Madeleine McCann disappeared four days before her fourth birthday back in 2007 while vacationing with her family in Portugal. British investigators have recently reopened the case and say they’re now actively pursuing a sexual predator who broke into vacation villas in Portugal and sexually abused five little girls between 2004 and 2010. Police say there are incredible similarities between these break-ins and Madeleine McCann’s abduction.

In most of these aforementioned cases there were no signs of forced entry into the vacation villas. The break-ins occurred between 2:00 A.M. and 5:00 A.M. Two of these break-ins took place in the resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was taken.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood says the suspect has “an unhealthy interest in young white female children.”

“These offenses are very serious and no one has been charged in connection with them,” he said. “We also need to eliminate this man from our enquiries and ascertain whether these offenses are linked to Madeleine’s disappearance.”

Redwood’s team is working in conjunction with Portuguese investigators and together they have 38 “persons of interest” in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. They are also sifting through information about 530 known sexual offenders whose whereabouts are presently unknown. Of these 530, 59 are said to be “high priority,” and some of them are British.

Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann have never given up hope of finding their daughter. Initially thought to have been involved in her disappearance they have long been cleared of anything to do with the crime.

In 2008, the Madeleine McCann case was closed. London’s Metropolitan Police subsequently spent two years reviewing evidence at the request of the British government. They opened their own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance about a year ago.

It would indeed be a miracle if British investigators could find out what actually happened to Madeleine McCann, and even if their findings aren’t happy ones, at the very least they could provide some closure for the little girl’s family.

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