Madeleine McCann Case Suspect Freed After Serving German Prison Term

• Sep 17, 2025

The man identified as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been released from a German prison. Christian Brueckner, 48, completed a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005. Despite being named in 2020 as the chief suspect in McCann’s 2007 disappearance, he has never been charged due to lack of sufficient evidence.

Brueckner left Sehnde prison in northern Germany on Wednesday. His release, reported by journalists at the scene, was closely watched as police vans escorted his lawyer’s car away from the facility. Outside, a large group of reporters gathered, reflecting the global attention that continues to surround the case.

Madeleine, widely known as “Maddie,” vanished at age three from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. Despite an international manhunt and years of investigations, no trace of her has ever been found, and no one has been charged.

German prosecutors have long accused Brueckner, who lived intermittently in the Algarve region at the time, of being responsible for her disappearance. They claim to hold “concrete evidence” against him but acknowledge it is not enough to secure a conviction. Searches near where he once lived, including one in June this year, have so far yielded no confirmed results.

Prosecutors in Braunschweig had sought to impose conditions on Brueckner’s release, such as electronic monitoring and residence reporting, citing concerns about his risk of reoffending. Chief prosecutor Christian Wolters warned days before the release that Brueckner remains “dangerous” and could leave Germany to escape media scrutiny.

Brueckner’s criminal record is extensive, with convictions dating back to his teenage years for child sexual abuse. By 2020, his record reportedly contained 17 entries, including theft, bodily harm, and drunk driving. During his most recent trial, a psychiatric expert described him as being in the “absolute top league of dangerousness” and highly likely to reoffend.

In October 2022, he faced additional charges of rape and child sexual abuse linked to crimes between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve, but he was acquitted. Prosecutors have since applied for a retrial in a different court, though no decision is expected until next year.

Investigations into Madeleine’s disappearance remain ongoing. Authorities say they are still reviewing materials collected from recent searches and pursuing other leads. “We just hope that if we need him again, we’ll be able to get him,” Wolters told AFP.