TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Girl's Parents To Return Home

ADVERTISEMENT

By BARRY HATTON, The Associated Press

Published: September 9, 2007

PRAIA DA LUZ, Portugal - A British couple named as suspects in the disappearance of their 4-year-old daughter in Portugal are to return home today, a family spokeswoman said.

Kate and Gerry McCann, who have strenuously professed their innocence since police declared them formal suspects in their daughter Madeleine's disappearance, are leaving 'with the full knowledge of the Portuguese authorities and police,' family spokeswoman Justine McGuinness said.'We thought we were in our worst nightmare but now it just keeps getting worse and worse,' Gerry McCann was quoted as saying in the Sunday newspaper The News of the World.

He said he was concerned their treatment indicates Portuguese police were under intense pressure to solve the case, the newspaper reported.

The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, Carlos Pinto Abreu, said after the separate interrogations ended late Friday that police had not imposed any restrictions on them, 'meaning they have total freedom of movement.'

After reviewing their statements, however, authorities could decide to bring charges against them in the May 3 disappearance of their daughter from the family's hotel room in southern Portugal's Algarve region.

Neither the police nor the McCanns were available for further comment Saturday.

A family friend, Clarence Mitchell, said Gerry McCann told him that he and his wife expect clarification of their legal status within 48 hours.

Mitchell said the McCanns, both doctors from central England, were considering hiring lawyers in Britain where they would also have support from family and friends.

'They are determined to prove this is a travesty ... and clear their names,' Mitchell said of the police allegations.

The couple's ordeal has drawn attention around the world, partly because of an unprecedented international campaign they led to find their daughter.

The police decision to name the parents as suspects brought a dramatic twist in the four-month-old case.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT