LISBON, Portugal, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The parents of a child reported missing in Portugal in 2007 are traveling to Lisbon for the first time since being named suspects in the child's disappearance.
Kate McCann and her husband, Gerry, left Portugal in September 2007, five months after their daughter, Maddie, then 3, was reported missing from a resort in Praia da Luz, The Sun in Britain reported.
The McCanns returned Wednesday for a one-day meeting with lawyers as they consider a lawsuit against the disgraced former police chief, Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the inquiry after he criticized British police, claimed Maddie was dead and accused the McCanns of lying about her being abducted.
The couple have since been cleared of involvement in the child's disappearance and succeeded in persuading the High Court in Lisbon to ban the chief's book about the child's disappearance.
They are also meeting with a Portuguese public relations firm to try to improve their image.
They said they believe Amaral's actions hindered the search.
"Nothing can be more soul-destroying for a parent than for somebody to 'write off' your missing child without any evidence to support such a theory," they said in a statement.
