Portuguese police drew up e-fits of suspicious men seen hanging around Praia da Luz before Madeleine McCann went missing but never made them public, the newly-released files reveal.
The two computer images of potential suspects were created based on eyewitness accounts on May 6, three days after the little girl vanished.
But they were not circulated as part of appeals for information about what happened to Madeleine.
Derek Flack, 60, from Ilford, east London, was staying in his holiday home in Praia da Luz in early May last year.
While out for a walk with his partner on May 2 or 3 he saw a suspicious man gazing towards the Ocean Club complex, where Madeleine and her family were staying at the time.
A Portuguese police report in the file states: “He then realised the man was staring fixedly at the area in question, very focused on what he was doing, and did not notice Flack’s presence.”
The man was Caucasian, tanned and apparently aged between 25 and 35, and Mr Flack was convinced he was not a tourist.
He appeared to be looking at a van parked near a footpath giving access to the back of apartment 5A, the McCanns’ holiday flat.
The report continues: “He concluded that the man was monitoring the movements near that path and into the apartment. The man looked suspicious, he was watching the apartment.
“Flack said he does not remember seeing the man there before, or anywhere else in Luz, or since Madeleine’s disappearance.”
Police showed an e-fit of a man - it is not clear whether this is the person seen by Mr Flack - to another witness, British ex-pat Lance Purser, 45.
Mr Purser said he had seen someone similar in Praia da Luz several times, about a fortnight before Madeleine disappeared.
The man he saw was scruffy, aged 35 to 40, thin, and usually dressed in dark clothes.
The Portuguese police report based on his interview reads: “(Mr Purser) said he thought the individual looked like he could have some slight psychological problems, from his appearance.”
ends
1 POLICE Portugal Efit
(corrected repetition, amending Mr Flack's age to 64 in par 4) (with pics)
E-FITS IN MADELEINE CASE NEVER RELEASED
By Sam Marsden, PA Chief Reporter, in Praia da Luz
Portuguese police drew up e-fits of suspicious men seen hanging around Praia da Luz before Madeleine McCann went missing but never made them public, the newly-released files reveal.
The two computer images of potential suspects were created based on eyewitness accounts on May 6, three days after the little girl vanished.
But they were not circulated as part of appeals for information about what happened to Madeleine.
Derek Flack, 64, from Ilford, east London, was staying in his holiday home in Praia da Luz in early May last year.
While out for a walk with his partner on May 2 or 3 he saw a suspicious man gazing towards the Ocean Club complex, where Madeleine and her family were staying at the time.
A Portuguese police report in the file states: “He then realised the man was staring fixedly at the area in question, very focused on what he was doing, and did not notice Flack’s presence.”
The man was Caucasian, tanned and apparently aged between 25 and 35, and Mr Flack was convinced he was not a tourist.
He appeared to be looking at a van parked near a footpath giving access to the back of apartment 5A, the McCanns’ holiday flat.
The report continues: “He concluded that the man was monitoring the movements near that path and into the apartment. The man looked suspicious, he was watching the apartment.
“Flack said he does not remember seeing the man there before, or anywhere else in Luz, or since Madeleine’s disappearance.”
Police showed an e-fit of a man - it is not clear whether this is the person seen by Mr Flack - to another witness, British ex-pat Lance Purser, 45.
Mr Purser said he had seen someone similar in Praia da Luz several times, about a fortnight before Madeleine disappeared.
The man he saw was scruffy, aged 35 to 40, thin, and usually dressed in dark clothes.
The Portuguese police report based on his interview reads: “(Mr Purser) said he thought the individual looked like he could have some slight psychological problems, from his appearance.”
The second e-fit was drawn up based on Mr Purser’s description.
