Police Question Four About Madeleine McCann Disappearance

Portuguese Police Question 4 In Madeleine McCann Disappearance
|
Open Image Modal
The apartment where British girl Madeleine McCann disappeared one year ago is seen with her picture on a windscreen Saturday May 3, 2008 at Praia da Luz beach, Lagos, Portugal. Madeleine disappeared during a family vacation in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year, a few days before her fourth birthday. Church services will be held in Praia da Luz, in Portugal's Algarve region, and at the McCanns' hometown in central England, to mark the one-year anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. (AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)

Portuguese police taking a fresh look at the Madeleine McCann case are reportedly questioning four men about the 3-year-old kidnapped from her British parent's vacation house in 2007.

According to BBC.com, one of the individuals being questioned is Sergey Malinka, a 29-year-old Russian-born IT engineer. The BBC reports Malinka was first questioned as a witness directly after McCann's disappearance.

The Guardian reported Wednesday that a law office representing Malinka confirmed he is being questioned. The attorney reportedly described the process as "complicated."

The other three men, all of whom are Portuguese citizens, have not yet been identified. According to UPI.com, one of the men is said to suffer from schizophrenia.

Portuguese investigators in Faro are conducting the interviews. Detectives with Scotland Yard are reportedly participating.

CASE PHOTOS: (Story Continues Below)

Madeleine McCann
Girl missing in Algarve(01 of29)
Open Image Modal
A photo of Madeleine McCann that was taken when she was 3 years old. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Madeleine McCann(02 of29)
Open Image Modal
FILE - This March 2007 file photo released by the McCann family Friday May 4, 2007 shows three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann. British police say Thursday July 4, 2013 they have launched a full investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and want to trace 38 "persons of interest" in the case. Detectives say it's possible that Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort six years ago, is still alive. (AP Photo/McCann Family, File) (credit:AP)
(03 of29)
Open Image Modal
FILE- May 2, 2012 file photo Kate and Gerry McCann talk to reporters in London to mark their daughter Madeleine's birthday and the 5th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance during a family vacation in southern Portugal in May 2007 shortly before her fourth birthday. Lord Justice Brian Leveson will release his report, Thursday Nov. 29 2012, on a year-long inquiry into the culture and practices of the British press and his recommendations for future regulation to prevent phone hacking, data theft, bribery and other abuses. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File) (credit:AP)
Kate McCann, Gerry McCann(04 of29)
Open Image Modal
FILE - In this May 2, 2012 file photo, Kate and Gerry McCann pose with a missing poster, an age progression computer generated image of their daughter Madeleine at 9 years old, as they talk to the media in London to mark their daughter Madeleine's birthday and the 5th anniversary of their daughter disappearance during a family vacation in southern Portugal in May 2007 shortly before her fourth birthday. New Zealand police said Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013 DNA tests have confirmed a New Zealand girl is not missing British youngster Madeleine McCann. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File) (credit:AP)
Girl missing in Algarve(05 of29)
Open Image Modal
An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Girl missing in Algarve(06 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann looks at an inflatable News of the World poster of missing daughter Madeleine measuring approx 800sq ft on the beach in Praia Da Luz, Portugal. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(07 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann, mother of missing Madeleine, during the recording of a television interview for the spanish television show "Los Mas Buscados" with images of Madeleine on a large TV screen behind her, in the Hotel Villa Magna in Madrid. (credit:John Taylor/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(08 of29)
Open Image Modal
The GPR image that Stephen Birch believes shows a grave. (credit:Stephen Birch)
Missing girl in Algarve(09 of29)
Open Image Modal
A photo of the May 15, 2007 search of the property in Praia da Luz where Stephen Birch believes he found a grave. The black box indicates the rubble pile he claims police never searched. (credit:Stephen Birch)
Girl missing in Algarve(10 of29)
Open Image Modal
An October 2007 photo of the same location. Stephen Birch said this photo indicates the rubble pile had not been touched during the May 2007 search. (credit:Stephen Birch)
Missing girl in Algarve(11 of29)
Open Image Modal
An overlay of the two photos. (credit:Stephen Birch)
Girl missing in Algarve(12 of29)
Open Image Modal
An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Missing Madeleine McCann(13 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate and Gerry McCann in Quorn, Leicestershire, as they launch a petition to lobby the UK and Portuguese governments for a joint or independent review over their daughter Madeleine's disappearance. (credit:Rui Vieira/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(14 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann, mother of missing girl Madeleine McCann leaves the village chruch in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve, Portugal, following a service. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(15 of29)
Open Image Modal
An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Girl missing in Algarve(16 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann leaves a church service in Praia Da Luz, Portugal, 2 weeks after Madeleine McCann went missing on the evening of Thursday May 3. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(17 of29)
Open Image Modal
An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Missing Madeleine McCann(18 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate and Gerry McCann give a press conference in central London on their newly published book 'Madeleine' about their daughter's disappearance in 2007. (credit:Anthony Devlin/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(19 of29)
Open Image Modal
Business card sized leaflets showing missing girl Madeleine McCann, which were handed out to fans during the Espanyol v Sevilla Uefa Cup final at Hampden Park in Glasgow. (credit:Andrew Milligan/PA Archive)
Missing girl in Algarve(20 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann leaves the special service for the 100th day of Madeleine McCann's disappearance at the local church in Praia Du Luz, Portugal. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(21 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate and Gerry McCann make an appeal for their three year old Madeleine's return. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Archive)
Girl missing in Algarve(22 of29)
Open Image Modal
An undated photo of Madeleine McCann from the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page. (credit:Facebook.com/Official.Find.Madeleine.Campaign)
Madeleine McCann(23 of29)
Open Image Modal
Composite photos showing three-year-old Madeine McCann, left, with a computer generated age progression image of the missing child as she might look now, right, issued Thursday July 4, 2013. British police say Thursday July 4, 2013 they have launched a full investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, and want to trace 38 "persons of interest" in the case. Detectives say it's possible that Madeleine, who vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort six years ago, is still alive. (AP Photo/PA, Metropolitan Police, Teri Blythe) MANDATORY CREDIT ONE TIME USE ONLY UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE (credit:AP)
BRITAIN-MEDIA-POLITICS(24 of29)
Open Image Modal
Gerry McCann, father of missing girl Madeleine McCann and a victim of phone hacking, speaks during a conference organised by the Hacked Off campaign, on the eve of the publication of the long-awaited Conservative proposal for a 'Royal Charter' for press regulation in Central London, on February 11, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW COWIE (Photo credit should read ANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
BRITAIN-MEDIA-POLITICS-LEVESON(25 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate McCann, mother of missing toddler Madeleine McCann, joins members of 'Hacked Off', an organisation that advocates for victims of press abuse, as they make a statement following the publication of the Leveson Report into press ethics in central London on November 29, 2012 after a major inquiry launched in the wake of the News Of The World phone-hacking scandal. A major inquiry called for new laws to underpin a tougher watchdog for Britain's 'outrageous' newspapers in a move that threatens to split Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(26 of29)
Open Image Modal
This theater image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows, from left, Gareth Saxe, Madeleine Martin and Mary McCann, in a scene from Simon Stephens drama, "Harper Regan," performing off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. (AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Kevin Thomas Garcia) (credit:AP)
Kate McCann, Gerry McCann(27 of29)
Open Image Modal
Kate and Gerry McCann pose with a missing poster of their daughter Madeleine as talk to the media in London Wednesday, May 2, 2012 to mark their daughter Madeleine's birthday and the 5th anniversary of their daughter disappearance during a family vacation in southern Portugal in May 2007 shortly before her fourth birthday. (AP Photo/Sang Tan) (credit:AP)
MADELEINE MCCANN(28 of29)
Open Image Modal
FILE - This March 2007 file photo released by the McCann family Friday, May 4, 2007, shows 3-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann. London's Metropolitan Police said Wednesday April 25, 2012 say it's possible missing girl Madeleine McCann is alive and they will release a new image of the girl, who went missing on a family vacation in the Algarve coast in Portugal in May 2007. (AP Photo/McCann Family, File) (credit:AP)
Missing Madeleine McCann(29 of29)
Open Image Modal
UNSPECIFIED - UNDATED: In this handout artists impression from the UK's national police centre for protecting children - the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, a likeness of what missing child Madeleine McCann would look like today is seen. Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007 while on holiday with her family in Portugal and would now be 6 years old. (Photo Illustration by Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three in May 2007 when she traveled to Portugal with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann. The couple was dining with friends at a nearby restaurant and left McCann and her siblings unattended in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. When they returned from their meal, McCann had vanished.

There have been no solid leads in the case since that time.

The interviews are part of a renewed investigation authorities have launched in an attempt to solve McCann's disappearance.

The most recent developments come on the heels of a search British and Portuguese detectives recently carried out in the vicinity of where Madeleine McCann was last seen alive.

''This recent work is part of ensuring that all lines of inquiry are progressed in a systematic manner and covers just the one hypothesis that she was killed and buried locally,'' Scotland Yard said in a June media release.

Nothing of interest was reportedly found during the search.

Britain's Metropolitan Police Service is offering a reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the abduction of McCann

Support HuffPost

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your will go a long way.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go