The primary suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has declined a request for an interview from the Metropolitan Police, the force has confirmed.
According to the Met, an international letter of request was submitted to Christian Brückner ahead of his anticipated release from prison on an unrelated conviction. Mr. Brückner subsequently rejected the request.
Mr. Brückner, a 48-year-old German national, has never been formally charged in connection with the McCann case and maintains his innocence.
Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007 from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. The child and her siblings were left unattended in their holiday apartment while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined at a nearby restaurant.
The McCanns periodically checked on their children until Mrs. McCann discovered Madeleine was missing at approximately 22:00 local time.
Mr. Brückner is currently incarcerated in Germany, serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman at her residence in Praia da Luz in 2005.
German authorities have indicated that he is expected to be released by Wednesday.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell stated that Mr. Brückner remains a suspect in the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. He has been considered the prime suspect by German and Portuguese authorities since 2020 and 2022, respectively.
“We have sought an interview with the aforementioned German suspect; however, due to legal protocols, this can only be facilitated through an International Letter of Request, which has been formally submitted,” DCI Cranwell explained.
“This request was subsequently declined by the suspect. Despite the absence of an interview, we remain committed to pursuing all viable avenues of inquiry.”
“We are unable to provide further details while the investigation remains ongoing.”
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann has become one of the most widely followed and high-profile unsolved missing person cases globally.
German prosecutors have cited evidence, including mobile phone data, suggesting Mr. Brückner may have been in the vicinity at the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. They have consistently asserted their belief in his culpability.
However, they acknowledge that they have not yet acquired sufficient evidence to file formal charges.
Mr. Brückner, who resided in the Algarve for several years, is described as a transient individual with a history of petty crime and previous convictions for sexual offenses, including the sexual abuse of children in 1994 and 2016.
Portuguese and German law enforcement conducted a renewed search in June of this year, focusing on the area between the McCanns’ accommodation and addresses linked to Mr. Brückner, although this did not yield any significant breakthroughs.
In 2023, investigators executed searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, located approximately 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Mr. Brückner spent time in the Praia da Luz region between 2000 and 2017 and possessed photographs and videos depicting him in proximity to the reservoir.
In October of the previous year, Mr. Brückner was acquitted by a German court of unrelated sexual offenses, which were alleged to have occurred in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Due to disparities in legal frameworks, German authorities suspect Mr. Brückner of murder in connection with the Madeleine McCann case, while British police are continuing to treat the disappearance as a missing persons case.
Funding allocated to the Metropolitan Police’s investigation, Operation Grange, has surpassed £13.2 million since 2011. A further £108,000 was secured from the government in April.
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