Maddie McCann suspect could be back on streets in weeks | World | News
A man suspected of abducting British toddler Madeleine McCann from her family’s room in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007 could be let back out onto the streets in weeks. Convicted German sex offender Christian Brueckner will have served a current prison sentence in Sehnde prison – for the rape of an American pensioner on camera in 2005 – by September 17. But it is believed that officials may allow him to leave a week “or ten days” before his official release date.
Brueckner was found guilty in 2018 after a hair was found on the bed of the woman, who was tied up and beaten. The brutal attack, unrelated to the toddler’s disappearance, took place just metres from where Madeleine vanished. He is currently considered a prime suspect by the German authorities, and an “arguido” – official suspect – in Portugal, after the three-year-old child from Leicestershire vanished 18 years ago.
“I’ve been told from very good sources that they will let him go quietly to avoid any big media attention,” a German source close to the case told the Olive Press.
They added: “They also don’t want the chance of any vigilante attacking him, in case they need him back to face other charges soon.”
The source also said that the police are working around the clock to try and find “the final bit of the jigsaw” to charge Brueckner over the McCann case.
“They know he did it, but they need to prove it,” they added.
It comes after a fresh search was conducted on land around a cottage previously used by the German.
Tiny fragments of clothes and bone were recovered.
A source told the Berlin Morning Post in June: “Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory.
“As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things.
“The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance but that is clearly their hope.”
