Braunschweig: The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Christian Brueckner, has reportedly attempted to confront the prosecutor in Germany who accused him of her murder. Brueckner traveled for several hours to reach the prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig but was denied a meeting with Hans Christian Wolters.
According to Ghana News Agency, Brueckner expressed his frustration to the broadcaster Sky News, stating that the prosecutor refused to meet him and that he wanted assistance in reclaiming his life. He claimed that the media harassment he was experiencing was the prosecutor’s fault and demanded accountability. Despite his pleas, Brueckner was informed that nothing could be done to assist him since he had already been convicted and released and was no longer the prosecutor’s responsibility.
Brueckner had recently been released after serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005. In a previous 2022 TV interview, Wolters had accused him of murdering Madeleine McCann, a claim Brueckner denies. His lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, told Sky News that such public accusations have rendered his client’s rehabilitation ‘impossible.’
The British police continue their own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, with Brueckner remaining a suspect. However, the UK investigation is still categorized as a missing person case, not a murder inquiry. Collaborative efforts between German, Portuguese, and British authorities have led to several searches since Madeleine’s disappearance. The most recent search occurred near the Portuguese municipality of Lagos in June.
In 2023, investigators conducted searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, approximately 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz. It is known that Brueckner spent time in this area from 2000 to 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. In October of the previous year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have occurred in Portugal during the same period.
The London Metropolitan Police’s investigation, named Operation Grange, has received over £13.2 million ($17.7 million) in funding since 2011, with an additional £108,000 secured from the UK government in April.