COPS CLAIM MADDIE KILLED IN PORTUGAL
New theory on main suspect ..as her parents cling to hope
GERMAN police say they are now convinced Madeleine McCann was killed in Portugal.
Cops reportedly feared suspect Christian Brueckner had moved Maddie to his native Germany from Praia da Luz, where she vanished 14 years ago.
But now prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters says officers believe Maddie, who would now be 18, died in Portugal.
The remarks come days after her parents Kate, 53, and Gerry, 52, said they would never give up hope of finding her.
It was on May 3, 2007 that Madeleine, from Rothley, Leics, vanished – days before her fourth birthday. Mr Wolters has said “concrete evidence” will prove Brueckner murdered Madeleine, but has always refused to give any details
When asked where he believed she was killed, Wolters claimed: “In Portugal. I am optimistic we will solve this case.”
Drifter Brueckner, 44, is serving seven years for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005. Last July German police dug up an allotment in Hanover where Brueckner, also referred to as Christian B, used to stay.
It is thought they were looking for any material, including computer drives,
which could link him to the case. Mr Wolters added: “Since Christian B did not have the allotment at the time of Maddie’s disappearance, he could not have buried a body there.”
Convicted child sex offender Brueckner, 44, was identified by German authorities last June as prime suspect over Maddie. They hope to charge him this year.
Brueckner’s lawyer Friedrich Fulscher insists the German has nothing to do with Madeleine.
And British police still treat her disappearance as a missing persons case.
The McCanns, meanwhile, paid a tribute to their girl last week, writing: “Happy 18th birthday Madeleine. We love you and we’re waiting for you and we’re never going to give up.”