Maddie McCann's disappearance: an official suspect, a secret cellar and other key facts

The search for Madeleine McCann, the little girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007, has entered a new phase. Police have marked an official suspect: the German sex offender Christian Brueckner who had already been in their sight since 2020.

On May 3, 2007, Maddie disappeared from the hotel room in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, where she was spending the summer with her family. She was about to turn four. Police in Portugal and Germany assume that Brueckner took the girl away from the hotel and brought her with him to Germany.

In April 2022, Portuguese prosecutors announced that they had designated Christian Brueckner as the official suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

On 3 May 2022 it is 15 years since Madeleine was reported missing. "Under Portuguese law," the BBC explains, "it would no longer be possible to declare someone a person of interest beyond this date. Declaring someone a person of interest is a necessary step to any criminal charges." However, the prosecutors had added, "the move was not driven by timing, but by 'strong indications' of the practice of a crime."

The police in Portugal and Germany appear highly certain of their case against the 45-year-old suspect. They are said to possess more information than the evidence they have released to the public.

(Image: an early robot sketch of the suspect, based on witness testimonies in Praia da Luz)

Searches for the girl in 2020 exposed the signs of a disturbing crime. The prosecutor handling the case in Germany, Hans Christian Wolter, said it quite clearly: "We know who killed Madeleine and how, but we cannot prove it."

Police have searched a plot of land near Hannover that the suspect used to own. They found disturbing traces, including the remains of a hidden cellar and a flash drive with illegal photos of children.

What makes the case all the more disturbing is that the suspect, Christian Brueckner, reportedly told a friend that he was fascinated by the infamous Austrian psychopath Joseph Fritzl. Caught in 2009, Fritzl had held captive and assaulted his daughter for 24 years inside a secret basement.

The search in Germany made headlines around the world. They described the secret cellar as a dungeon and raise the hypothesis that Madeleine McCann was kidnapped from Portugal and kept in the German cellar.

Christian Brueckner lived in the coastal area of the Algarve, Portugal, in 2007. He owned a motor home that matches the one seen by witnesses in the days before Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

(Photo: coastline in the Algarve, by Toni Sciacca / Unsplash)

Brueckner was 18 years old when he went to explore the landscapes of southern Portugal. People familiar with the man say that he was engaged in the buying and selling of used cars, as well as other, irregular businesses. He settled with his van near the town of Praia da Luz, the place where the McCann family booked their vacation in 2007.

Gerry and Kate McCann left Madeleine and her two-year-old twin siblings asleep in their hotel room while they went to have dinner with friends in a restaurant about 50 meters away.

According to their statement, they checked in with the children every 20 to 30 minutes. Everything seemed fine, but when they returned to the room for the night, young Madeleine was gone.

Initially, there was a lot of criticism and even suspicion of Gerry and Kate McCann. The story of a 3-year-old vanishing from a hotel room seemed hard to believe. In the end, however, authorities agreed that the parents were not involved the disappearance.

For a long time, no trace of the girl was found despite intensive searches in Portugal and beyond. It took 13 long years before the police had indications of the crime and its main suspect.

Kate and Gerry McCann have been close all these years and are constantly fighting to find some trace of their daughter. In an interview with the BBC, they confessed to feeling "guilty" about what happened to Madeleine.

Like anyone who has a missing child, Kate and Gerry McCann have been hopeful that their daughter remains alive. They even met with the pope to ask him for support and prayers.

The parents periodically publish a reconstruction of what Madeleine would look like if she were around today. However, in their press conferences in 2020, German police have assured the public that they believe the girl is no longer alive.

Why did German investigators connect Christian Brueckner to the case? According to reports on the German network ZDF, Brueckner made several calls in the surroundings of the McCanns' hotel in the days before the girl disappeared. This information puts him near the scene of the crime. He also had a record of child abuse and reportedly attacked a 72-year-old woman in Portugal.

Many years have passed since that fateful night. Now, the official suspicion of Christian Brueckner may lead to the final chapter of the McCanns' ordeal. Any answer will help Madeleine's parents process the absolute tragedy of missing a child.