Pedophile Investigated in McCann Case

(May 22) -- Raymond Hewlett, a fugitive British pedophile, is under suspicion in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal, according to reports Friday in the British media.

The London Evening Standard reports that Hewlett is being treated for throat cancer at a hospital in Germany and may be extradited to England, where he is wanted for questioning in sex attacks stretching back to the 1970s.

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, the girl's parents, told the newspaper that "Hewlett is somebody we have been looking at for a little while. But he is just one line of inquiry."

Hewlett is believed to have been living near the resort where the McCanns were vacationing in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when their daughter vanished in May 2007. Madeleine was 3 years old at the time.

Hewlett, 64, is a convicted sex offender, the Evening Standard said.

London's Daily Mail reported that detectives working for the McCanns have flown to Germany to question Hewlett. The newspaper attributed that information to unnamed sources close to the investigation.

The interest in Hewlett was disclosed just weeks after the McCanns marked the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance with a publicity campaign aimed at generating new leads in the case. They released a new police sketch of a man seen around their vacation villa in May 2007, as well as an image of what their daughter might look like today, at age 6.

The McCanns also discussed the case on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' in early May. You can see a video excerpt of that appearance below.