British police said Monday that a 49-year-old German man who has been the primary suspect in the German federal investigation into the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains a suspect in the Metropolitan Police investigation as he prepares for release from a German prison this month.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, the Metropolitan Police's senior investigating officer, said the force was "aware of the pending release" and that the individual continues to be treated as a suspect. The statement said the man has declined a request from British police for an interview and that officers will continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.
Madeleine McCann, then 3 years old, vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort town of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. Her disappearance triggered an international investigation and sustained media attention; she has never been found.
German authorities named Christian Brueckner, a man who lived in the Algarve around the time of the disappearance, as a suspect in 2020 and said investigators presumed McCann to be dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible. Brueckner has denied any involvement and has not been charged in relation to McCann's disappearance. He is serving a prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the Algarve and for other offences, including drug-related crimes.
The Metropolitan Police said it could provide no further information while its investigation is ongoing and directed questions about the conditions of the prisoner's release to German authorities. British officials have coordinated with German and Portuguese police in recent months: Portuguese and German teams carried out searches in the Algarve in June ahead of the expected release.
Investigators from multiple jurisdictions have worked on the case for years, and the decision to keep Brueckner under suspicion reflects continued cross-border cooperation rather than new criminal charges. The Metropolitan Police first opened a review of the case several years after the disappearance and launched Operation Grange, the Met's inquiry, to examine lines of inquiry and any fresh evidence.
Officials have said they will follow up on credible lines of inquiry as they emerge. The police statement reiterated that the force would not disclose operational details while enquiries continue. Family members and campaigners have repeatedly called for answers since 2007, and the case remains one of the most high-profile missing-person investigations in Europe.
The evolving status of the suspect and the searches carried out by authorities underline the complex legal and investigative issues that arise when inquiries cross national borders. British, German and Portuguese authorities will continue to coordinate where appropriate, the Metropolitan Police said, as they seek to resolve the decades-old disappearance.