Main suspect in British toddler Madeleine McCann’s disappearance released

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By Erol Dogrudogan and Thomas Escritt

SEHNDE, Germany (Reuters) – The main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime.

German prosecutors first named Christian Brueckner as a suspect in 2020, when he was already serving the sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same part of Portugal’s Algarve region where McCann went missing.

His lawyer drove him out of the prison grounds in an Audi, escorted by a police van.

Brueckner’s lawyer denies any connection with the McCann case. He did not immediately respond to a request to comment on his client’s release.

Brueckner, 49, has convictions for child abuse and drug trafficking in addition to the rape of the woman, who has since died.

Prosecutors said he would need to wear an electronic tag for five years, meet his parole officer at least once a month and declare to the court any changes to his domicile or temporary residence.

“Any violation of these conditions could lead to a fine or up to three years in prison,” prosecutor Christian Wolters added.

Der Spiegel said Brueckner’s passport had been cancelled and quoted a legal analyst describing the conditions as an attempt to keep him “in a kind of investigative detention”.

McCann, then aged three, disappeared from her bedroom in a holiday resort as her parents dined metres away.

Police in Britain, Germany and Portugal, who have identified Brueckner as their main suspect, have long sought evidence to link him conclusively to the case. Portuguese and German police spent four days digging for evidence in the Algarve in June.

British police said on Monday that Brueckner declined their request for an interview in connection with the disappearance. They said they would continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.

Brueckner lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where, according to court documents seen by Reuters, he burgled hotels and holiday flats.

McCann’s parents continue to campaign for their daughter, who would now be 22, to be found and issue a statement each year on the anniversary of her disappearance.

“We love her dearly and miss her beyond words,” they wrote on their website.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Frances Kerry and Alex Richardson)