Convicted rapist Christian B has been declared by Portuguese police to be an official suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, BBC News reports.
Christian B is in prison in Germany after being found guilty of raping a 72-year-old woman in 2005 in Praia da Luz - the same town where Madeleine went missing in 2007.
Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from her family's rented apartment during a vacation to Praia da Luz in May 2007.
While Christian B has been informed he is deemed an "arguido" - a formal suspect - he has not been charged in the case. This is most likely due to the fact that prosecuting serious crimes is usually ruled out after 15 years in Portugal.
As reported by Sky News, officials in the country are hoping to "keep their options open".
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters confirmed to the outlet that it was "apparently only for formal reasons, to prevent a statute of limitations in Portugal".
A Portuguese source added: "The legal grounds for making [Christian B] an arguido include the fact that he allegedly confessed to a friend he had snatched Madeleine and mobile phone records placed him in Praia da Luz the night she vanished."
The source claims that Christian B declined questioning after being informed that he was now deemed a formal suspect. He denies involvement in Madeleine's disappearance nearly 15 years ago.
Christian B had traveled between Praia da Luz and Germany in a VW camper van for a number of years before Madeleine disappeared.
The new suspect, who is in his 40s, allegedly confessed to abducting Madeleine in a German bar on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, was on vacation with her parents and siblings at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz when she vanished on May 3, 2007. She will turn 19 in May this year.
This is the first time that Portuguese authorities have declared an official suspect in the case since Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, were identified as suspects in 2007. They were both later cleared.
Now that he is an official suspect, there is a possibility that Christian B could be extradited to Portugal for formal questioning, The Guardian reports.
