rowling, tycoon Sir Richard Branson and "American
Idol" judge Simon Cowell. Also, celebrities including soccer star
David Beckham have made public appeals for help in finding
Madeleine.
Earlier this week, Gerry McCann said he and his wife Kate had taken
strength from the "spiritual outpouring" around the world. They have
received messages of support from numerous countries, he said.
Asked how long they would stay in Portugal, Kate McCann said, "I can't
even consider going home at the moment, absolutely can't even let it
enter my head." |
| |
|
 |
|
