09/10/2007

New Detective Takes Over Madeleine McCann Case

A new senior detective in Portugal has taken over the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Paulo Rebelo will take over from Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the case, apparently because he had suggested that Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were influencing British police involved in the investigation.

Mr Rebelo, 45, has served as the Portuguese police force's deputy national director for the last two years and has worked on a number of high-profile cases in recent years.

Meanwhile, there have been newspapers reports, which suggested that DNA results have strengthened the case against Madeleine's parents.

The McCanns remain official suspects in their daughter’s disappearance, but have not been charged.

However, their official spokesperson Clarence Mitchell rubbished the claims, saying that they had nothing to hide and that there where "wholly innocent explanations" for anything that the police may or may not have found.

Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3.

(KMcA)

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