Madeleine McCann Investigation Reopened In Portugal, Report

The Madeleine McCann investigation has been reopened by Portuguese prosecutors in light of new evidence in the case, according to British authorities.

The English girl disappeared from a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007, while vacationing with her family. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, left Madeleine and twin siblings sleeping in their rented holiday apartment to go for dinner with a group of friends only 54 yards away.

Madeleine’s parents or their friends checked on the children throughout the evening. Her mother discovered Madeleine missing at about 10 pm.

Portuguese authorities were called in to investigate, first blaming the parents after an incorrect reading on a DNA sample. The couple was later cleared of any wrong doing and the investigation was closed in 2008.

In the years since her disappearance, there have been multiple false leads, which have given Madeleine McCann’s family hope that she is still alive.

Age progression sketches of the now, 10-year-old girl have circulated overseas, as a body has never been found.

Radiotelevisao Portuguesa reported on Thursday that the public prosecutor’s office had decided to reopen the case after “new indications” emerged. However, there were no further details into what these “indications” are.

Madeleine McCann’s family spokesman confirmed that the case into the girl’s disappearance would be reopened and said a statement would follow in the near future.

Scotland Yard made a statement in London regarding the Portuguese prosecutor’s decision to continue with the investigation, saying the decision follows “the discovery of new lines of inquiry as a result of an internal review of the original investigation” by Portuguese authorities.

The Portuguese prosecutor’s investigation and Scotland Yard’s will run simultaneously, in an effort to find out once and for all what became of Madeleine McCann after she disappeared.

According to the Associated Press, a team of detectives in Northern Portugal began sifting through the evidence in the case and found new avenues of investigation that had not been followed by the original team.

British investigators have also been reviewing the Madeleine McCann’s case files in Portugal. The case gripped the world six years ago and Kate and Gerry McCann were heavily criticized for their decision to leave their young children alone.

Every so often, sightings of girls who look like Madeleine McCann are reported, but nothing has ever come of the tips.