Portugal drops Madeleine case, clears parents

Portugal's chief public prosecutor yesterday dropped the case on the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann pending any new leads and cleared her parents of suspicion of involvement.

Prosecutor Fernando Pinto Monteiro said in a statement that a third suspect, Robert Murat, a Briton living in Portugal, was also cleared.

"The public prosecutor's office has determined that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann be archived, due to the lack of evidence of any crime being committed by the suspects," the statement said.

"The case can be reopened by the public prosecutor's office, or following a request from an interested party, if new evidence materialises," it said.

Madeleine disappeared from her bedroom in an Algarve resort on May 3 last year, a few days before her fourth birthday.

The case has grabbed international headlines, especially after police named the parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, as suspects. Police have failed to find the girl or sufficient evidence to charge anybody and presented their final report to the prosecutor on July 1.