Madeleine McCann case: 5,000 new calls after police issued computer-generated image of suspect

British detectives searching for new leads in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann have received 5,000 calls.

Investigators were inundated with tips from UK, Germany and Holland after police issued a computer-generated image of a suspect last month, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood told the BBC.

“The media appeals produced a fantastic response from the public in all three countries,” he said.

“I know the appeal generated a large number of calls to the Portuguese police also.”

Many of the tips were from people who were in Portugal’s Praia da Luz resort when 3-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing on May 3, 2007, Andy Redwood added.

The computer-generated image represents a man who was spotted carrying a child towards the beach near the resort.

Portuguese police closed the investigation in 2008. But after two years of reviewing case documents, London’s Metropolitan Police reopened the case in July, saying there was a good chance Madeleine was still alive. Portuguese detectives followed suit last month.

Five years after officially closing the book on Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, the Portuguese authorities say new material justifies reopening the investigation.

Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said they were “very pleased” with the decision and hoped it would finally lead to their daughter being found.

Andy Redwood said police have widened the timeline they’re examining and in the last few months have opened two other investigative trails.