Police Clear Madeleine McCann’s Parents

Portuguese authorities said they cleared Gerry and Kate McCann Monday in the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine, for lack of evidence against them.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, says that the couple were not surprised by the news, The Times of London reported.

There is a degree of relief but no air of celebration whatsoever, he said. They should never have been arguidos (official suspects). The fact that they have emerged from this without being charged proves that.

A statement by Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, Portugal’s attorney-general, said investigators decided to close the file on the investigation concerning the disappearance of the minor Madeleine McCann due to lack of evidence that any crime was committed by the persons placed under formal investigation.

The case could be reopened if new evidence emerges, Portuguese officials said.

Madeleine McCann disappeared a few days before her fourth birthday in May 2007 during a family vacation in Portugal’s Algarve region. She vanished from the family’s hotel room while her parents were dining with friends.