Ange
09-07-2007, 10:31 AM
VIANA DO CASTELO, Portugal - The mother of a British girl who disappeared four months ago in southern Portugal is to be named a formal suspect in the case Friday, a family spokesman said, a shocking twist to a case that has gripped much of Europe.
Kate McCann was questioned for almost 11 hours on Thursday, and is due back at a police station in Portimao, a town in Portugal's Algarve region, later Friday morning, family spokesman David Hughes told The Associated Press.
When asked about reports that Kate McCann would be named a suspect in her 4-year-old daughter's disappearance, Hughes said: "They told her last night that it would happen today. That's definite."
Police summoned Kate McCann after receiving new forensic evidence. Police spokesman Olegario Sousa said authorities have received some results from forensic tests of the apartment, but declined to elaborate on the findings.
The tests — on specks of blood, items of clothing and other objects in the apartment — were conducted at a British laboratory.
Hughes, the family spokesman, said the police have 22 questions that they want to ask Kate McCann, which require her to be made a formal suspect. Under Portuguese law, the legal move grants certain protections to the suspect, but allows police more latitude in questioning.
The spokesman said that her husband, Gerry, would meet with police in Portimao, separately, in the afternoon. The couple has maintained their innocence throughout.
Just after Kate McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family representative read out a statement from her appealing to what she called Madeleine's abductors to "do the right thing."
"It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police," she said.
The McCanns have spearheaded an intense media campaign since Madeleine went missing from a holiday apartment in the Algarve region where she was sleeping with her 2-year-old twin siblings.
The parents were having dinner in the hotel's pool-side restaurant with friends and said they checked on their children at regular intervals.
The McCanns toured Europe with photos and stuffed animals of Madeleine, even meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities such as J.K. Rowling and David Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2 million.
The intense publicity has helped lead to numerous reported sightings of the girl, from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco.
Kate McCann left the police station around 1 a.m. Friday, looking gaunt and tired. Police, who are barred by law from discussing ongoing investigations, made no comment.
In recent months, the McCanns have attended meetings with the police together. Officials described those meetings as informal, saying they wanted to keep the parents informed of developments in the case.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070907/ap_on_re_eu/portugal_missing_girl
Kate McCann was questioned for almost 11 hours on Thursday, and is due back at a police station in Portimao, a town in Portugal's Algarve region, later Friday morning, family spokesman David Hughes told The Associated Press.
When asked about reports that Kate McCann would be named a suspect in her 4-year-old daughter's disappearance, Hughes said: "They told her last night that it would happen today. That's definite."
Police summoned Kate McCann after receiving new forensic evidence. Police spokesman Olegario Sousa said authorities have received some results from forensic tests of the apartment, but declined to elaborate on the findings.
The tests — on specks of blood, items of clothing and other objects in the apartment — were conducted at a British laboratory.
Hughes, the family spokesman, said the police have 22 questions that they want to ask Kate McCann, which require her to be made a formal suspect. Under Portuguese law, the legal move grants certain protections to the suspect, but allows police more latitude in questioning.
The spokesman said that her husband, Gerry, would meet with police in Portimao, separately, in the afternoon. The couple has maintained their innocence throughout.
Just after Kate McCann entered the police station Thursday, another family representative read out a statement from her appealing to what she called Madeleine's abductors to "do the right thing."
"It is not too late. Please let her go or call the police," she said.
The McCanns have spearheaded an intense media campaign since Madeleine went missing from a holiday apartment in the Algarve region where she was sleeping with her 2-year-old twin siblings.
The parents were having dinner in the hotel's pool-side restaurant with friends and said they checked on their children at regular intervals.
The McCanns toured Europe with photos and stuffed animals of Madeleine, even meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. Celebrities such as J.K. Rowling and David Beckham made public appeals that helped the family raise more than $2 million.
The intense publicity has helped lead to numerous reported sightings of the girl, from as far away as northern Europe and Morocco.
Kate McCann left the police station around 1 a.m. Friday, looking gaunt and tired. Police, who are barred by law from discussing ongoing investigations, made no comment.
In recent months, the McCanns have attended meetings with the police together. Officials described those meetings as informal, saying they wanted to keep the parents informed of developments in the case.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070907/ap_on_re_eu/portugal_missing_girl