Hotel worker suspect in Maddie disappearance
The man suspected of kidnapping Madeleine McCann was a worker at the hotel where she disappeared and died four years ago, it has been claimed.
Britain’s Mirror reports the 40-year-old man was identified by police as the main suspect in the girl’s 2007 disappearance.
The man was a former employee at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal and his mobile phone reportedly revealed he was around her family’s apartment on the day she disappeared.
The Mirror reports detectives fear he could have taken Madeleine as revenge for being fired from his job.
Maddie vanished from the holiday apartment where her parents were staying in the southern Algarve resort of Praia da Luz just days before her fourth birthday in May 2007, while they were dining at a nearby tapas bar.
The man died in 2009 in a tractor accident and his widow is understood to have been questioned by police.
Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha claims suspicions around the man, who was living in a flat in Lagos, 15 minutes from the resort, arose during a recent review of the case.
“This was the strongest new lead presented to state prosecutors which led to the investigation being reopened,” the newspaper reported.
“The man…was not on the list of employees handed over to police during the initial investigation by the Ocean Club because at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance he was not working there.”
Correio da Manha said a motive for the kidnapping was still being investigated.
“The suspect could have taken the child to commit a sex crime before killing her,” the newspaper said.
“But he could also have committed the kidnap as a form of retaliation against the Ocean Club.
“His aim could have been to call into question the security of the holiday club but something went wrong and the youngster
disappeared."
The newspaper also claims Portuguese police believed Madeleine was no longer alive and were looking for her body.
However, a lawyer for the girl’s parents say the couple still believed she was alive.
