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."
