Lisbon - Three days after the Portuguese judiciary freed Madeleine McCann's parents of the status of suspects in her disappearance, the former chief investigator into the case Thursday still insisted that they may have hidden her body.

The British toddler died accidentally in Gerry and Kate McCann's holiday apartment in the southern Portuguese tourist resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, Goncalo Amaral claimed in his book A Verdade da Mentira (The Truth of the Lie) which was published Thursday.

There was evidence that the McCanns subsequently hid the body and led police to believe that their daughter had been abducted, Portuguese press reports quoted the book as saying.

The parents say Madeleine went missing from her bed while they dined in a nearby restaurant.

The Portuguese judiciary Monday shelved the case as unresolved. It also freed the McCanns and fellow Briton Robert Murat of the status of suspects.

Amaral was sacked from the case after claiming that British police were partial to the McCanns.

The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Amaral faced immediate legal action if he implied that the McCanns were involved in Madeleines disappearance. (dpa)