New Maddie probe

German prisoner the latest suspect over girl’s disappearance

A 43-YEAR-OLD German man who travelled around Portugal in a camper van is now the prime suspect in the disappearance of three-yearold Madeleine McCann, who vanished during a holiday with her family in 2007.

Scotland Yard believes the man, who is in prison and has not been named, was in the area where the girl was last seen in Portugal 13 years ago.

They are appealing for information about the camper van and the suspect’s other vehicle, a Jaguar.

The man transferred it to someone else’s name the day after she vanished.

“Someone out there knows a lot more than they’re letting on,” said Detective Chief Inspector

Mark Cranwell, who is leading Scotland Yard’s investigation.

“In connection with the disappearance of the then threeyear-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann … the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office is investigating a 43-yearold German citizen on suspicion of murder,” said federal police in a statement.

On May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday, “Maddie” disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Algarve as her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant, sparking one of the biggest searches of its kind in recent years.

Despite a range of suspects and theories about what happened, no one has been convicted over her disappearance.

The latest suspect is serving a “long prison sentence”, and has convictions over child sexual abuse, said Germany’s federal criminal agency.

Lead investigator Christian Hoppe told ZDF television their investigation had led police to suspect that the man was involved in the killing of Madeleine.

He regularly lived between 1995 and 2007 in Algarve, police added.