The German Christian Brückner (Featured Photo), 43 years old, was officially the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann this Thursday (April 21). The information was released by the Public Ministry of Portugal through a memo.
According to the State Ministry, the request came from the German authorities, with whom Portugal has an international agreement on judicial cooperation.
Although he is a suspect in the Madeleine case, Brueckner is currently serving a sentence for another crime. He was sentenced to 21 months for drug trafficking but is eligible for parole on January 6 after serving twothirds of the sentence. He had previously been convicted of child sexual abuse.
In December 2019, the German was also convicted of raping an elderly woman in 2005 in Portugal’s Algarve region, where Madeleine and her family had traveled and the place where the girl disappeared in 2007.
Brueckner had a house two miles from the hotel where Kate and Gerry McCann were staying with friends the night Madeleine went missing. He lived in the residence until 2007.
People in the area who knew the suspect reported he had “few friends”. Brueckner was investigated during the Madeleine case, but police found nothing to incriminate him at the time.
On the day of Madeleine’s disappearance, Brueckner received a call at his home. The police hope to find the caller to make her a possible witness in the case.
While living in the Algarve region, the suspect built a history of robbing hotel rooms. Back in Germany following the fallout from the girl’s disappearance, Brueckner was investigated over the disappearance of a 5yearold girl. However, the police did not pursue the case any further.