ARE THE MCCANNS SUSPECTS?

KATE MCCANN

MADELEINE: PARENTS 'FEAR' THEY ARE SUSPECTS
By Geoff Marsh for express.co.uk
Thursday September 6, 2007

THE hunt for Madeleine McCann took a dramatic twist tonight as it emerged her parents fear they are about to be made "official suspects" in the case.

A family friend in Praia da Luz revealed Kate and Gerry McCann are worried they are about to be named as 'aguidos' by Portuguese detectives.

It came as Kate McCann returned to an Algarve police station this afternoon to undergo formal questioning for a second time. Her husband Gerry will be re-interviewed separately tomorrow.

Portuguese police have not revealed why they want to speak to the couple again.

But there is speculation the move may be linked to forensic tests on samples taken from the McCanns’ holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

Detectives telephoned Mr McCann on Monday to summon the couple back to Portimao police station, specifying that his wife should be questioned first.

A family friend of the McCanns said they regarded the interviews as a “step forward in the investigation” but were apprehensive about what they might mean.

“They do fear they are about to become suspects,” the friend added.

Despite having “nothing to hide”, the couple have had one of their worst weeks since Madeleine went missing in the run-up to the police interviews.

“It’s been a hard week and we’re not through it yet,” the friend said.

After receiving the police summons on Monday, the McCanns took legal advice from their highly-regarded Lisbon-based lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu.

He travelled down to the Algarve today so he could sit in on Mrs McCann’s interview.

It is understood the McCanns’ team also contacted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and they are receiving consular assistance.

Portuguese police have repeatedly said that the couple are not suspects in the case, but they have endured a series of media reports alleging they were involved.

It is now 126 days since four-year-old Madeleine went missing from her bed in her family’s flat while her parents dined in a nearby tapas restaurant.

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McCanns 'fear being named suspects'
Press Association
Thursday September 6, 2007 9:43 PM

Madeleine McCann's parents fear Portuguese detectives are about to name them as suspects in their daughter's disappearance, a family friend said.

Kate McCann returned to an Algarve police station on Thursday to undergo questioning for a second time. Her husband Gerry will be re-interviewed on Friday.

Portuguese police have not revealed why they want to speak to the couple again. However, there is speculation the move may be linked to forensic tests on samples taken from the McCanns' holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

Both Mrs McCann and her husband are being interviewed by police as witnesses. Detectives telephoned Mr McCann on Monday to summon the couple back to Portimao police station, specifying that his wife should be questioned first.

A family friend of the McCanns said they regarded the interviews as a "step forward in the investigation" but were apprehensive about what they might mean.

"They do fear they are about to become suspects," the friend added.

Despite having "nothing to hide", the couple have had one of their worst weeks since Madeleine went missing in the run-up to the police interviews, the friend said.

READ THE REST HERE