Police have identified a new prime suspect in the case of Madeleine McCann, the British girl who went missing from her bed in a Portuguese resort 13 years ago, according to reports.
The suspect, who is currently in a German prison on a separate charge, has not been named.
UK cops believe he was traveling around Portugal in the area where the little girl, then 3, was last seen in May 2007, the BBC reported.
Police said they uncovered significant information about the man after making an appeal to the public in 2017, on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
They are appealing to the public for any information about a camper van the man traveled in, or his other vehicle, a Jaguar, that he transferred to someone else’s name the day after Madeleine vanished.
Police said the suspect, now 43, frequented the Algarve region between 1995 and 2007, staying for “days upon end” in his camper van and living a “transient lifestyle”.
They believe he was in the vicinity of the Praia da Luz resort on the evening of May 3. And he had a phone call that ended just an hour before the girl went missing from the room where she was sleeping with her younger twin siblings, as her parents dined in a nearby tapas restaurant, The Guardian reported.
Police released details of the phone number used by the man and the digits he had been called from. He is described as having short blond hair and being around 6-feet tall.
“Someone out there knows a lot more than they’re letting on,” said DCI Mark Cranwell, who is leading the Met inquiry.
Parents Kate and Gerry McCann released a statement saying they welcome the appeal for information from authorities.
“All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice,” they said. “We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know, as we need to find peace.”
Madeleine would have turned 17 on May 12.
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