By . Mail Foreign Service . 'Suspicious' behaviour: A police profile of a suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance had a violent past, reported a Portuguese newspaper . The ex-Ocean Club worker being investigated over Madeleine McCann's disappearance was an immigrant who received a presidential pardon after being convicted of theft, it was reported in a Portuguese newspaper. The daily Correio da Manha said the unnamed suspect was from Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. He died in a tractor accident in 2009, reports said. A relative, who is already said to have been questioned by Portuguese police, told the paper: ‘They are looking for a suspect that can't defend himself. ‘Peoples' lives can't be exposed this way.’ Correio da Manha said he should have been expelled from Portugal in 1996 - but was allowed to remain in the country after receiving a pardon from then-President Jorge Sampaio. The 40-year-old was a former employee at the Ocean Club holiday resort where the McCann family was staying and might have snatched Maddie in revenge after being sacked, Correio da Manha reported. Police identified him as their main suspect after mobile phone records indicated he was around the McCanns’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz when Maddie disappeared on May 3 2007, the paper claimed. The flat is a 15-minute drive from the town of Lagos where the unnamed suspect was living after he stopped working at the Ocean Club. A source told Correio da Manha that police believe he may have killed the youngster to ‘shut her up’ when he saw the huge media response to the disappearance - and are now trying to find her body. Motive: The man was reportedly a former employee of the Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz, pictured, where Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 . Portugal’s Attorney-General gave the . go-ahead for the investigation into the  girl’s disappearance to be . reopened last week at the request of the local police, the Policia . Judiciaria – more than five years after the original inquiry was . shelved. Correio da Manha claimed: ‘Police suspicions about the former . Ocean Club employee arose during the review of the case carried out by a . PJ team from Porto. ‘This was the strongest new lead presented to state prosecutors which led to the investigation being reopened. ‘The . man, who died aged 40 in a tractor accident in 2009, was not on the . list of employees handed over to police during the initial investigation . by the Ocean Club because at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance he . was not working there.’ It . described his departure from the Ocean Club as ‘frictious’ and said: . ‘The motives that could have caused the ex-employee to kidnap the . youngster are still being investigated.’ Hope: The McCann's lawyer said that the couple, seen here with a computer generated image of how Madeleine might have looked in 2012, are still motivated by the belief that she is still alive . It . suggests that he may ‘have committed the kidnap as a form of . retaliation against the Ocean Club. His aim could have been to call into . question the security of the holiday club but something went wrong and . the youngster disappeared.’ Portuguese police and a spokesman for the McCanns declined to comment on the newspaper report yesterday. It . was written by three journalists including a senior reporter who gave . evidence recently at the ongoing libel case brought by Kate and Gerry . McCann against Goncalo Amaral, the officer in charge of the original . investigation, over a book he wrote that accuses them of faking . Madeleine’s abduction to cover up her death. It emerged over the weekend that police were planning to reinterview several Ocean Club employees. More . than 130 workers were questioned during the initial inquiry, including . two men who fixed a blind in the McCanns’ apartment two days before . Madeleine disappeared. Portuguese . police are thought to have returned to the Praia da Luz area about a . month ago to carry out mobile phone tracking work. Last . week it emerged that Kate and Gerry McCann are to apply under . Portuguese law to become private ‘prosecutors’ and may now be able to . influence the course of the investigation and any prosecution. Their . status as ‘assistentes’ will allow their legal team to work alongside . state prosecutors, keeping the McCanns informed of all new developments . in the case. They could also bring a parallel private prosecution against any suspects charged over Maddie’s disappearance. A . secrecy order put on the case by Portugal’s Attorney General could also . be lifted just for them, giving access to all case files. New leads: The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine, pictured, was reopened following a review of the case .
The suspect was from Cape Verde off the coast of Africa, a Portuguese paper reported .
The 40-year-old was an employee at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz .
He died in a tractor accident back in 2009 according to Correio da Manha .
He was identified as the main suspect following mobile phone tests .
The report says Portuguese police believe he may have killed Madeleine .
By . Mail Foreign Service . 'Suspicious' behaviour: A police profile of a suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance had a violent past, reported a Portuguese newspaper . The ex-Ocean Club worker being investigated over Madeleine McCann's disappearance was an immigrant who received a presidential pardon after being convicted of theft, it was reported in a Portuguese newspaper. The daily Correio da Manha said the unnamed suspect was from Cape Verde off the coast of Africa. He died in a tractor accident in 2009, reports said. A relative, who is already said to have been questioned by Portuguese police, told the paper: ‘They are looking for a suspect that can't defend himself. ‘Peoples' lives can't be exposed this way.’ Correio da Manha said he should have been expelled from Portugal in 1996 - but was allowed to remain in the country after receiving a pardon from then-President Jorge Sampaio. The 40-year-old was a former employee at the Ocean Club holiday resort where the McCann family was staying and might have snatched Maddie in revenge after being sacked, Correio da Manha reported. Police identified him as their main suspect after mobile phone records indicated he was around the McCanns’ holiday apartment in Praia da Luz when Maddie disappeared on May 3 2007, the paper claimed. The flat is a 15-minute drive from the town of Lagos where the unnamed suspect was living after he stopped working at the Ocean Club. A source told Correio da Manha that police believe he may have killed the youngster to ‘shut her up’ when he saw the huge media response to the disappearance - and are now trying to find her body. Motive: The man was reportedly a former employee of the Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz, pictured, where Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 . Portugal’s Attorney-General gave the . go-ahead for the investigation into the  girl’s disappearance to be . reopened last week at the request of the local police, the Policia . Judiciaria – more than five years after the original inquiry was . shelved. Correio da Manha claimed: ‘Police suspicions about the former . Ocean Club employee arose during the review of the case carried out by a . PJ team from Porto. ‘This was the strongest new lead presented to state prosecutors which led to the investigation being reopened. ‘The . man, who died aged 40 in a tractor accident in 2009, was not on the . list of employees handed over to police during the initial investigation . by the Ocean Club because at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance he . was not working there.’ It . described his departure from the Ocean Club as ‘frictious’ and said: . ‘The motives that could have caused the ex-employee to kidnap the . youngster are still being investigated.’ Hope: The McCann's lawyer said that the couple, seen here with a computer generated image of how Madeleine might have looked in 2012, are still motivated by the belief that she is still alive . It . suggests that he may ‘have committed the kidnap as a form of . retaliation against the Ocean Club. His aim could have been to call into . question the security of the holiday club but something went wrong and . the youngster disappeared.’ Portuguese police and a spokesman for the McCanns declined to comment on the newspaper report yesterday. It . was written by three journalists including a senior reporter who gave . evidence recently at the ongoing libel case brought by Kate and Gerry . McCann against Goncalo Amaral, the officer in charge of the original . investigation, over a book he wrote that accuses them of faking . Madeleine’s abduction to cover up her death. It emerged over the weekend that police were planning to reinterview several Ocean Club employees. More . than 130 workers were questioned during the initial inquiry, including . two men who fixed a blind in the McCanns’ apartment two days before . Madeleine disappeared. Portuguese . police are thought to have returned to the Praia da Luz area about a . month ago to carry out mobile phone tracking work. Last . week it emerged that Kate and Gerry McCann are to apply under . Portuguese law to become private ‘prosecutors’ and may now be able to . influence the course of the investigation and any prosecution. Their . status as ‘assistentes’ will allow their legal team to work alongside . state prosecutors, keeping the McCanns informed of all new developments . in the case. They could also bring a parallel private prosecution against any suspects charged over Maddie’s disappearance. A . secrecy order put on the case by Portugal’s Attorney General could also . be lifted just for them, giving access to all case files. New leads: The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine, pictured, was reopened following a review of the case .
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