Mom of Missing Madeleine McCann Named a Suspect
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 07, 2007 09:00 AM EDT

By Ellen Tumposky People Magazine



The mother of missing child Madeleine McCann has been named a suspect in her daughter's disappearance and could be arrested, a family spokeswoman said Friday.

Kate McCann, 39, was named an official suspect in order to be asked 22 detailed questions by Portuguese police, Justine McGuinness told reporters.

"She was absolutely horrified. Kate is a lovely mother to her children. She'd never hurt them," McGuinness said. "Anyone who knows Kate would say to make an allegation of this kind about her is just completely ludicrous."

McCann was questioned for 11 hours Thursday and returned to the police station in Portimao the next morning for further questioning. The British family was on vacation when Madeleine, who would have turned 4 on May 12, went missing.

The development came after forensic tests revealed traces of Madeleine's blood in a car her parents rented 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3.

Her apparent abduction from the bedroom of the family's two-bedroom villa while her parents and friends dined at a nearby tapas bar sparked an international search including the creation of a YouTube channel for missing children.


McGuinness said "there is a fear" that Kate McCann might be arrested.

"They believe they have evidence to show that in some way she's involved in the death of her daughter, which of course is completely ludicrous. They have suggested that blood has been found in a hire car that they hired 25 days after Madeleine was taken," McGuinness told reporters.

She said police "made a series of ridiculous allegations" and suggested to McCann that she was primarily responsible for Madeleine's death.

Gerry McCann, who, like his wife, is a doctor, is due to be questioned by police Friday afternoon. He is also expected to be named a suspect, family friend Clarence Mitchell tells the Associated Press.