PORTIMAO, Portugal, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Both parents of Madeline McCann, the 4-year-old girl who went missing in May in Portugal, are now formal suspects in her disappearance.
Lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu, who represents Kate and Gerry McCann, said late Friday that Portuguese police had declared Gerry McCann an "arguida" or formal suspect, Sky News reported. Earlier in the day, a relative said that Kate McCann was a suspect.
The McCanns had not been charged.
Philomena McCann, Gerry's sister, said Kate McCann had been offered a sentence of no more than two years if she admitted accidentally killing her daughter and staging the disappearance in May. Police apparently believe her husband was an accomplice.
While police are reportedly not approaching the case as a potential homicide, there have been reports that Madeline's mother could soon be the target of official charges.
Police said some of the young girl's blood was found in a vehicle that had been hired by the McCanns several weeks after their daughter disappeared.
