LIVERPOOL-BORN Kate McCann and her husband Gerry were left in agonising limbo last night after reports the Portuguese authorities are closing the investigation into their daughter Madeleine’s disappearance.

The couple welcomed the prospect of having their official suspect status lifted, but expressed fears that police would stop looking for the little girl.

Portuguese newspapers reported that the case was to be shelved because detectives had failed to find enough evidence to charge anyone.

But the reports said the inquiry could be reopened if new evidence emerged.

Speaking from their Mossley Hill home, Madeleine’s grandparents said they were awaiting confirmation of the reports.

Brian and Susan Healy said: "We have heard the reports but as they have come from the Portuguese papers we will have to wait for confirmation – if it comes."

Portugal’s attorney-general, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, insisted no decision had been taken on whether to close the 14-month investiga- tion but confirmed Portu- guese police have handed over their final report which runs to "dozens" of volumes.

Mr Pinto Monteiro said prosecutors would now consider the files before deciding whether to end the inquiry or order further action.

Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3 last year, sparking a major police investigation and massive media coverage.

The case took a dramatic twist last September, when detectives made Mr and Mrs McCann "arguidos" – or formal suspects – in their daughter’s disappearance.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, demanded yesterday that the Portuguese authorities lift their arguido status immediately.

"They should not have been in this position. They have suffered for long enough," he said.

He also urged police not to leave the investigation files to "gather dust" and called for the documents to be passed to the McCanns’ own private detectives so they could continue the search.

"The police themselves must continue looking for Madeleine," he said.

"We are concerned that if they are to simply shelve the case, then what will happen to all of the information in their files?

"They must be made available to our investigators, who are working extremely hard to find Madeleine."

The couple’s Portuguese lawyers do not expect prosecutors to announce a decision on the future of the investigation until August, Mr Mitchell added.