Criminal investigators in Germany notified Christian Brückner as early as 2013 that he was on their radar in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, raising questions over whether they inadvertently allowed the suspect to dispose of evidence.
According to a report in the news weekly Der Spiegel, Brückner received a letter from police in Braunschweig on 4 November 2013 inviting him to be interviewed as a witness in the “missing person case Madeleine McCann”.
Braunschweig police had sent the letter after noticing Brückner’s history of sexual offences following a routine request by the German Federal Office for Criminal Investigation.
Officers cited by Der Spiegel describe the letter as a mistake, saying such a high-profile case would have required investigators to gather more evidence before approaching a suspect. “This should not have happened and in no way complies with common procedure in such a delicate case,” said one.
Federal investigators in Germany had received a tipoff linking Brückner to Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007 following a TV appearance by her parents on 16 October 2013, Der Spiegel reported. A former colleague had recognised Brückner on the basis of a photofit of a man spotted near the site where Madeleine went missing. The informant said the suspect had run a swimming pool service close to the Cala d’Or holiday resort.
Quick GuideMadeleine McCann suspect Christian Brückner: a timeline
Show
1994
Convicted of sexual abuse of a child, attempted sexual abuse of a child, and carrying out sexual acts in front of a child.
1995
Flees to Portugal as an 18-year-old to escape a two-year youth custody sentence for the above offences.
1999
Returns to Germany to sit a youth custody sentence he had escaped.
2004-5
Dates an English woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Later in 2005 Brücknerrapes a 72-year-old American woman in the resort.
2006
Portuguese authorities drop the rape investigation due to lack of evidence.
2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from Praia da Luz. Brückner buys marihuana and hashish and sells it to a middle-man on the northern German island of Sylt, where it is sold on.
2012
Opens a kiosk in Braunschweig, in north-west Germany.
2013
McCanns appeal to the German public on TV for evidence over Madeleine’s disappearance. Brückner’s name crops up in connection with the case.
2017
Convicted of sexual abuse of a child in Germany and sentenced to 15 months in prison.
2018
Arrested in Milan and returned to Germany.
2019
Charged with the rape of a US citizen in August and is convicted in December. Sentenced to seven years for the rape. Prison term not yet started pending an appeal that the conviction was unlawful but he is being held in police custody.
July 2020
German police search garden in Hanover in connection with McCann's disappearance.
Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment on 3 May 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, as her parents dined with friends at a nearby tapas bar. Her disappearance sparked one of the biggest searches of its kind in recent years.