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Sketches show suspect in Madeleine McCann disappearance

Man wanted for questioning in the disapperance of Madeleine McCann.
Man wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Metropolitan Police

London Police in London have released computer-generated images of a new suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal six years ago.

The images were based on information from separate witnesses who spotted a man in the Portuguese resort on May 3, 2007, the day the three-year-old disappeared.

Three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann is seen in this March 2007 picture released by the McCann family May 4, 2007.
Three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann is seen in this March 2007 picture released by the McCann family. AP Photo/McCann Family

Detective Andy Redwood of the Metropolitan Police says, "I'd ask the public to look very carefully at them, and if they know who this person is, please come forward."

The images and a re-enactment of the day Madeleine disappeared were shown on British television, on the BBC "Crimewatch" program about the case, which has made headlines around the globe.

Investigators with London's Metropolitan Police said they had completed a more detailed reconstruction of the events surrounding Madeleine's disappearance and that the timeline and version of events had "significantly changed."

Police did not say exactly what had changed, but said it was of "vital importance" that they speak to a man described by witnesses. The man is described as German. He is white, between the ages of 20 and 40 with brown hair, police said.

Another sketch of the man wanted for questioning in the Madeleine McCann case.
Another sketch of the man wanted for questioning in the Madeleine McCann case. Metropolitan Police

Madeleine, from Leicestershire, England, was on vacation with her family in the southern Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz when she vanished. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, told police they left Madeleine and two younger siblings sleeping in their holiday apartment while they dined with friends nearby. When the parents returned to check on the children, Madeleine was gone.

Portuguese police named first a local man and then the McCanns themselves as suspects in the case, but backed off those allegations without filing charges. Portuguese police later closed the case, but British authorities began their own probe. Kate and Gerry McCann have said they will never give up looking for their daughter.

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