Crime

'Significant New Suspect' In Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann

By Ryan Smith

May 22, 2009 / 10:10 AM EDT / CBS News

(AP Photo/Everton FC,HO)

Madeleine McCann

The London Telegraph is reporting that there is a "significant new suspect" in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Raymond Hewlett, a convicted British pedophile responsible for a number of sex attacks in the last 40 years, is being investigated in connection with the disappearance of McCann, reports the Telegraph.

(AP Photo/West Yorkshire Police/PA)

Hewlett is a former soldier and is believed to have been living an hour's drive from the resort in Portugal where McCann disappeared in April 2007. He living with his wife and six children in a converted Dodge truck travelling from campsite to campsite.

The 64-year-old has a long record of sex attacks on young girls and is wanted by police in Britain and Ireland. Hewlett has been jailed several times for sexual offences.

It's been reported various British police forces had been looking for Hewlett for some time. It is not clear if Hewlett is in police custody.

McCann family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell

More at The Telegraph.

CBS News 48 Mystery Hours did a special investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007. Get the full story.

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