Kate and Gerry McCann have been given fresh hope of being cleared of involvement in their daughter Madeleine's disappearance after reports that the Portuguese authorities are closing the case.
But they voiced fears that this would mean the end of the police search for the missing little girl.
Three Portuguese newspapers have reported that the case would be shelved because detectives have failed to find enough evidence to charge anyone.
But Portugal's attorney-general, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, insisted no final decision had been taken on whether to end the 14-month investigation.
He confirmed in a statement that Portuguese police have handed over their final report, which runs to dozens of volumes.
But Mr Pinto Monteiro said prosecutors would now consider the files before deciding whether to end the investigation or carry out further inquiries.
Portuguese police named Mr and Mrs McCann as "arguidos", or formal suspects, in the case four months after Madeleine vanished from their holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve. The couple strenuously deny any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, called for the couple's arguido status to be lifted but urged police not to leave the investigation files to "gather dust".
Mr Mitchell said that if the inquiry is to be discontinued, Portuguese police files should be handed over to the McCanns' Spanish private detectives so they could continue the search.
The final police report is to go to the Ministerio Publico in Portimao, where a decision will be taken in the coming days, according to Portuguese newspaper Expresso.
