Police on trail of days after kidnap
PORTUGUESE police had German paedophile Christian Brueckner in their sights within five days of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, it has emerged.
Staff at the resort where the little girl was snatched were shown his photo and told his name by detectives in the days following her disappearance in May 2007.
A nanny who cared for threeyear-old Madeleine at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz confirmed officers were aware of Brueckner.
They asked her about him in a meeting on May 8 – five days after the girl vanished and 24 hours following her own statement.
Being on Brueckner’s case so soon after the disappearance will raise further questions about the initial handling of the police probe.
The nanny yesterday explained: “I was shown identikits. I recognised a few people from just being about. For example, one guy I recognised was a known paedophile who later committed suicide.
“I am aware of his [Brueckner’s] name and face from photos I was shown but I don’t think I remember having seen him in real life. I’m aware police knew of guys like this in Praia da Luz at the time.”
Former police chief Goncalo
Amaral, who led the initial probe, said last April that a German paedophile had been identified in 2007 as a potential suspect.
He refused to name the man but confirmed he is serving a sentence in Germany, just as Brueckner is.
Amaral, 60, said detectives found nothing to suggest the German was involved in Madeleine’s abduction.
That was despite Brueckner having a lengthy criminal record, not least burglary and child sex crimes.
Police could now be set to carry out fresh searches in Portugal.
The authorities there refused yesterday to rule out digging on land next to a farmhouse where Brueckner lived.
It is close to where Scotland Yard teams previously used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar in a hunt for possible remains.
Brueckner left the isolated property in 2006, a year before Madeleine vanished, but he knew the area well. It contains several disused deep water wells, which have not been searched.
Neighbours say police visited the area and spoke to them several months ago but no major digs have been carried out.
An eight-day operation in June 2014 involved sewer searches, but digs at two sites in Praia da Luz uncovered no evidence. Portuguese police privately dismissed the British-led work as “senseless”.
But it is understood new digs are “on the table” if firm evidence comes to light.
German mag FOCUS Online claimed Brueckner had a year-long relationship with a British woman while living in Portugal.
It said the “wannabe Bohemian” German and the unnamed female enjoyed a fling when he was in
Praia da Luz. Another report said he worked as a waiter in the resort.
Police seized the camper van Brueckner used in the district of Silves, which lies around an hour inland from the from the popular tourist resort of Albufeira.
Portuguese TV station SIC said the suspect sold the vehicle for £4,461 around 2015 to a German compatriot, who operated an unofficial breaker’s yard in the area.
It is the first time the suspect has been linked to a property in Portugal not in the Praia da Luz.
It is not known how the police discovered where the van was. They are believed to have seized it last year and it remains with police.
There is no suggestion the man who bought Brueckner’s camper van is in any way involved in Madeleine’s disappearance.
The VW T3 Westfalia camper van, with a white upper body and a yellow skirting plus a Portuguese registration plate, is one of two vehicles police have flagged up in an appeal this week. The other is a Jaguar model XJR 6, which has a German number plate.
Detectives say it is significant that the day after Madeleine’s disappearance, Brueckner re-registered the car in someone else’s name back in Augsburg, Germany, even though the vehicle had never left Portugal.
The owner of the yard where Brueckner sold the camper van said detectives swooped last year.
He revealed that the German had a “passion” for classic cars and he “seemed normal” each time they met.
‘I’m aware of his name and face from photos I was shown... I’m aware police knew of guys like this in Praia da Luz’