Police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance are preparing to shelve the case without bringing charges against her parents, it was claimed yesterday. (Daily Mail Thursday 7th February 2008)
Portugal's most senior policeman is set to "drop" the nine-month case without accusing any of the named suspects or solving the mystery surrounding Madeleine's disappearance, it was reported.
Sources said comments by Alipio Ribeiro, the head of the Policia Judiciaria, showed he was preparing an "exit strategy" to allow the investigation to be filed.
He caused uproar last weekend when he said his officers had rushed the decision to name Kate and Gerry McCann as suspects, and that they should have re-evaluated the evidence against the couple first.
Critics accused him of having "killed" the investigation and he later apologised privately to the detectives leading the high-profile inquiry.
But yesterday senior officers said they believed he could have been testing public opinion in Portugal, to see if the time was right to shelve the case, which has been dogged with problems.
One high-ranking official told the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias: "He has dropped the case."
