A major update in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann could change everything in as little as two weeks' time.

Crime

Madeleine McCann Case Rocked By Major Update That Could Change Everything

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Updated: 12:51 21 September 2025

Published: 10:52 29 August 2025


A major update in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann could change everything in as little as two weeks’ time.

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian Brückner, is currently serving a seven-year sentence for r**ing a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2006.

Just a year after the heinous crime was committed, three-year-old Madeleine disappeared in the same area, while on a family vacation.

It’s been well documented by authorities around the world that Brückner is the prime suspect in the disappearance case.

But Brückner has vehemently denied any involvement in her disappearance to this day.

Now, a major update is set to change everything.

On top of the crime he is currently serving time for, Brückner has also been convicted of s**ually abusing a girl aged at least 14, and the s**ual assault of a woman at knifepoint in her home in 2004.

Madeleine McCann
Madeleine McCann has been missing for over 18 years. Credit: Alamy

The criminal’s defence team has denied claims that he is the prime suspect in the McCann case.

In June 2024, a German investigator testified that authorities discovered an email account that is ‘related to the killing’ of McCann.

Titus Stampa, a detective with Germany’s Federal Crime Police, told a court that the Hotmail account allegedly belonged to Brückner.

He noted that the email was used to share photos and videos of child abuse, and that they were deleted in early 2007 when the little girl vanished.

He was also found to have had children’s clothes in his camper van.

But the criminal is set to be released from prison in as little as two weeks, having served the entirety of his seven-year sentence.

Madeleine McCann
Authorities have identified Christian Brückner as the prime suspect in the case. Credit: Alamy

A German source close to the case reportedly said: “I’ve been told from very good sources that they will let him go quietly to avoid any big media attention.”

They continued: “They also don’t want the chance of any vigilante attacking him, in case they need him back to face other charges soon.

“Meanwhile the police are working around the clock to try and find the final bit of the jigsaw to charge him over the death of Maddie.”

But in a bombshell claim, the source added: “They know he did it, but they need to prove it.”

It’s currently unknown whether the 48-year-old suspect would be tagged on his release, but German authorities have demanded that his passport be confiscated.

His lawyer worryingly stated that Brückner wants to vanish to a country that has no treaty with the EU or the U.K.

In 2024, 17 years following her disappearance, Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry said: “Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the ‘living in limbo’ is still very unsettling.

“And the absence still aches.”

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