Mr Robert Murat and his wife are understood to be due to speak to police

Portuguese police investigating the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann are to question former suspect Robert Murat, the BBC has learned.

A source close to the case has told the BBC that Mr Murat, one of 11 people being interviewed by officers in Portugal, will be treated as a witness.

He has always denied any involvement in the disappearance and said that his conscience "is clear".

Madeleine was three when she went missing in Praia da Luz in May 2007.

Mr Murat was the first person to be declared a suspect or 'arguido' in the investigation and was later cleared by police in Portugal.

He won substantial damages from various media organisations, external and has always denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.

Speaking to the BBC from the Algarve, Mr Murat said neither he nor his lawyer had received a formal request to appear, but said he "would do so freely".

He said: "My conscience is clear and I have no problem speaking to the police again."

Mr Murat's wife has also been listed as one of the four witnesses the Metropolitan Police wish to have questioned regarding Madeleine's disappearance.

Four of the 11 speaking to police are being interviewed as witnesses and seven as 'arguidos' - a status in the Portuguese judicial system referring to individuals whom police may reasonably suspect are linked to a crime.

British detectives had been scheduled to fly out to observe the questioning next week, but this was postponed on Tuesday night, believed to be due to legal technicalities.

British police can sit in on the interviews but are not allowed to ask direct questions.

In June, Portuguese and British police searched three sites in the Algarve resort but found no evidence relating to the case.

The following month, four suspects, all Portuguese citizens, were questioned by Portuguese detectives in Faro but this led to no new developments.

The interviews were observed by officers from the Met Police, which is conducting its own investigation.

The McCann family were staying in an apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing. Her parents had been at a restaurant near their apartment that evening.

The Met launched a fresh investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, codenamed Operation Grange, in July 2013.

The request to interview the 11 people of interest comes from Letters of International Request submitted to Portugal's Attorney General by British detectives from the operation.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Scotland Yard is not prepared to provide a running commentary."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30115913

Madeleine McCann disappearance: A timeline

 https://share.google/tACTx3EHJpH3f0f7h

Madeleine McCann disappearance:

 A timeline

3 June 2025

BBCMadeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, then aged three

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from a Portuguese holiday apartment 18 years ago.

In the intervening years, a huge, costly police operation has taken place across much of Europe and Madeleine has became one of the most high profile missing people.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, say all they have ever wanted is to find their daughter.

Now German police investigating her disappearance are holding fresh searches in Portugal.

• New Madeleine McCann search under way in Portugal

 Madeleine McCann went missing from this apartment block at the Ocean Club. The family's apartment is on the left of the building

On 3 May Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, is on holiday with her family at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

• Her parents go for dinner with a group of friends at a restaurant in the complex. Madeleine and her younger brother and sister - twins - stay in the apartment, 100 yards away
• The adults had devised a rota system to check on all their children during the evening
• When it is the turn of Kate McCann, she discovers her daughter, Madeleine, has gone
• Police are called and staff and guests at the complex search for her until daybreak
• Border police and airport staff are put on alert and hundreds of volunteers join efforts to find Madeleine in the following days.

On 12 May, the McCanns say they "cannot describe the anguish and despair" they are feeling.

Portuguese police say they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal

In the intervening years, a huge, costly police operation has taken place across much of 

Europe and Madeleine has became one of the most high profile missing people.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, say all they have ever wanted is to find their daughter.

Now German police investigating her disappearance are holding fresh searches in Portugal.

• New Madeleine McCann search under way in Portugal

PA MediaMadeleine went missing from this apartment block at the Ocean Club. The family's apartment is on the left of the building
On 26 May, police issue a description of a man seen on the night of Madeleine's disappearance, possibly carrying a child.

 A search took place in the areas around Praia da Luz on the Algarve

In June, a Portuguese police chief admits vital forensic clues may have been destroyed as the scene was not protected properly.

In July, British police send sniffer dogs to assist the investigation, and inspections of the McCann's apartment and rental car are conducted.

By August it is 100 days since Madeleine disappeared. Investigating officers publicly acknowledge she may not be found alive.

On 6 September, Portuguese police interview Kate McCann as a witness. On 7 September, detectives make the couple "arguidos" and days later, the McCanns return to the UK. Prosecutors later say there is no new evidence to justify re-questioning them

Gerry McCann releases a video in November saying he believes his family was watched by "a predator" in the days before his daughter's disappearance.

iaPA Med Kate and Gerry McCann leave church after a service to mark the first anniversary of their daughter's disappearance

On 20 January the McCanns release sketches of a suspect, based on a description by a British holidaymaker of a "creepy man" seen at the resort.

In April, Portuguese police fly to the UK to sit in on interviews conducted by Leicestershire Police of the McCanns' friends they had dinner with on the night Madeleine disappeared.

On 3 May, one year since the disappearance, Kate McCann urges people to "pray like mad" for her little girl.

By July Portuguese police say they have submitted their final report on the case. Weeks later, authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns.

Find Madeleine CampaignAn image was released of how Madeleine might look at six

On 3 November, new images of how Madeleine might now look are released.

In March 2010, the McCanns criticise the release of previously unseen Portuguese police files - detailing possible sightings of Madeleine - to British newspapers.

A month later, in April, Gerry McCann says it is "incredibly frustrating" that police in Portugal and the UK had not been actively looking for his daughter "for a very long time".

In November, the couple sign a publishing deal to write a book about Madeleine's disappearance.

2011

1. PA Media

The McCanns' book, Madeleine, is released in May.

Prime Minister David Cameron asks the Metropolitan Police to help investigate. A two-year review follows.

Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood, the detective leading the UK review of Madeleine's disappearance, tells an April broadcast of the BBC's Panorama his team is "seeking to bring closure to the case".

A computer-generated image of what Madeleine might look like aged nine is released, a day before Portuguese authorities say they are not reopening their investigation.

The e-fit images feature in a BBC Crimewatch appea

In May, UK detectives reviewing the case say they have identified "a number of persons of interest".

By July, Scotland Yard announces it has "new evidence and new witnesses" in the case and opens a formal investigation.

By October, Scotland Yard detectives say they have identified 41 potential suspects.

A BBC Crimewatch appeal features e-fit images of a man seen carrying a blond-haired child of three or four in Praia da Luz at about the time Madeleine went missing.

Portuguese police reopen their investigation - to run alongside Scotland Yard's - citing "new lines of inquiry".

Getty ImagesMet Police officers searched scrubland near where Madeleine vanished in 2014

In January British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests.

In June searches in Praia da Luz are carried out, including an area of scrubland situated south-west of the Ocean Club complex. It yields nothing of interest.

A month later, in July, four suspects are quizzed by police but no new developments emerge.

Madeleine McCann was three when she went missing in 2007

In September 2015 the British government disclose that the investigation has cost more than £10m.

In April 2017 the four official suspects investigated by police are ruled out of the investigation but senior officers say they are pursuing a "significant line of inquiry".

In June 2019 the UK government says it will fund the Met Police inquiry, which began in 2011, until March 2020.

1. 2020

A year later, in June 2020, police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner - named by German media as Christian B - has been identified as a suspect. The McCanns thank police, saying: "All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

"We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."

German investigators have classed it as a murder inquiry and say they are assuming that Madeleine is dead.

The UK's Metropolitan Police says it has received more than 270 calls and emails since a new appeal for information was launched on Wednesday.

1. 2022

In April 2022, a German man is declared an official suspect by Portuguese prosecutors investigating the case.

Christian Brückner, then 45, is made an "arguido", although Portuguese authorities do not formally reveal the suspect's name.

The McCann family mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance on 3 May 2023, saying she is "still very much missed" and they "await a breakthrough

Later that month, a Portuguese news website reports that an area near a reservoir, about 30 miles (48km) from Praia da Luz, had been being sealed off. Police say they will begin searching the Arade dam on 23 May, but the search ends after three days.

In October, Portuguese police apologise to the McCanns saying the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance was not handled properly, there was insufficient importance given at the time to missing children and that her parents' position as foreigners in an environment they did not understand was not appreciated.

2025

In April, the UK government approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.

A month later in May, the McCann family marked 18 years since her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".

In the same month, it emerged chief suspect in Madeleine's disappearance Christian Brückner - who is serving a sentence for a sexually assaulting an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005 - is set to be released from prison in Germany later than originally scheduled according to his lawyer. He is due to be released in September or, if he does not pay a fine, early 2026.

On 3 June, fresh searches led by German police start in Portugal, between Praia da Luz and Lagos. The areas being searched are close to a ramshackle dwelling where Brückner lived at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.

Related

1. Madeleine McCann's father tells BBC how his family was hounded by press
2. Why this woman believed she was Madeleine McCann - and what she did next
3. Woman guilty of harassing Madeleine McCann's parents
4. 

Madeleine McCann disappearance: A timeline 

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. Despite nearly two decades of international investigation, her whereabouts remain unknown, and she has never been found. Wikipedia +2The Disappearance

• Location: Apartment 5A of the Ocean Club resort.
• Circumstances: Three-year-old Madeleine was sleeping in the apartment with her two-year-old twin siblings while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, dined with friends at a restaurant roughly 50 metres away.
• Discovery: The parents checked on the children every 30 minutes. At 10:00 PM, Kate McCann discovered Madeleine was missing and the bedroom window was open. Wikipedia 

Key Investigation Phases

1. Initial Suspects (2007–2008): Portuguese police initially investigated British expat Robert Murat and later declared Kate and Gerry McCann as arguidos (official suspects) in September 2007. All were cleared in 2008 due to lack of evidence.
2. Operation Grange (2011–Present): The UK's Metropolitan Police launched a formal review and investigation, which has cost over £13.2 million to date.
3. The German Suspect (2020–Present): German authorities identified Christian Brückner, a convicted sex offender who lived in the Algarve at the time, as the prime suspect. German prosecutors believe Madeleine is dead, though British police still treat it as a missing persons case. BBC +6

Current Status (as of April 2026)

• No Charges: As of early 2026, no formal charges have been brought against Christian Brückner regarding Madeleine's disappearance, despite extensive searches of areas near his former residence and a Portuguese reservoir in 2023 and 2025.
• Suspect Released: Brückner was released from a German prison in September 2025 after serving a sentence for an unrelated rape conviction.
• Official Apology: In October 2023, Portuguese police formally apologised to the McCann family for the poor handling of the initial 2007 investigation.
• The Family: Kate and Gerry McCann continue to mark anniversaries and advocate for the search, recently stating they "still don't know what's happened" and maintain hope as long as there is no definitive evidence of her death. BBC

 Kate and Gerry McCann continue to mark anniversaries and advocate for the search, recently stating they "still don't know what's happened" and maintain hope as long as there is no definitive evidence of her death. Bthe prime suspect, Christian Brückner. BBC +1Status of Pri Brückner

• ase from Prison: Brückner was released from Sehnde prison in Germany on 17 September 2025 after completing a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz.Christian Brüc
• Current Restrictions: He is under constant 24-hour surveillance by German undercover police and must wear a GPS electronic ankle monitor for five years. He is required to check in with a probation officer monthly and cannot change his residence without court approval.
• Living Situation: Since his release, Brückner has lived in various northern German locations, including a woodland tent under a tarpaulin. Due to intense local protests, he was recently moved by authos to government-provided accommodation in a different town in February 2026.
• Refusal to Cooperate: Before his release, he rejected a formal "international letter of reques" from British Metropolitan Police to be interviewed regarding Madeleine's case. BBC

Latest Foresic & Search Updates (2025–2026)

• June 2025 Search: Portuguese and German police conducted fresh excavations of scrubland and abandoned buildings roughly 6km from where Madeleine vanished. While police utilized x-ray machines and diggers, officials confirmed no significant breakthroughs or matches to Madeleine's DNA were found.
• Seized Evidence: German prosecutors are still analyzing items seized during previous searches of areas tied to Brückner, including "concerning" digital media and writings.
• Retrial Hopes: In early 2026, Germany’s Federal Prosecutor backed a retrial appeal for sex offenses Brückner was acquitted of in 2024. Prosecutors hope a conviction in these cases will provide a "safety net" to keep him in custody while the McCann investigation continues. Facebook +6

The Investigation: Operation Grange

• Continued Funding: In March 2026, the UK Home Office approved an additional £100,000–£108,000 for the Metropolitan Police, extending Operation Grange through the 2026–2027 financial year.
• Investigation Differences: German authorities continue to treat the case as a murder inquiry, while British police maintain it is a missing persons case. BBC
  As of April 2026, the investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance centers on significant forensic evidence linked to Christian Brückner and the resolution of the legal case involving Julia Wandelt.Evidence Against Christian BrücknerGerman prosecutors maintain that they have evidence Madeleine is dead, though no body has been found. Key forensic and circumstantial points include: 
• Digital Material: Investigations of a hard drive found at a disused factory previously owned by Brückner revealed thousands of files, including fantasies about drugging and abducting a young child.
• Encrypted Messages: Recovered Skype chats from 2013 allegedly show Brückner expressing a desire to "capture something small and use it for days".
• Physical Items: Police seized 75 swimsuits for adolescent girls and other children's clothing from Brückner’s property.
• The "Dam" Connection: Photos of Brückner posing at the Arade Dam in Portugal were found. This area, located 35 miles from where Madeleine vanished, was a major focus of searches in 2023 and 2025.
• Mobile Phone Pings: Phone records place a mobile device used by Brückner in the immediate vicinity of the Ocean Club resort on the night Madeleine disappeared. EBSCO +4

The Case of Julia WandeltThe Polish woman who gained international attention in 2022 claiming to be Madeleine has faced recent legal consequences: 

• DNA Clarification: A court-ordered DNA test in 2025 conclusively proved she is not Madeleine McCann.
• Harassment Conviction: In November 2025, Wandelt was found guilty of harassing the McCann family. She was sentenced to six months in prison, but as she had already served this time on remand, she was released and faced potential deportation to Poland.
• Restraining Order: An indefinite restraining order was granted, barring her from contacting the McCann family or visiting Leicestershire. BBC +4

Latest Updates on Operation Grange 

• Budget & Staffing: The Metropolitan Police's dedicated unit, Operation Grange, has been granted approximately £113,000 for the 2026–2027 period.
• Reduced Team: The unit now consists of three police officers and one part-time staff member as the investigation focuses on narrowing down  dive deeper into the historical theories surrounding the case, or perhaps see more details about the recent searches at the Arade Dam?As of April 2026, the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains focused on the Arade Dam and the activities of prime suspect Christian Brückner. Despite ongoing efforts, no definitive forensic link has been established that would lead to a formal charge. The Arade Dam ConnectionThe Arade Dam, located approximately 50 kilometres from Praia da Luz, has been a central point of interest due to its ties to Christian Brückner: 
• "Little Paradise": Brückner allegedly referred to this remote reservoir as his "little paradise".
• Photographic Evidence: Police discovered photos and a "nude selfie" of Brückner posing at the dam on a hard drive seized from his former factory.
• 2023–2025 Searches: Forensic teams, including British officers as observers, have repeatedly scoured the area. In June 2025, investigators used ground-penetrating radar, x-rays, and heavy machinery to search scrubland and derelict buildings nearby.
• Current Findings: While some "small items" and clothing fragments were recovered in 2025, officials have stated there is currently no "compelling evidence" linking these items to Madeleine. Facebook +6

Historical and Alternative TheoriesOver the 19 years since her disappearance, investigators have explored several major theories: Wikipedia

• Abduction by a Stranger: The primary theory of Operation Grange, suggesting a planned abduction or a burglary gone wrong at the Ocean Club resort.
• The "Tapas Seven" Sightings: Initial reports included a sighting by friend Jane Tanner of a man carrying a child near the apartment. Later, the Smith sighting described a man carrying a girl toward the beach at 10:00 PM, which some investigators believe is a more credible lead.
• The Handyman Theory: German prosecutors have investigated whether Brückner, who reportedly worked as a handyman at the Ocean Club, used his knowledge of the resort to target the apartment.
• Family Involvement (Disproven): Portuguese authorities initially labeled Kate and Gerry McCann as arguidos (suspects) in 2007, theorizing an accidental death and cover-up. They were formally cleared in 2008 due to a total lack of evidence. BBC +3

Current Investigation Status

• Operation Grange: In March 2026, the Home Office granted £86,000 to maintain the Metropolitan Police team, which now consists of three officers and one part-time staff member.
• Suspect Surveillance: Since his release in September 2025, Christian Brückner remains under 24-hour surveillance in Germany and is required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.
• Family Hope: On the upcoming 19th anniversary (May 2026), Kate and Gerry McCann have stated they will continue to "leave no stone unturned" as long as the search remains active. BBC +5

A timeline of the key forensic discoveries made on Brückner’s seized hard drives, or more information on the Portuguese police's recent apology to the family?7

As of April 2026, the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance is marked by the continued focus on evidence found at prime suspect Christian Brueckner's properties and a significant shift in the stance of Portuguese authorities. BBC +1Forensic Discoveries & Evidence TimelineA major part of the case against Brueckner involves items and data recovered during long-term searches of his former properties, particularly a disused factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany: The Telegraph +1

• Seized Hardware (2016–2025): Investigators found a hard drive and USB sticks hidden in a wallet buried beneath the remains of Brueckner's dead dog.
• Digital Material: The drives contained thousands of child abuse images and Skype chats from 2013, where he reportedly bragged about wanting to "capture something small and use it for days".
• Portuguese Links: The hard drive also contained photos taken in Portugal that helped convince German prosecutors that Madeleine died shortly after her disappearance in 2007.
• Physical Evidence: Police also found 75 children's swimsuits, toys, small bikes, three unlicensed guns, and masks at his various locations.
• Chemicals: Bottles of substances were discovered and destroyed by police; investigators speculate they could have been "kidnap chemicals" like chloroform or ether, which appeared in Brueckner's written abduction fantasies. New York Post +4

The Portuguese Police ApologyIn October 2023, a delegation of senior officers from the Polícia Judiciária travelled to London to personally apologise to Gerry McCann. The key points of the apology included: YouTube +1

• Poor Handling: Acknowledging the initial 2007 investigation was not handled properly.
• Mistreatment of Family: Admitting that insufficient importance was given to missing children at the time and that the McCanns' status as foreigners was poorly understood.
• Suspect Status: Regretting the decision to name the parents as arguidos (official suspects) early in the case. BBC +3

Recent Case Developments (Early 2026)

• Funding Extension: In late March 2026, the UK Home Office approved an additional £86,000 for Operation Grange, extending the British investigation into the 2026/27 financial year.
• Brueckner's Status: Following his release from a German prison in September 2025, Brueckner remains under 24-hour police surveillance in his hometown of Braunschweig, Germany. YouTube 
•  More information on the specific trial outcomes for Brueckner's unrelated charges, A breakdown of the current staff and resources allocated to the UK's investigation
  
  As of April 2026, the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has seen significant legal shifts and a reduction in investigative resources.Christian Brückner: Trial Outcomes and ReleaseDespite being the prime suspect in the McCann case, Christian Brückner’s recent legal battles have primarily involved unrelated charges: 
• Acquittal in Sex Crimes Trial: In October 2024, the Braunschweig state court in Germany acquitted Brückner of five unrelated sexual offences (including three counts of aggravated rape) alleged to have occurred in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. The judge cited insufficient evidence and found several witnesses to be unreliable.
• Prison Release: Brückner was released from Sehnde prison on 17 September 2025 after completing a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of an American tourist in Praia da Luz.
• Current Status: He remains under 24-hour surveillance by German authorities and is required to wear a GPS electronic monitor. No formal charges have yet been filed against him regarding Madeleine McCann. BBC +6

Operation Grange: Staff and Funding in 2026 The UK's Metropolitan Police investigation, Operation Grange, continues on a scaled-back basis: 

• Reduced Funding: For the 2026/27 financial year, the Home Office approved a reduced budget of £86,000, down from approximately £108,000 the previous year.
• Current Staffing: The team now consists of three police officers and one member of police staff, all of whom work on a part-time basis.
• Total Expenditure: Since its launch in 2011, the total cost of the UK investigation has reached approximately £13.3 million. Yahoo News UK +3

Investigative FocusBritish detectives continue to support German and Portuguese authorities, particularly in reviewing forensic material and analyzing evidence seized from Brückner’s former properties. While German prosecutors maintain they have "concrete evidence" that Madeleine is deceased, British police still classify the case as a missing persons inquiry. BBC +3

Would you like more details on the specific evidence German prosecutors claim to hold, or a summary of the 2025 searches conducted at the Portuguese reservoir?

As of April 2026, the investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance centers on forensic data retrieved from the prime suspect’s digital devices and a series of intensive searches that have yet to produce a definitive breakthrough. Specific Evidence Against Christian Brückner

German prosecutors have consistently stated they have "concrete evidence" that Madeleine is deceased, much of which is circumstantial but highly suggestive. The Journal

• Digital Forensic Data: A hard drive found at a disused factory in Neuwegersleben contained thousands of images and videos of child abuse. Crucially, it also held photographs taken in Portugal that investigators believe place Brückner’s activities in the timeline of Madeleine’s disappearance.
• The "She Didn't Scream" Claim: An informant, Helge Busching, alleged that Brückner confessed to the killing at a festival in Spain in 2008, specifically remarking that the girl "didn’t scream". Investigators recently found an insurance document signed by Brückner that confirms his presence at that exact festival, bolstering the informant's credibility.
• Mobile Phone Tracking: Cell tower data placed a mobile phone used by Brückner in the immediate vicinity of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz during a 30-minute window on the night Madeleine vanished.
• Kidnap Materials: Searches of his properties unearthed masks, black-market firearms, and substances suspected to be chloroform or ether, which align with Brückner’s written fantasies about drugging and abducting children. Yahoo +5

The 2025 Arade Dam & Algarve SearchesIn June 2025, Portuguese and German authorities conducted a high-stakes three-day search of scrubland and abandoned buildings near the Arade Dam and areas around Lagos. BBC +4

• Recovered Items: Teams used diggers and ground-penetrating radar to unearth small items, including clothing fragments and bones.
• Forensic Results: By mid-June 2025, DNA testing confirmed that the remains found were animal bones and adult clothing, providing no direct link to Madeleine. Prosecutors have characterized these results as having "no compelling evidence" that she was at that specific site. Facebook +3

Latest Legal Status (2026)

• Retrial Hopes: In February 2026, Germany’s Attorney General backed a retrial for Brückner regarding sex offenses for which he was acquitted in 2024. This move is seen as a way to potentially return him to custody while the McCann murder investigation continues.
• Operation Grange: The UK investigation remains active through at least March 2027, with the Home Office providing approximately £113,000 for the current financial year to maintain a small team of detectives. BBC 

More information on the profile of Christian Brückner and a summary of the 2023 Arade Dam search that first brought that location into the spotlight

As of April 2026, the investigation remains focused on Christian Brückner, a German national who lived in the Algarve for over a decade and has a long history of violent sexual crimes. Profile of Christian Brückner

• Criminal Background: Brückner has over 17 convictions, including for burglary, drug trafficking, and child sexual abuse. He was first convicted of child abuse at age 17 in 1994, just before fleeing to Portugal to escape his sentence.
• Life in the Algarve (1995–2007): He lived primarily in a campervan or a farmhouse near Praia da Luz, less than 2 km from the Ocean Club resort where Madeleine vanished. To fund his nomadic lifestyle, he reportedly carried out numerous hotel burglaries and worked odd jobs at local restaurants.
• Suspicious Behaviour: Records show he re-registered his Jaguar XJR under a different name the day after Madeleine's disappearance and abruptly left Portugal shortly thereafter.
• Violent Fantasies: Forensic analysis of his digital devices revealed encrypted chats where he described wanting to "capture something small and use it for days" and a detailed fantasy about kidnapping a mother and daughter in a van. YouTube +5

Recent Searches at Arade Dam The Arade Dam, located about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, has been a key focus for investigators because Brückner referred to it as his "little paradise". BBC 

• The 2023 Search: Following a request from German authorities, police spent three days scouring the reservoir and surrounding land. They used divers, sniffer dogs, and ground-penetrating radar to search the peninsula. While several bags of material were collected, officials later stated that no "significant breakthrough" occurred.
• The 2025 Search: In June 2025, authorities returned to the area and nearby abandoned buildings. Diggers were used to clear rubble, and a well was drained to search for biological traces or clothing.
• Forensic Outcomes: Despite intensive efforts, investigators have yet to find DNA evidence or items that conclusively link the site to Madeleine McCann. German prosecutors maintain the search was "intelligence-led" based on specific clues that remain non-public for tactical reasons. BBC +7

Status of Current Legal Efforts

• No Current Charges: Brückner has not been formally charged in the McCann case. He was released from a German prison in September 2025 after serving a sentence for an unrelated 2005 rape.
• Ongoing Monitoring: He currently lives in northern Germany under 24-hour surveillance and must wear a GPS ankle monitor.
• Retrial Appeal: In early 2026, German prosecutors launched an appeal to overturn his 2024 acquittal for other sexual offences, hoping a retrial will return him to custody while the McCann murder inquiry continues. YouTube +4

 More details on the witness testimonies provided by Brückner’s former associates mpre about the McCann family's recent statements following the suspect's release
As of April 2026, the investigation into Christian Brückner continues through critical witness accounts and forensic reviews, while the McCann family remains in a state of "limbo" following his release from prison.Witness Testimonies from Former AssociatesTestimony from those who knew Brückner in Portugal has formed the backbone of the German case against him. ITVX 

• Helge Büsching ("Helge B"):
  • The "She Didn't Scream" Claim: Büsching remains a primary witness, testifying that during a 2008 conversation at a Spanish festival, Brückner allegedly remarked, "She didn't scream," when discussing Madeleine.
  • Stolen Video Tapes: He claimed to have stolen video tapes from Brückner’s Portuguese home that depicted the suspect raping an elderly woman and a young girl.
  • Credibility Challenges: Brückner’s defense has aggressively attacked Büsching’s reliability, citing his history of human trafficking and substance abuse.
• Manfred Seyferth:
  • "The Climber": Seyferth testified that Brückner was a skilled burglar known as "The Climber," capable of scaling multi-story balconies to enter apartments.
  • Post-Disappearance Absence: He noted that Brückner "disappeared for months" immediately after Madeleine vanished in May 2007.
  • Characterization: Seyferth described Brückner as an "evil psychopath" who was "easily capable of taking a small child". www.lbc.co.uk 

McCann Family's Recent Statements'

Kate and Gerry McCann have issued several poignant messages following Brückner's release from prison in September 2025 and moving into 2026. Facebook 

• "The Absence Still Aches": On recent anniversaries, the parents have shared that the "living in limbo" remains unsettling and that the absence of their daughter "still aches".
• Response to Suspect's Release: Following Brückner's release in late 2025, the family has largely remained private but emphasized their "unwavering determination" to find the truth.
• Hopes for 2026: In their New Year message for 2026, they expressed hope that this year would finally bring the "breakthrough we long for".
• Twin Siblings: Their twins, Sean and Amelie (now 21), are reportedly a major source of strength, with Amelie having previously attended public vigils to support the Find Madeleine Campaign. Facebook +3

Current Investigative Status (April 2026)

• Retrial Appeal: Germany’s Attorney General recently backed a retrial for Brückner regarding sex offenses for which he was acquitted in 2024, hoping to return him to custody.
• Continued UK Funding: Operation Grange has been granted approximately £113,000 to continue its work through March 2027. Facebook +2

 Explore the specific inconsistencies in the witness testimonies that the defense is using to challenge the case, and more about the surveillance measures currently placed on Brückner
As of April 2026, the case against Christian Brückner faces significant legal hurdles due to witness credibility issues, while German authorities have implemented extreme measures to manage him following his release.Specific Inconsistencies in Witness TestimoniesBrückner’s defense team, led by lawyer Friedrich Fülscher, has successfully used several inconsistencies to undermine the prosecution's key witnesses:

• Helge Büsching's Timeline: While Büsching claims Brückner confessed at a 2008 festival in Spain, the defense has highlighted that Büsching didn't report this to police until 2017. They argue the long delay—and Büsching’s own criminal record—makes the testimony a "fabricated attempt" to secure a reward or legal leniency.
• The Video Tape Mystery: Büsching and Manfred Seyferth claim they found video tapes of Brückner’s crimes while burgling his home. However, the physical tapes have never been recovered. The defense argues that without the physical evidence, the testimony is hearsay from two "career criminals" who fell out with Brückner over money.
• The "She Didn't Scream" Phrase: The defense pointed out that this exact phrasing has appeared in unrelated true-crime media. They argue the witnesses may have "internalized" details from news reports or documentaries rather than from a genuine confession.
• Conflicting Physical Descriptions: Early witness reports from 2007 describing a "man carrying a child" gave varying heights and hair colours. The defense argues none of these descriptions definitively match Brückner’s physical appearance at the time.

Surveillance Measures on Christian BrücknerSince his release from Sehnde prison in September 2025, Brückner has been subject to some of the strictest civil restrictions in German history:

• 24-Hour Undercover Monitoring: A dedicated team of plain-clothes officers follows him whenever he leaves his residence. He is reportedly living in government-provided housing in a quiet town in Lower Saxony after being hounded out of his previous location by protesters.
• Electronic Ankle Monitor: He is required to wear a GPS-enabled monitor at all times. This allows police to track his movements in real-time and ensures he adheres to strict exclusion zones (such as schools, parks, and playgrounds).
• Strict Reporting Requirements: He must check in with a probation officer in person every week and is prohibited from leaving the country or even his designated district without prior judicial approval.
• Communication Restrictions: While he has access to a phone and internet, authorities monitor his digital activity to ensure he is not attempting to contact former associates or potential witnesses.

The Current DeadlockGerman prosecutors admit that while they are "100% certain" Brückner is their man, the lack of a body or DNA link makes the case entirely reliant on these contested witness statements. Without a breakthrough, such as a discovery at the Arade Dam or a new forensic match, a murder trial remains unlikely in the immediate future.

 More about the legal appeals currently being filed by the prosecution to get Brückner back into custody, and  the latest forensic techniques being used on the items seized in 2025

As of April 2026, the investigation into Madeleine McCann is currently defined by a high-stakes legal battle in Germany and the ongoing forensic analysis of items recovered during major searches in Portugal.Legal Appeals to Return Brückner to Custody Following his release from prison on 17 September 2025, German prosecutors have been working through multiple legal channels to return Christian Brückner to custody: BBC +1

• Federal Appeal for Retrial: In early 2026, Germany’s Federal Prosecutor General dramatically backed an appeal to overturn Brückner’s October 2024 acquittal for five unrelated sex crimes. A 44-page report submitted to the Federal Court of Justice described the original verdict as "chaotic" and flawed. If successful, a retrial would be ordered, potentially allowing for his re-arrest.
• Preventive Detention Pursuit: Prosecutors are continuing to seek "preventive detention" (Sicherungsverwahrung), a measure for dangerous offenders that would keep him incarcerated even after a sentence ends if he is deemed a continued risk to the public.
• Minor Offences: In late 2025, Brückner faced additional court hearings for smaller offences, such as insulting a prison officer, as authorities explored every possible legal avenue to keep him under judicial control. The Guardian +7

Forensic Techniques & Seized Items (2025–2026) The search conducted in June 2025 near the Arade Dam and Brückner's former Algarve properties utilized advanced forensic technology to identify potential remains after nearly two decades: BBC +4

• Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR): Teams used GPR to identify "anomalies" under the surface of the scrubland and around abandoned buildings, guiding precise excavations.
• DNA Analysis of Fragments: Bone and clothing fragments recovered in June 2025 were sent for urgent testing. In mid-June 2025, authorities confirmed these were animal bones and adult clothing, providing no direct forensic link to Madeleine.
• Digital "Deep Dives": Forensic computer experts are still painstakingly analyzing the 80GB hard drive and multiple USB sticks found buried under Brückner’s deceased dog at a German factory. They are using data recovery techniques to reconstruct deleted files that may contain further evidence of his presence in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
• New Leads in 2026: In April 2026, reports emerged of detectives pursuing fresh leads regarding claims of a "different identity," though these remain unverified and separate from the forensic efforts in Portugal. Facebook 

While these legal and forensic efforts continue, the UK's Metropolitan Police has been granted over £100,000 to maintain Operation Grange through the 2026–2027 period. 

Watch Live 

Explainer Explainer

Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:01, UK

Why you can trust Sky News

By Connor Sephton, news reporter

28 April 2007The McCanns go on holiday

 

 

Kate and Gerry McCann and their three children - Madeleine, Amelie and Sean - arrive in Portugal for a holiday at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz.

In the evenings that follow, the couple join other adults in dining at the resort's tapas restaurant roughly 50m away from where the McCanns' children are sleeping.

3 May 2007The day of Madeleine's disappearance

 

Watch LiveExplainerExplainer

Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:01, UK

Why you can trust Sky News

By Connor Sephton, news reporter

28 April 2007The McCanns go on holiday

 

 

Kate and Gerry McCann and their three children - Madeleine, Amelie and Sean - arrive in Portugal for a holiday at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz.

In the evenings that follow, the couple join other adults in dining at the resort's tapas restaurant roughly 50m away from where the McCanns' children are sleeping.

3 May 2007The day of Madeleine's disappearance

 

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Watch Live

ExplainerExplainer

Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:01, UK

Why you can trust Sky News

By Connor Sephton, news reporter

28 April 2007The McCanns go on holiday

 

 

Kate and Gerry McCann and their three children - Madeleine, Amelie and Sean - arrive in Portugal for a holiday at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz.

In the evenings that follow, the couple join other adults in dining at the resort's tapas restaurant roughly 50m away from where the McCanns' children are sleeping.

3 May 2007The day of Madeleine's disappearance

 

 

7.30am: Over breakfast, Madeleine asks her parents why they had not been in the apartment when she woke up and cried the night before. Kate and Gerry make a "mental note" to constantly check their children are settled when they go out for a meal that evening.

After spending time around the swimming pool, the children go to a kids' club while Gerry and Kate have a tennis lesson.

5pm to 6pm: The family return to the apartment. Kate gets the children ready for bed while Gerry goes to play tennis again.

7pm: Gerry returns, and Madeleine is read a bedtime story. The twins are put in a travel cot next to Madeleine's bed and the children fall asleep. The shutters outside the ground-floor bedroom are down, and the window is closed. Kate and Gerry leave the door ajar.

<div "="">

 

8.30pm: Kate and Gerry leave their apartment and go to the tapas restaurant to eat with seven other people.

9.05pm: Gerry returns to the apartment and notices the position of the bedroom door is different to how they left it. He walks into the room and sees all three of his children sound asleep.

Gerry heads back to the restaurant but stops for a conversation with someone along the way.

 

 

9.15pm: Another parent in the group, Jane Tanner, walks past the McCanns' apartment as she goes to check on her own children.

She sees a man carrying a child - and after Madeleine disappears, he becomes the police's main suspect.

Six years later, the Metropolitan Police conclude the man Jane saw was an innocent British holidaymaker carrying his daughter home from a creche.

9.30pm: A friend at the dinner table offers to check up on the McCanns' children as he checks on his own kids in the apartment next door. Matthew Oldfield returns and says everything is fine and quiet.

10pm: Kate McCann finishes eating and goes back to the apartment. She notices that the children's bedroom door is quite open - but as she goes to close it slightly, a breeze slams it shut.

She goes into the room, realises Madeleine is missing, and notices that the window is open and the shutters are up. The alarm is raised.

2007The search for Madeleine begins

 

 

0:344 May 2007: McCanns appeal for help

 

 

4 May: As Portuguese police start their investigation, the McCanns make an impassioned appeal for information - with Kate holding Madeleine's favourite toy, Cuddle Cat.

Gerry says: "Words cannot describe the anguish and despair that we are feeling as the parents of our beautiful daughter Madeleine.

"We request that anyone who may have information relating to Madeleine's disappearance, no matter how trivial, contact the Portuguese police and help us get her back safely.

"Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come home to her mummy, daddy, brother and sister."

5 May: Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal.

14 May: Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

 

 

30 May: Kate and Gerry McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

 

 

6 August: A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

11 August: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

7 September: During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

 

 

9 September: The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

2 October: Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

2008Portugal shelves investigation

 

 

 

19 March: Kate and Gerry McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

7 April: Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

 

 

17 July: Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

21 July: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

4 August: Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

16 October: "The Tapas Seven" win £375,000 in libel damages from Express Newspapers after articles were published suggesting they had lied about Madeleine's abduction.

2009Fresh appeal launches in Algarve

13 January: Gerry McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

24 March: The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

 

 

4 April: Gerry helps film a reconstruction of events on the night his daughter vanished.

22 April: The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

14 June: Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

 

<div "="">

 

6 August: Private detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

 

<div "="">

 

18 February: Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral. Five years later, he will be ordered to pay the McCanns €500,000 in libel damages.

3 March: A newly released file from Portuguese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

 

<div "="">

 

1 May: Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

10 November: Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

15 November: The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

 

 

13 May: Then prime minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

 

 

^{23 November: Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.}

^{They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.}

^{Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.}

^{5 December: Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.}

²⁰¹²

 

 

 

 

^{9 March: Portuguese police in Porto launch a review of the original investigation.}

^{26 April: Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.}

^{6 July: British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.}

²⁰¹³

 

^{13 February: Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.}

^{21 February: Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.}

 

 

^{2 May: Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.}

^{17 May: Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. Officers believe they have found enough evidence to reopen the case, but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant.}

^{15 June: The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.}

^{13 October: UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".}

 

^{14 October: A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.}

^{17 October: Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.}

^{23 October: Britain's most senior police officer, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.}

^{24 October: Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.}

²⁰¹⁴

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{3 January: A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.}

^{13 January: British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.}

^{29 January: Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.}

^{19 March: Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.}

^{23 April: Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{1 May: Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News and say they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario", as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.}

^{6 May: Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.}

^{8 May: British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.}

^{22 May: Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks.}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{2 June: Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{11 June: Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site is later wound down - and the McCanns say the fact that nothing was found reinforces their belief she could still be alive.}

^{8 July: The McCanns attend the trial of Goncalo Amaral, the former police chief they are suing for libel over claims he made in a book.}

^{The court hears of their "devastation, desperation, anxiety and pain" after he accused them of faking their daughter's abduction and hiding her body.}

^{9 December: Police question 11 potential witnesses in Portugal, including British expat Robert Murat and staff who used to work at the Ocean Club complex where Madeleine was staying.}

²⁰¹⁵

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{28 April: Goncalo Amaral is ordered to pay damages of £433,000 to the McCanns as the libel trial comes to an end - with a judge prohibiting any more sales of his book.}

^{27 July: Scotland Yard contacts Australian authorities after a child's remains are found in a suitcase near Adelaide. Two days later, officers confirm the girl is not Madeleine.}

^{5 October: The official Twitter account associated with the search for Madeleine is shut down because of the "continued abuse" from other users.}

^{28 October: The number of police officers devoted to the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance is reduced from 29 to four.}

²⁰¹⁶

^{Image:A photo of the McCanns when they were a family of five}

 

^{3 April: Theresa May, then home secretary, grants Scotland Yard £95,000 in extra funding to continue the search for Madeleine.}

^{18 April: Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Duthie tells the Evening Standard: "There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive."}

^{19 April: An appeals court in Portugal overturns the libel conviction of Goncalo Amaral. The McCanns say they are "disappointed" and vow to appeal at the country's Supreme Court.}

^{25 December: The McCanns mark their tenth Christmas without Madeleine, and describe it as one "inevitably tinged with pain and longing".}

²⁰¹⁷

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{31 January: Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "disappointed" after Portugal's Supreme Court dismisses their libel case against Goncalo Amaral, with judges concluding that his allegations were protected by freedom of expression laws.}

^{12 March: The Home Office gives police £85,000 to extend the search for Madeleine - known as Operation Grange - for a further six months. It takes the total spent on the investigation to beyond £11m.}

^{1:39 Madeleine's parents still hold on to hope}

^{24 April: The McCanns say they are "bracing themselves" for the tenth anniversary of their daughter's disappearance - and describe it as a "horrible marker of stolen time".}

^{On the official website for their appeal, they write: "It's likely to be stressful and painful and more so given the rehashing of old 'stories', misinformation, half-truths and downright lies which will be doing the rounds in the newspapers, social media and 'special edition' TV programmes."}

^{27 April: As the only four official suspects investigated by the Metropolitan Police are ruled out of the investigation, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says they are pursuing a "significant line of inquiry".}

^{30 April: The McCanns reveal that they still buy Christmas and birthday presents for Madeleine every year - and say the "real progress being made" by the police gives them hope that their daughter will be found.}

^{2 May: A secret Home Office reports reveals Gerry and Kate McCann claimed they were treated badly by Portuguese police from the start of the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance - and they fell out with UK authorities too and later did not share with police information gathered by their own private investigators.}

²⁰¹⁸

 

^{<div "="">}

 

^{13 November: Funding for a further six months investigation into Madeleine's disappearance is approved by the Home Office.}

²⁰¹⁹

 

^{<div "="">}

 

 

^{Image:Netflix released an eight-part documentary about Madeleine McCann's disappearance in 2019.}

 

^{15 March: An eight-part Netflix series is released about Madeleine's disappearance.}

^{Her parents chose not to be involved in the film, and in a statement released before it airs say they are worried it could hinder the police investigation.}

^{5 June: The Home Office say they will continue to fund Operation Grange, the Met Police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, until at least March 2020.}

²⁰²⁰

^{A prime suspect emerges}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

 

^{Image:The suspect is linked to a VW camper van pictured in the Algarve in 2007. Pic: Met Police}

 

^{3 June: It is revealed that a German paedophile in prison has been identified as a key suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.}

^{A spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann says it is "the most significant development in 13 years".}

^{The suspect is linked to an early 1980s VW camper van which was pictured in the Algarve in 2007.}

^{Scotland Yard says he was driving the vehicle in the Praia da Luz area in the days before Madeleine's disappearance.}

^{The 43-year-old suspect is serving a prison sentence for a sex crime and has two previous convictions for "sexual contact with girls", German police say.}

^{4 June: German prosecutors say they believe Madeleine is dead and police are treating her disappearance as a murder investigation.}

^{It emerges that the prime suspect - who is named as German drifter Christian B - allegedly confessed to his part in Madeleine's disappearance to a man in a bar.}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

 

^{Image:Christian B is named as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance}

 

^{They were sitting in a German bar when a news report about Madeleine's disappearance came on TV, it is claimed.}

^{Christian B allegedly said something to suggest he was responsible for her going missing.}

^{Later, he showed his companion a video of himself raping an elderly woman, an American tourist, in Portugal in 2005.}

^{That prompted the informant to call German police to alert them to the suspect around the time of the 10th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.}

^{He was already in jail in Germany and being investigated for alleged child sex abuse crimes.}

^{Christian B was convicted in 2019 of the rape in the Algarve and jailed for seven years. German police say that the suspect has previous convictions for child sex abuse.}

 

^{Image: Christian B allegedly confessed to a man in a bar after watching a TV news report about Madeleine. File pic}

^{7 June: Scotland Yard says British police have received almost 400 tip-offs about the disappearance of Madeleine since a new suspect was identified.}

^{10 June: It emerges that Christian B has been moved into a single jail cell for his own protection at Kiel prison in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's most northern state.}

^{16 June: German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters says he has written to Madeleine's parents telling them he has "concrete evidence" she is dead, but he refused to tell them why.}

^{0:31Prosecutor: 'We think there are more victims'}

^{He says he told the McCanns that to reveal the evidence would jeopardise his investigation into Christian B.}

^{But after media coverage of the prosecutor's comments, Kate and Gerry McCann issue a rare statement and say reports they have received a letter from German authorities stating that Madeleine is dead are "false".}

^{The couple say the "unsubstantiated stories" had "caused unnecessary anxiety to friends and family and once again disrupted our lives".}

 

 

^{Image: Kate and Gerry McCann issued a rare statement after remarks by a German prosecutor}

 

^{17 June: German investigators say they want to retest a saliva sample found in the holiday apartment where Madeleine went missing.}

^{It is believed the sample is only a trace and in the 13 years since it was collected, it has been impossible to extract any DNA profile from it.}

^{12 July: Portuguese police and firefighters explore three disused wells in their search for Madeleine, but it is understood the searchers found no evidence of her body.}

 

^{Image: A police file from 1999 containing pictures of a young Christian B}

^{23 July: Portuguese police reopen their investigation into the unsolved rape of Irish woman Hazel Behan, who believes her attacker may have been Christian B.}

^{He was convicted of a similar rape that occurred a year after she was attacked in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve coast in April 2004.}

 

 

^{25 July: A retired teacher tells Portuguese police she believes she saw Madeleine McCann in a supermarket on the Algarve coast in 2017.}

^{The woman said she believed it was Madeleine, who would be 17 now, because of the distinctive blemish in her right eye.}

^{28 July: German police investigating Madeleine's disappearance search an allotment near Hanover.}

^{Footage from the scene showed forensic officers and heavy machinery being used in the search.}

^{The site is around 40 miles from the city of Braunschweig, where Christian B was last registered as living.}

^{1:01Police dig at allotment over Madeleine McCann case}

²²⁰⁰⁵

⁰²⁵

²⁰²⁵

 

  ^{April: Convicted child abuser Christian B is made an official suspect - or "arguido" - in Madeleine's disappearance by Portuguese police, but not charged.}

^{He has denied any involvement in her disappearance.}

^{The decision is said to have been prompted by the 15-year limit for prosecuting serious crimes in Portugal, with authorities looking to "keep their options open".}

^{A Portuguese source says: "The legal grounds for making [Christian B] an arguido include the fact that he allegedly confessed to a friend he had snatched Madeleine and mobile phone records placed him in Praia da Luz the night she vanished."}

^{October: Prosecutors charge Christian B with five sexual offences in Portugal between December 2000 and June 2011.}

^{They are unrelated to the McCann case and include:}

 

• ^{Raping and beating a 70 to 80-year-old woman at her holiday flat in Portugal at an unspecified time between December 2000 and April 2006}
• ^{Beating and forcing a girl aged over 14 to perform a sex act sometime between December 2000 and April 2006 at his house in Praia da Luz, Portugal}
• ^{Raping a 20-year-old woman from Ireland and performing a sex act on her at a flat in Praia da Rocha in Portugal on 16 June 2004}
• ^{Exposing himself to a 10-year-old German girl at a beach in Salema in the district of Faro in Portugal on 7 April 2007}
• ^{Exposing himself to an 11-year-old Portuguese girl at a playground in Bartolomeu de Messines in Portugal on 11 June 2017}

 

²⁰²³

^{First active search in 10 years}

^{April: The unrelated charges lodged against Christian B the previous year are dropped after the court in Germany ruled it had no jurisdiction over the case.}

^{Any possibility of a fresh rape trial disappears.}

^{May 23: Portuguese investigators begin searching the Arade Dam, 31 miles from the McCann's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, after "certain tip offs".}

^{Christian B allegedly frequented it regularly with his drug dealer, describing it as his "paradise".}

 

^{Image: Twenty to 30 officers are seen in the area of the reservoir}

 

 

^{Image:The Arade Dam, 31 miles from Praia da Luz}

 

^{The reservoir was previously scoured by private investigators in 2008. Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was in the reservoir, but nothing was found.}

^{It is the first active search in the McCann case in almost 10 years, but little comes of it.}

²⁰²⁴

^{April: UK Home Office confirms it has granted a further £192,000 for the Metropolitan Police's investigation, and that total costs for Operation Grange had reached £13.2m as of 31 March.}

²⁰²⁵

^{Major new search begins}

 

 

^{June 3: German police begin a major new search in the east of Praia da Luz, close to where Madeleine was last seen and near the former home of Christian B.}

 

^{Around 30 German officers, including forensic experts, are to scour more than 20 plots of land, with Portuguese police also on the ground, according to reports.}

^{Police vehicles are seen around 3.5 miles from the resort in the Atalaia area}

^{The Disappearance of McCann}

^{Madeleine Beth McCann (born 12 May 2003) is a British missing person, who at the age of 3 disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, on the evening of 3 May 2007. The Daily Telegraph described her disappearance as "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".[4] Madeleine's whereabouts remain unknown,[5] although German prosecutors believe she is dead.[6]}

^{Madeleine McCann}

^{Madeleine in 2007, aged three, and forensic artist's impression of what she may have looked like in 2012, aged nine[1]BornMadeleine Beth McCann
12 May 2003
Leicester, Leicestershire, EnglandDisappeared3 May 2007 (aged 3)
Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal}

^{37°05′19″N 08°43′51″WStatusMissing for 18 years, 11 months and 17 daysHeight90 cm (2 ft 11 in)[2]Parents}

 

• ^{Gerry McCann}
• ^{Kate McCann (née Healy)}

 

^{Distinguishing featuresBlonde hair; "Left eye: blue and green; right eye: green with a brown spot on the iris ... small brown spot on her left leg".[3]Investigators}

 

• ^{Polícia Judiciária, Portugal}
• ^{Leicestershire Police}
• ^{Metropolitan Police, London}

 

^{Contact: findmadeleine.com}

^{Madeleine was on holiday from the United Kingdom with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann, her two-year-old twin siblings, and a group of family friends and their children. The McCann children had been left asleep at 20:30 in the ground-floor apartment while their parents dined with friends in a restaurant 55 metres (180 ft) away.[7] The parents checked on the children about every 30–40 minutes throughout the evening, until Kate discovered Madeleine was missing at 22:00. Over the following weeks, particularly on the basis of their interpretation of a British DNA analysis, the Portuguese police came to believe that Madeleine had died in an accident in the apartment and her parents had covered it up. The McCanns were given arguido (suspect) status in September 2007, which was lifted when Portugal's attorney general archived the case in July 2008 for lack of evidence.[8][9]}

^{Madeleine's parents continued the investigation using private detectives until the Metropolitan Police opened its own inquiry, Operation Grange, in 2011. The senior investigating officer announced that he was treating the disappearance as "a criminal act by a stranger", most likely a planned abduction or burglary gone wrong.[10] In 2013, the Met released e-fit images of men they wanted to trace, including one of a man seen carrying a child toward the beach on the night Madeleine vanished.[11] Shortly after this, Portuguese police reopened their inquiry.[12] Operation Grange was scaled back in 2015, but the remaining detectives continued to pursue a small number of inquiries described in April 2017 as significant.[13][14] In 2020, German authorities declared Christian Brückner their prime suspect for the abduction and murder of McCann, but charges have yet to be formalised.[6][15][16]}

^{Madeleine's disappearance attracted sustained press coverage both in the UK and internationally, reminiscent of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.[17] Her parents were subjected to intense scrutiny and faced accusations of involvement in the disappearance,[a] particularly in the tabloid press and on Twitter.[21][22] In 2008, as a result of false allegations of their involvement in Madeleine's death, they and their travelling companions received damages and apologies from Express Newspapers.[23] In 2011, the McCanns testified before the Leveson Inquiry into British press misconduct, lending support to those arguing for tighter press regulation.[24][25]}

1. ^Background
2. ^{Madeleine McCann}

^{Portugal in red, Spain to the east and north, Morocco to the south}

^{Central and southern Portugal, showing Praia da Luz and Portimão, regional headquarters of the Polícia Judiciária}

^{Madeleine Beth McCann was born in Leicester and lived with her family in Rothley, Leicestershire. At her parents' request, she was made a ward of court in England shortly after the disappearance, which gave the court statutory powers to act on her behalf.[26] Police described Madeleine as blonde-haired with blue-green eyes, a small brown spot on her left calf, and a distinctive dark strip on the iris of her right eye.[3][b] In 2009 the McCanns released age-progressed images of how she may have looked at age six, and in 2012 the Metropolitan Police commissioned one of her at age nine.[29][30]}

^{Kate and Gerry McCann}

^{Madeleine's parents are both physicians and practising Roman Catholics. Kate Marie McCann, née Healy (born 1968, Huyton, near Liverpool) attended All Saints School in Anfield, then Notre Dame High School in Everton Valley, graduating in 1992 with a degree in medicine from the University of Dundee. She moved briefly into obstetrics and gynaecology, then anaesthetics, and later general practice.[31]}

^{Gerald Patrick McCann (born 1968 in Glasgow) attended Holyrood R.C. Secondary School before graduating from the University of Glasgow with a BSc in physiology/sports science in 1989. In 1992, he qualified in medicine and in 2002 obtained his MD, also from Glasgow. Since 2005, he has been a consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester.[32] The McCanns met in 1993 in Glasgow and were married in 1998. Madeleine was born in 2003 and the twins, a boy and a girl, in 2005.[33]}

^{"Tapas Seven"}

^{The McCanns were on holiday with seven friends and eight children in all, including the McCanns' three.[34] The nine adults dined together most evenings at 20:30 in the resort's tapas restaurant, as a result of which the media dubbed the friends the "Tapas Seven".[35] The report of one of the group, Jane Tanner, that she saw a man carry a child away from the resort 45 minutes before Madeleine was reported missing, became one of the most-discussed aspects of the case (see: § 21:15: Tanner sighting).[36]}

• ^Resort

^{The McCanns arrived on 28 April 2007 for their seven-night spring break in Praia da Luz, a village in Portugal's Algarve region with a population of 1,000, known as "Little Britain" because of the concentration of British homeowners and holidaymakers.[37] They had booked through the British holiday company Mark Warner Ltd, and were placed in 5A Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, an apartment owned by a retired teacher from Liverpool, one of several privately owned properties the company rented.[38]}

^{5A was a two-bedroom ground-floor apartment in the fifth block of a group of apartments known as Waterside Village, which lay on the perimeter of part of Mark Warner's Ocean Club resort.[39] Matthew and Rachel Oldfield were next door in 5B, Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien in 5D, and the Paynes and Dianne Webster on the first floor.[40] Located on the corner of Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva and Rua Dr Francisco Gentil Martins, 5A was accessible to the public from two sides.[41] Sliding glass patio doors in the living room at the back overlooked the Ocean Club's pool, tennis courts, tapas restaurant, and bar. The patio doors could be accessed via a public street, Rua Dr Francisco Gentil Martins, where a small gate and set of steps led to 5A's balcony and living room. 5A's front door was on the opposite side of the block from the Ocean Club, on Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva.[42][43]}

^{The McCanns' children slept in a bedroom next to the front door, which the McCanns kept locked. The bedroom had one waist-high window with curtains and a metal exterior shutter, the latter controlled by a cord inside the window; the McCanns kept the curtains and shutter closed throughout the holiday. The window overlooked a narrow walkway and residents' car park, which was separated from the street by a low wall.[44] Madeleine slept in a single bed next to the bedroom door, on the opposite side of the room from the window; the twins were in travel cots in the middle of the room. There was another single bed underneath the window.[42]}

 

1. ^{Disappearance}
2. ^{Daytime: McCann family activities}

 

^{Thursday, 3 May 2007 was the penultimate day of the family's holiday. Over breakfast Madeleine asked: "Why didn't you come when [my brother] and I cried last night?" After the disappearance, her parents wondered whether this meant someone had entered the children's bedroom. Her mother also noticed a large brown stain on Madeleine's pyjama top.[45]}

^{The children spent the morning in the resort's Kids' Club, then the family lunched at their apartment before heading to the pool.[42] Kate took the last known photograph of Madeleine at 14:29 that afternoon, sitting by the pool next to her father and two-year-old sister.[46] The children returned to the Kids' Club, then at 18:00 their mother took them back to 5A, while their father went for a tennis lesson.[42] The McCanns put the children to bed at around 19:00. Madeleine was left asleep in short-sleeved, pink-and-white Marks and Spencer's Eeyore pyjamas, next to her comfort blanket and a soft toy, Cuddle Cat.[47]20:30: Tapas restaurant}

^{At 20:30 the parents left 5A to dine with their friends in the Ocean Club's open-air tapas restaurant, located on the other side of the pool.[48] 5A lay about 55 metres (180 ft) from the restaurant as the crow flies, but to reach the restaurant, one needed to walk along a public street to reach the doors of the Ocean Club resort, and then go through the resort to the other side of the pool, a distance of about 82 metres (269 ft).[7] The top of the apartment was visible from the tapas restaurant, but not the doors. The patio doors could be locked only from the inside, so the McCanns left them closed but unlocked, with the curtains drawn, so they could let themselves in that way when checking on the children. There was a child-safety gate at the top of the steps from the patio and a low gate at the bottom, which led to the street.[48]}

^{The resort's staff had left a note in a message book at the swimming-pool reception area, asking that the same table, which overlooked the apartments, be block-booked for 20:30 for the McCanns and friends every evening for the last four evenings of the holiday. The message said the group's children were asleep in the apartments. Kate believes the abductor may have seen the note.[49] The McCanns and their friends left the restaurant roughly every half-hour to check on their children. Gerry carried out the first check on 5A at around 21:05. The children were asleep and all was well, except that he recalled having left the children's bedroom door slightly ajar, and now it stood almost wide open. He pulled it nearly closed again before returning to the restaurant.[48]}

^{21:15: Tanner sighting}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

 

^{Artist's impression of the man Jane Tanner saw, released October 2007; Scotland Yard believe it was an uninvolved British tourist carrying his daughter.[50][51]}

 

^{The sighting by Jane Tanner, one of the Tapas Seven, of a man carrying a child that night, became an important part of the early investigation. Tanner had left the restaurant just after 21:00 to check on her own daughter, passing Gerry on Rua Dr Francisco Gentil Martins on his way back to the restaurant from his 21:05 check. He had stopped to chat to a British holidaymaker,[52] but neither man recalled having seen Tanner. This puzzled the Portuguese police, given how narrow the street was, and led them to accuse Tanner of having invented the sighting.[53]}

^{Tanner told the police that at around 21:15 she had noticed a man carrying a young child walk across the junction of Rua Dr Francisco Gentil Martins and Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva just ahead of her. He was not far from Madeleine's bedroom, heading east, away from the front of apartment 5A.[54] In the early days of the investigation, the direction in which he was walking was thought to be important because he was moving toward the home of Robert Murat (see § First arguido, below), the 33-year-old British-Portuguese man who lived near 5A, and who became the case's first suspect.[55][36][56]}

^{The child in the man's arms was wearing light-coloured pink pyjamas with a floral pattern and cuffs on the legs, similar to Madeleine's. Tanner described the man as white, dark-haired, 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall, of southern European or Mediterranean appearance, 35–40 years old, wearing gold or beige trousers and a dark jacket, and said he did not look like a tourist. According to Kate, Tanner passed the information to Portuguese police as soon as Madeleine was reported missing, but they did not pass the description to the media until 25 May.[57] Madeleine's Fund hired a forensic artist to create an image of the man, which was released in October 2007.[58][59]}

^{The sighting became important because it offered investigators a time frame for the abduction, but Scotland Yard came to view it as a red herring.[50] In October 2013, they said that a British holidaymaker had been identified as the man Tanner had seen; he had been returning to his apartment after collecting his daughter from the Ocean Club night creche.[60] Scotland Yard took photographs of the man wearing the same or similar clothes to the ones he was wearing on the night, and standing in a pose similar to the one Tanner reported. The pyjamas his daughter had been wearing also matched Tanner's report. Operation Grange's lead detective, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, said they were "almost certain" the Tanner sighting was not related to the abduction.[50][61]}

 

1. ^{22:00: Smith sighting}

 

^{Further information: § Oakley International}

 

^{<div "="">}

 

 

^{E-fit images of the Smith sighting, released by Scotland Yard in 2013[11]}

 

^{The rejection of the Tanner sighting as crucial to the timeline allowed investigators to focus on another sighting of a man carrying a child on the night of Madeleine's disappearance, this one reported to Portuguese police on 26 May 2007 by Martin and Mary Smith, who had been in Praia da Luz on holiday from Ireland.[62] Scotland Yard concluded in 2013 that the Smith sighting offered the approximate time of Madeleine's kidnapping.[11][63]}

^{The Smiths saw the man at around 22:00 on Rua da Escola Primária, 500 yards (460 m) from the McCanns' apartment, walking away from the Ocean Club and towards Rua 25 de Abril and the beach. He was carrying a girl aged 3–4 years. She had blonde hair and pale skin, was wearing light-coloured pyjamas, and was barefoot. The man was mid-30s, 5 ft 7 in– 5 ft 9 in (1.70 m– 1.75 m), slim-to-normal build, with short brown hair, wearing cream or beige trousers. He did not look like a tourist, according to the Smiths, and had seemed uncomfortable carrying the child.[64][65] E-fits based on the Smiths' testimony were first created in 2008 by Oakley International, private investigators hired by the McCanns, and were publicised in 2013 by Scotland Yard on the BBC programme Crimewatch.[66]}

^{22:00: Reported missing}

^{Kate had intended to check on the children at 21:30, but Matthew Oldfield, one of the Tapas Seven, offered to do it when he checked on his own children in the apartment next door to 5A. He noticed that the McCanns' children's bedroom door was wide open, but after hearing no noise, he left 5A without looking far enough into the bedroom to see whether Madeleine was there. He could not recall whether the bedroom window and its exterior shutter were open at this point. Early on in the investigation, Portuguese police accused Oldfield of involvement because he had volunteered to do the check, suggesting to them that he had handed Madeleine to someone through the bedroom window.[42][67]}

^{Kate made her own check of 5A at around 22:00. Scotland Yard stated in 2013 that Madeleine was probably taken moments before this.[68] Kate recalled entering the apartment through the unlocked patio doors at the back  draught, which is when she saw that the bedroom window and its shutter were open. Madeleine's Cuddle Cat and blanket were still on the bed, but Madeleine was gone. After briefly searching the apartment, Kate ran back towards the restaurant, screaming, "Madeleine's gone! Someone's taken her!"[69]}

^{At around 22:10, Gerry sent Matthew Oldfield to ask the resort's reception desk to call the police, and at 22:30 the resort activated its missing-child search protocol.[70] Sixty staff and guests searched until 04:30, at first assuming that Madeleine had wandered off. One of them told Channel 4's Dispatches that, from one end of PraiaEarly da Luz to the other, searchers calling Madeleine's name could be heard.}

 ^response

^{Portuguese police}

^{Two officers from the gendarmerie, the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), arrived at the resort at 23:10 from Lagos, 5 miles (8.0 km) away.[72] At midnight, after briefly searching, they alerted the criminal police, the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), in nearby Portimão. Kate recounted that the PJ arrived just after 01:00.[73] According to the PJ, they arrived within 10 minutes of being alerted.[74] At 02:00 two patrol dogs were brought to the resort, and at 08:00 four search and rescue dogs.[75] Police officers had their leave cancelled and started searching waterways, wells, caves, sewers, and ruins around Praia da Luz.[37][76] Inspector Gonçalo Amaral, head of the PJ in Portimão, became the inquiry's coordinator.[77]}

^{It was widely acknowledged that mistakes were made during the so-called "golden hours" soon after the disappearance. Neither border nor marine police were given descriptions of Madeleine for many hours, and officers did not make house-to-house searches.[78][79] According to Kate, roadblocks were first put in place at 10:00 the next morning.[64] Police did not request motorway surveillance pictures of vehicles leaving Praia da Luz the night of the disappearance, or of the road between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António on the Spanish border. Euroscut, the company that monitors the road, said they were not approached for information.[80] It took Interpol five days to issue a global missing-person alert.[64] Not everyone in the resort at the time was interviewed; holidaymakers later contacted the British police to say that no one had spoken to them.[79]}

^{The crime scene was not secured. Portuguese police took samples from Madeleine's bedroom, which were sent to three forensic labs. It was reported on 1 June 2007 that DNA from one "stranger" had been found, but around 20 people had entered apartment 5A before it was closed off, according to Chief Inspector Olegário de Sousa of the PJ.[81][53] According to Kate, an officer placed tape across the doorway of the children's bedroom, but left at 03:00 without securing the apartment.[73] The PJ case file, released in 2008, showed that 5A lay empty for a month after the disappearance, then was let out to tourists before being sealed off in August 2007 for more forensic tests.[38][82] A similar situation arose outside the apartment when a crowd gathered by the front door of 5A, including next to the children's bedroom window—through which an abductor may have entered or left—trampling on evidence.[83] An officer dusted the bedroom window's exterior shutter for fingerprints without wearing gloves or other protective clothing.[53]}

^{Panoramic view of Praia da Luz, February 2015}

^{British police}

^{In the United Kingdom it was agreed that Madeleine's home force, Leicestershire Police—led by Chief Constable Matt Baggott—would coordinate the British response, although it remained a Portuguese inquiry.[84] A strategic coordinating group, or "gold" group, was put together, representing Leicestershire Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), and the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA). The PJ gave a British team a room in which to work, but apparently resented their presence. British police were used to feeding their data into HOLMES 2 (the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System); in Portugal, the information was collected in boxes. In addition the PJ had less autonomy than police in the UK, often having to wait for magistrates' decisions, which slowed things down. In an interview for Anthony Summers's and Robbyn Swan's book Looking for Madeleine (2014), Jim Gamble, head of CEOP at the time, said Portuguese police felt they were being condescended to, and}