In mid-September 2025, the Metropolitan Police stated that a formal request to interview the primary suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann had been refused. The suspect, German national Christian Brueckner (also referred to as Christian Brückner), was at that time nearing the end of a prison sentence in Germany for an unrelated offence.

Madeleine McCann, then aged three, vanished on the evening of 3 May 2007 from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in the Algarve while her parents were dining nearby. Despite extensive searches and international attention, she has never been found. Brueckner lived intermittently in the Algarve region around the period of her disappearance and was publicly identified as a suspect by German and British authorities in 2020.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, the senior investigating officer leading the Metropolitan Police inquiry, confirmed that the force had submitted an international letter of request seeking to question Brueckner. The request was declined by the suspect. Cranwell’s statement noted that Brueckner remained a suspect in the British investigation and that officers were aware of his impending release from custody in Germany. In the absence of an interview, the police said they would continue to examine any viable lines of inquiry. Further details were withheld while the investigation remained active, with questions about the conditions of his release directed to the German authorities.

At the time of the police statement, Brueckner was serving a seven-year sentence imposed for the rape of a 72-year-old woman that occurred in Praia da Luz in 2005. German prosecutors have long regarded him as the likely perpetrator in Madeleine’s disappearance and have operated on the working ᴀssumption that she is no longer alive. Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement and has never been charged in connection with the McCann case.

Two days after the Metropolitan Police confirmed the refusal, Brueckner was released from Sehnde prison near Hanover on 17 September 2025. He left the facility under police escort and was subject to strict post-release conditions, including an electronic ankle monitor intended to track his movements. German authorities stated that the ongoing investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance was not affected by his release.

The case remains one of the most closely followed missing-person investigations of recent decades. Portuguese, German and British authorities have conducted multiple searches and inquiries over the years, including activity in the Algarve in 2025. Despite the pᴀssage of time and Brueckner’s refusal to speak with British investigators ahead of his release, police have indicated that the inquiry continues.

Sources: Reuters