The breakthrough is approaching the 15th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance (Photo: REX / PA)
Detectives investigating Madeleine McCann’s disappearance say they have found important new evidence linking the prime suspect and the young child.
The breakthrough comes on the 15th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance and as prosecutors reportedly are ready to press charges against Christian Bruckner.
The 45-year-old convicted pedophile was first identified as a suspect by German police in June 2020.
Earlier this month, German prosecutors said they had found new evidence linking Bruckner to Madeleine’s abduction.
The three-year-old child disappeared without a trace from his parents’ holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.
Asked about developments on Portuguese television, Hans-Christian Walters, who is leading the German investigation, said: “We have found new facts and new evidence.
“This is not forensic evidence, but evidence, and because of our evidence, we are sure that he is the murderer of Madeleine McCann.
“We’re sure he killed Madeleine.”
Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal in 2007 (Photo: AP)
Among those who followed the investigation, there was speculation that the “new evidence” could be “treacherous” fibers found in Brueckner’s van.
Mr Walters was questioned on television by Sandra Felgeiras, a Portuguese television presenter and journalist who also interviewed Kate and Gary McCann after their daughter’s disappearance.
Pressing Mr Wolters on the latest developments, she said: “Is it true that you found something belonging to Madeleine in Christian B’s caravan?”
But the German prosecutor declined to go into details, saying he “could not comment on details of the investigation”.
“But you can’t deny it, can you?” Mrs. Felgeiras asked.
Mr Wolters replied: “I do not want to deny it”, he later added, “because the suspect has not yet been informed”.
Ocean Club, which is next to apartment 5A in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeleine McCann disappeared (Photo: PA)
Under German law, details of a police investigation cannot be made public until the suspect and his legal team receive full details of the case against them.
Mr Wolters said in October that after gathering evidence, his team was “convinced” that the case would be closed soon.
He also reportedly told The Sun that he hoped to bring charges against Bruckner for Madeleine’s disappearance soon.
Portuguese police also made Bruckner “Arguido” – an official suspect – in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the young child last month, a move that will reportedly give them more time to gather evidence.
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Bruckner has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
He refused to speak to police or prosecutors and mocked the case against him, insisting his prosecutors had no evidence.
Bruckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence in a German prison for raping a 72-year-old woman.
He is also suspected of raping a member of an Irish tour in 2004 and exposing himself to young people at a playground in the Algarve.
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