The main suspect in the famous case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann has been released from prison in Germany. An AFP reporter at the scene confirmed this on Wednesday.
The suspect, Christian Brueckner, is 48 years old. He had been serving a seven-year sentence at Sehnde prison in northern Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005. Even though German investigators strongly believe he may be involved in the disappearance of Madeleine, they have not been able to officially charge him because there is not enough clear evidence.
When Brueckner left prison, he was taken away in his lawyer’s car, while two police vans escorted them. Many journalists were gathered outside the prison to watch the moment he walked free.
Madeleine McCann, often called “Maddie,” disappeared in May 2007 when she was only three years old. She went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, a resort town in Portugal’s Algarve region, while her parents were eating at a nearby restaurant.
Her disappearance quickly became one of the most famous missing-person cases in the world. Despite huge searches, media attention across the globe, and many leads, no solid clues have ever been found about what happened to her. No one has ever been convicted or officially held responsible.
Brueckner lived in the Algarve around the time Madeleine vanished. In 2020, German prosecutors named him as their main suspect. They said they had concrete evidence linking him to the case, but it was not strong enough to prove in court. Because of this, they could not charge him.
In June 2023, police searched a forest area and abandoned buildings in Portugal near where Brueckner once stayed. However, they have not announced any new findings.
Just days before Brueckner left prison, German prosecutor Christian Wolters warned that he is still considered very dangerous and likely to commit crimes again. Prosecutors asked for special conditions, such as forcing him to wear an electronic ankle monitor and telling authorities where he lives.
Wolters also said there were worries that Brueckner might try to leave Germany because of the intense media attention surrounding him.
Brueckner’s lawyer, Friedrich Fuelscher, said these warnings will make his client’s future very difficult. He explained that Brueckner will struggle to find a home or a job, as most people would not want to be associated with someone suspected of being a child murderer.
Brueckner’s criminal record is long and troubling. According to German magazine Der Spiegel, he was first convicted of sexually abusing children when he was still a teenager. By 2020, he had 17 criminal entries, including crimes like theft, drunk driving, assault, and drug trafficking.
A psychiatric expert once described him as being in the top league of dangerousness, saying he was very likely to commit more crimes in the future.
In October 2022, Brueckner was put on trial for five separate charges of rape and child sexual abuse. These crimes were said to have happened between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal, in the same region where Madeleine went missing. But he was acquitted of all charges, which meant prosecutors could not keep him in prison while they continued to investigate the McCann case.
German prosecutors have now asked for a retrial in a different court, but no decision will be made until at least next year.
Even though Brueckner is free, German prosecutors insist that their investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is still active. They are still examining evidence collected during the searches in Praia da Luz in June and are following other leads.
Prosecutor Wolters told AFP: “We just hope that if we need him again, we’ll be able to get him.”
