German prosecutors warn more evidence is needed or Madeleine McCann suspect might never face charges

The search to find Madeleine McCann continues
PA

German prosecutors have warned it might not be possible to bring charges against Madeleine McCann’s suspected killer as they made a new appeal for witnesses across Europe to come forward.

A flood of information has emerged about 43-year-old Christian Brückner since he was identified last week as the key suspect in the inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance from her family’s holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

Law enforcers in Germany have said they believe that Madeleine is dead and that there is evidence to indicate that Brückner, a convicted rapist and child sex offender, carried out the crime.

But Hans Christian Wolters, a prosecutor from Braunschweig, from where the investigation into Madeleine’s fate is being led, has warned that if no further evidence was gathered it might prove impossible to prosecute Brückner.

Christian Brückner 

“We have evidence against the accused which leads us to believe that he really killed Madeleine but this evidence is not strong enough at the moment to take him to court,” he told the BBC.

One has to be honest and remain open to the possibility that our investigation could end without a charge, that it ends like the others have. We are optimistic it will be different for us but for that we need more information.”

However Mr Wolters said the evidence is “strong enough to say that the girl is dead” and, in a separate interview with the Times, added: “My private opinion is that he relatively quickly killed the girl, possibly abused her and then killed her.”

Mr Wolters also disclosed the suspect is thought to have carried out “further crimes, especially sexual crimes” in both Portugal and Germany but expressed concern that Brückner might have to be released imminently.

He is serving a 21-month sentence for a drugs offence but is eligible for parole and could be released as he appeals against his conviction last year for the 2004 rape of an American tourist not far from where Madeleine vanished.

Christian Brückner

Brückner, who lived in Portugal between 1995 and 2007, emerged as the key suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance last week following a joint appeal by detectives in Germany and at Scotland Yard.

Police here are seeking information about two vehicles, a distinctive VW camper van and a Jaguar car, that Brückner was using at the time, as well as two phone numbers. One was his and the other was used to call him in Praia da Luz about an hour before Madeleine vanished.

He has been linked to a number of other child disappearances including one involving a five-year-old German girl called Inga.

Inga Gehricke
PA

She went missing from a family party in Saxony-Anhalt on May 2, 2015 and has never been found. German police are also investigating the death of nine-year-old Peggy Knobloch from Lichtenberg in Bavaria.

She disappeared on her way home from school in May 2001. Her bones were found in a forest nine miles from her home in July 2016.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in