Christian Brueckner, the German man long regarded by investigators as the primary suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has publicly acknowledged for the first time that he was only about 150 yards from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on the night the three-year-old vanished.

In an interview published in September 2026, the 49-year-old said he spent that evening on a nearby beach selling drugs. He claimed he had brought cannabis from Spain into Portugal and that his van was loaded with the substance. According to Brueckner, Portuguese police stopped him three separate times while officers were searching for the missing child. On each occasion, he said, the officers did not search the vehicle and allowed him to continue. He described trying to leave the resort area quickly amid checkpoints and flashing blue lights, saying his only thought was to get away as fast as possible.

Brueckner continues to deny any connection to Madeleine’s disappearance. He has stated that he would be glad if she were found, arguing that her reappearance would demonstrate that the case against him had been constructed. He claimed he had not spoken earlier about his exact location that night because he believed police were trying to frame him for the crime.

Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of 3 May 2007 from the ground-floor apartment where her family was staying in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz. Her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were having dinner with friends roughly 100 yards away when they discovered she was missing. The case remains one of the most high-profile unsolved disappearances in recent decades.

German prosecutors formally named Brueckner as their main suspect in 2020, saying they held concrete evidence linking him to the case, although the material has never been considered strong enough to bring charges related to the abduction or any subsequent crime. A mobile phone registered in his name was previously tracked in the vicinity of the McCanns’ accommodation on the night she vanished. British Metropolitan Police officers have continued efforts in recent years to seek his extradition so that he can face trial in the United Kingdom.

A source close to the McCann family commented that if Brueckner’s latest account is accurate, it raises serious questions about the decisions made by Portuguese officers at the time. Had the van been properly searched, the source suggested, the course of the investigation might have been different.

Brueckner has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for rape and other serious Sєxual offences. He has also been convicted of theft, drug trafficking and ᴀssault. At the time of the interview he remained under separate investigation in connection with an alleged offence against a child dating from 2015. Despite the new statements about his movements on the night of 3 May 2007, he has not been charged in relation to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

The latest disclosures add a further layer of detail to a case that has spanned nearly two decades. Investigators in Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom continue to treat Brueckner as a person of significant interest, while he maintains his complete innocence.

Sources : The Sun.