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Police 'quiz missing girl suspect'

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Police searching for a 4-year-old British girl who disappeared nearly two weeks ago in southern Portugal have placed a man under formal investigation, a news report said Tuesday.
Portugal's national news agency, Lusa, quoted unidentified police sources as saying the man was one of three people questioned Monday after detectives and forensic experts searched a villa near the hotel where Madeleine McCann apparently was abducted.
Police officials at national headquarters would not confirm the report nor identify anyone under investigation.
Under Portuguese law, opening a formal investigation is a first step toward possibly bringing formal charges. The legal measure is designed to safeguard a citizen's constitutional rights, granting access to potential evidence in order to mount a legal defense.
Lusa also reported that police took computers and cell phones from the villa, which is about 100 yards from the Ocean Club holiday village in Praia da Luz where the girl was apparently taken from her hotel room May 3.
Detectives questioned the three in Portimao, the nearest large town to Praia da Luz, Lusa reported.
The girl vanished after her parents left her, and her brother and sister, both aged 2, alone while they went to a nearby restaurant inside their hotel complex. Police called off their ground search last week.
Her parents are still at the hotel.
British media have said that promised contributions to a reward fund total more than $5 million, including reported donations from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, tycoon Sir Richard Branson and "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell. Celebrities including soccer star David Beckham have made public appeals for help in finding Madeleine.
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posted by mhai @ 9:59 AM