A German sex offender is now a key suspect in the Madeleine McCann case.
German and British police are not naming the man, who is currently in jail for separate offences.
However, they say he's white, six-feet tall, and had short blond hair when the three-year-old vanished in Portugal in 2007.
Detectives are appealing to people who may have seen the man driving a VW campervan or Jaguar in Praia da Luz.
Undated handout photo issued by Metropolitan Police of a VW T3 Westfalia campervan that has been linked to the suspect. A German prisoner has been identified as a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, detectives have revealed. The Metropolitan Police have not named the man, 43, who is described as white with short blond hair, possibly fair, and about 6ft tall with a slim build. Picture: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire/PA ImagesMet Police in the UK have also released details of two mobile phone numbers - one of which is believed to have been used by the suspect the day Madeleine disappeared.
London-based journalist Vincent McAviney says the man was living in the Praia da Luz are at the time of the young girl's disappearance.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: "The man was leading quite an unusual life. He was living in a VW van... there's also possibly an attachment to a house in the area as well.
"He received a phone call on the night of Madeleine's McCann disappearance for about half an hour.
"The police have publicly put out the number that he was on and the number he received the call through: they seem very interested in that call as guiding what he was doing that night."
Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed the latest developments, and thanked the police forces involved for their efforts.
They said: "We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know, as we need to find peace."
