The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann investigation admitted that he was 150 yards from the resort where she was staying. The three-year-old disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, during a family holiday. At the time, her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were dining with friends about 100 yards away.
Christian Brueckner claims he was just 150 yards from the resort but denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance
Convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner, who denies involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, previously refused to discuss his whereabouts at the time she vanished.
Now speaking to the Daily Mail on September 20, the 49-year-old German national said, “I was on the beach, not far from Maddie’s hotel, selling drugs. I’d been in Spain and smuggled the weed into Portugal.” “I was even stopped by police three times on the street [in Praia da Luz] while they were looking for Maddie. Luckily, they didn’t find the drugs. My van was full of them,” he added.
The suspect said, “I was making a quick getaway; there were flashing blue lights and checkpoints everywhere. I just thought, ‘Get me out of here’.” Brueckner said he had avoided discussing the allegations in the past because he claimed police were trying to “frame” him for Madeleine’s disappearance.
At that time, Portuguese police came under criticism over their initial response to Madeleine’s disappearance. Three years later, in 2020, German prosecutors named Brueckner as the main suspect and said they had “concrete evidence” against him, although they did not have enough to secure a conviction.
In September last year, Brueckner was released after serving six years in prison for the rape of a 72-year-old US tourist. He has remained under strict monitoring since then. His criminal record also includes two rape convictions and convictions for theft, drug trafficking, assault, and child sexual abuse.
