Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are expected to consult local prosecutors today, and have warned that they may ask the missing girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, to return for further questioning.
Portuguese police sources said investigations were "still ongoing". Further test results due from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham may also influence how the investigation unfolds.
Kate and Gerry McCann yesterday returned from Portugal to their UK home in Rothley, Leicestershire, with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie. After touching down at East Midlands Airport, Mr McCann insisted they had played no part in Madeleine's disappearance. "Whilst it is heartbreaking to return to the UK without Madeleine, it does not mean we are giving up our search. As parents we cannot give up on our daughter until we know what has happened."
Portuguese Chief Insp Olegario da Sousa said the McCanns' departure from Portugal "obviously complicates things and can delay the investigation as we will not have as much contact with them as before." But he admitted the couple had every right to return home as they had not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Chief Insp da Sousa said the police could keep the McCanns as formal suspects, or arguidos, for a year without charging them, but under Portuguese law they would not necessarily have to attend a hearing. Even if the McCanns were charged with either manslaughter or with concealing Madeleine's body, they might be able to live freely in Britain until a trial started.
In the coming days, detectives are likely to focus on the forensic evidence that appears to have been gleaned from a car hired by the couple more than three weeks after Madeleine disappeared, and from the apartment where they stayed on May 3rd.
Portuguese police have given no indication about the strength of the forensic material. But Alan Baker, a scientific adviser on DNA evidence, told the Press Association the type of sample - whether actually blood or just a smear - was vital in interpreting any potential match. "If they have found a hair follicle or a trace of blood at the scene then the implications could be immense, but if it is only a smear then there are all sorts of issues involved." - ( Guardian service )