Madeleine McCann investigators in race against time to charge prime suspect
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The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will not be charged with her murder any time soon, German prosecutors have suggested. Christian Brueckner, 47, is nearing the end of a seven-year prison term in Germany for raping an American woman in the same Algarve region where three-year-old Maddievanished two years later.
![[Rex Features Ltd. do not claim any Copyright or License of this image. Mandatory Credit: Photo by REX/Shutterstock (662185c) Madeleine McCann, aged three, from Leicestershire, who disappeared and is believed to have been abducted as she slept in a holiday apartment room at Mark Warner's Ocean Summer Club in the resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, during a family holiday. Madeleine's parents were dining close-by and had left the girl to sleep in their apartment making regular checks on her every half an hour. At around 9.45pm parents Kate and Gerry McCann returned to find an empty bed and the apartment door and window wide open. Madeleine McCann - 13071147]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_157467312-80ca.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Authorities have found themselves in a race against time because he will be free to leave the country when he is released in September unless a new warrant is served before then. But Hans Christian Wolters, one of the prosecutors in the case, said: ‘There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.’.
![[MILAN, ITALY - This undated handout image supplied by the Carabinieri Milano shows a police mug shot of Christian Brueckner, a suspect in the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann in 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. The image was taken in 2018 in Milan where Brueckner was arrested and extradited to Germany for the rape he is currently imprisoned for. (Photo by Carabinieri Milano via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_155630699-d7a8.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Speaking to Sky News, he added that ‘as things stand’ Brueckner’s time behind bars will end in September. Madeleine, from Rothley in Leicestershire, vanished on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Her parents Gerry and Kate left the then three-year-old and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends nearby.
Brueckner spent many years in Portugal – including in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance. Investigators believe he killed the British toddler after snatching her from the apartment. But they have not revealed what evidence they have to prove she is dead and admit they are still searching for forensic evidence tying him to her.
