Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brückner released from German prison

Christian Brückner, the German man identified by investigators as the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British child Madeleine McCann, has been released from Sehnde Prison near Hanover after completing a sentence for an unrelated sexual offence, authorities said.

Police confirmed Brückner left the prison in a vehicle driven by his lawyer and was not visible when the car departed. He will be fitted with an electronic ankle tag, has had his passport cancelled and must declare a place of residence and obtain permission to travel, according to reporting and statements from legal representatives and prosecutors.

German prosecutors first named Brückner a suspect in the McCann case in 2020 while he was already serving a seven-year sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old woman in the Algarve region of Portugal. He has never been charged over Madeleine McCann's disappearance and denies any involvement. Prosecutors have said they believe evidence, including mobile phone data, places him in the area when Madeleine vanished, but they have described that evidence as not robust enough to bring formal charges.

Brückner has a longstanding criminal record. Court documents and previous reporting say he lived in southern Portugal between 1995 and 2007 and had convictions for sexually abusing children in 1994 and 2016, as well as offences including drug trafficking and burglary. The victim in the 2005 rape conviction later died.

Police from Britain, Germany and Portugal have continued to pursue lines of inquiry since Brückner was publicly identified as a suspect. Investigators conducted a fresh search of scrubland and abandoned buildings in the Praia da Luz area of the Algarve in June this year, concentrating on ground between the holiday apartment where the McCanns were staying and addresses linked to Brückner, but officials said the excavation yielded no breakthrough.

British police said on Monday that Brückner declined a request for an interview in connection with the disappearance. The Metropolitan Police said it would continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry and work with its international partners. German authorities have imposed the travel and residence restrictions as part of measures to maintain access to Brückner while further investigative steps continue, a legal representative quoted in German reporting described.

Madeleine McCann was three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined a short distance away. Her disappearance prompted one of the most high-profile missing person enquiries in Europe and has drawn sustained media and public attention for nearly two decades. Her parents continue to campaign for information and issue a public statement each year marking the anniversary of her disappearance; in recent messages they have written, "We love her dearly and miss her beyond words."

German prosecutors have repeatedly said they consider Brückner responsible for Madeleine's disappearance, pointing to a range of investigative material gathered since their naming of him as a suspect. They have also acknowledged limits to the evidence needed to secure a charge. Portuguese authorities have participated in searches and inquiries in the Algarve and have cooperated with German and British investigators.

Brückner, who spent long periods living in the Algarve and has been described in court records as a drifter and petty criminal, served his German sentence for the 2005 conviction and his release follows the completion of that term. Officials said measures including electronic monitoring and travel restrictions are intended to preserve their ability to question him and to prevent him leaving German jurisdiction while enquiries remain open.

As of his release, there is no public indication that prosecutors will bring charges in the McCann case imminently. Investigators in multiple countries said they will continue to examine material and pursue credible leads, while Madeleine McCann's family and campaigners repeated appeals for anyone with information from the time of her disappearance to come forward.