Art, obsession, and identity
German police have uncovered a hard drive belonging to Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's 2007 disappearance. Discovered in 2016 beneath his dog's remains, the drive contains disturbing content, including illegal images involving minors and writings suggesting a fixation on young children. Investigators believe this evidence indicates Madeleine is deceased. Brueckner, currently imprisoned for unrelated crimes, denies involvement in the McCann case.
It's the case that shocked the world. Three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her parents' apartment while on holiday in Portugal on May 3, 2007. The young girl was left alone with her siblings, and has not been seen since. It's one of the most complicated criminal cases in history, with unreliable evidence, false leads, and new suspects.
In this gallery, we look back at one of the most publicized disappearances in recent history, and the recent leads that may provide answers after all these years. Click on for more.
First of all, let's get to know Madeleine. She had blonde hair, blue-green eyes, and a dark strip on the iris of her right eye. She was three years old at the time of her disappearance.
Maddie's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were employed as physicians. Maddie was born in 2003, and they welcomed twins in 2005.
The McCanns began their spring break on April 28, 2007, at Praia da Luz, a resort in Portugal's Algarve region.
The McCanns stayed at 5A, Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva. This was a ground-floor apartment with two public entrances—one at the front and another at the back.
They were vacationing with a group of seven friends, known as the "Tapas Seven," who collectively had eight children. The group had dinner at 8:30 pm in the resort's tapas restaurant on May 3, 2007.
The Seven had booked their table for the last night of the holiday. The parents left the children in the apartments, which weren't far from the restaurant.
Around 9:05 pm, Gerry went to 5A to check on his children. They were sleeping in a bedroom next to the front door. Madeleine was by the door, and the twins were in the middle of the room. Everything seemed fine, except the door was more open than he had remembered.
Shortly after, Jane Tanner (one of the Seven) reportedly witnessed a man holding a child, now referred to as the "Tanner sighting."
It was later revealed that the man was merely a tourist, heading back from the Ocean Club on that particular night.
At 9:30 pm, a member of the Tapas Seven named Matthew Oldfield volunteered to inspect 5A, but didn't get a clear view of the room. At 10:00 pm, Kate checked and discovered that Madeleine was not present.
Kate rushed back to the Tapas Seven, shouting "Madeleine's gone! Someone's taken her!"
Portuguese police officers were informed by midnight. Around 60 staff and guests searched until 4:30 am.
At 10:00 pm, the exact moment Kate notified authorities about her daughter's disappearance, tourists Martin and Mary Smith allegedly spotted an uneasy man carrying a young blonde girl at a distance of 500 yards (460 m) from 5A. With the Tanner sighting ruled out, police turned their attention to this lead.
Numerous errors occurred during the crucial hours following the disappearance, which led to conflicts between the McCanns and the Portuguese authorities throughout the investigation.
Border and maritime authorities were not promptly informed for several hours. According to Kate, there were no inspections of residences or road closures.
Furthermore, the request for motorway CCTV was not made, resulting in inadequate monitoring of the roads. Interpol took five days to issue a global alert regarding the missing persons.
A lot of people at the resort were not questioned, and the place where the crime happened wasn't kept safe like it should have been. The evidence from 5A was sent to three different labs, and about 20 people had been inside 5A before they stopped anyone else from going in.
Police reports show that 5A was empty for a month after Maddie disappeared, and was then rented out to tourists until tests continued in 2007.
The news spread quickly and the big media attention probably made things tougher for the police, who seemed to be suspicious of the McCanns from the beginning.
The McCanns have faced criticism for how they handled the publicity around Maddie's disappearance. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Gerry explained that their approach was to maintain public attention on their daughter.
The McCanns established a PR team and a fund to raise both money and awareness. With the advent of Twitter and social media, the case garnered unparalleled attention globally.
Robert Murat, a man with British-Portuguese nationality, became the initial "arguido" (formal suspect) twelve days after the disappearance of Maddie. He resided approximately 150 yards (137 m) away from 5A, where the man from the "Tanner sighting" was heading.
Several witnesses reportedly spotted Murat and an investigation was conducted on May 15, although he was later cleared of suspicion in 2008.
The McCanns rented a Renault Scenic car on May 27. It is said that sniffer dogs alerted inside the vehicle, suggesting the possibility of Madeleine having been present. A German journalist questioned the McCanns about their role on June 6.
Sol, a Portuguese newspaper, issued a critical article on the McCanns around that time. The piece highlighted supposed contradictions in their version of events from the night Maddie went missing.
In July 2007, the police began to entertain the suspicion that there might not have been an abduction, and instead, Madeleine had possibly died in the apartment.
Although DNA tests from the car were inconclusive, the McCanns were declared "arguidos" on September 7th and subsequently flew back to the UK after two days.
Since then, there haven't been many developments. Chief Inspector Gonçalo Amaral (pictured) stepped away from the case a few months after the McCanns departed Portugal, later releasing a book accusing them of wrongdoing. The McCanns attempted to sue Amaral but were unsuccessful.
The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann took a new turn when the Portuguese Attorney General closed the case on July 21, 2008, but reopened it in 2013. The search has been jointly handled by the UK authorities. Despite numerous inquiries and leads, no definitive conclusions have been reached. As of 2019, the inquiry has incurred expenses of approximately £12 million (around US$15 million). In Portugal, the McCanns are no longer considered suspects, and in the UK, they are presumed innocent.
In June 2020, it was reported that the Madeleine McCann disappearance case had a new suspect. The suspect, Christian Brueckner, is a German man in his mid-forties who is currently incarcerated.
The man is currently in jail for sex offenses, and German authorities have verified that he has two prior convictions for "sexual contact with girls." Additionally, he has a history of committing thefts in hotels and vacation spots, as well as dealing drugs.
During the period when Madeleine went missing, he has been associated with Praia da Luz. Authorities have established a connection between him and a residence close to the town, along with a VW van and a Jaguar (similar to the ones depicted in these pictures).
They verified that the suspect got a phone call in the hours before Madeleine went missing, and they think the person on the other end of the line has crucial information. People who might have been unsure about speaking up before are now urged to do so, even after all this time has gone by.
In 2022, Scotland Yard announced the conclusion of its 11-year investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, while authorities in Portugal confirmed that their inquiry would persist.
In October 2023, BBC aired a documentary about the case that has been considered "the most widely covered missing-person case in modern history," as reported by The Daily Telegraph.
While still serving his sentence, Christian Brueckner appeared in court in Germany again in February 2024 to face five more heinous charges related to sex crimes that occurred in the Algarve in the decade after McCann's disappearance.
In October 2024, Brueckner was acquitted of all charges due to insufficient evidence. However, he remains in prison for his previous conviction until September 2025. In the meantime, he is still the prime suspect in the McCann investigations ongoing in multiple countries.
Sources: (BBC) (Telegraph) (Independent) (DailyMail) (SIC)
See also: The American nightmare: the Lindbergh baby kidnapping
German authorities find new clues in Madeleine McCann disappearance
Christian Brueckner, 47, is the main suspect
LIFESTYLE Breaking news
German police have uncovered a hard drive belonging to Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's 2007 disappearance. Discovered in 2016 beneath his dog's remains, the drive contains disturbing content, including illegal images involving minors and writings suggesting a fixation on young children. Investigators believe this evidence indicates Madeleine is deceased. Brueckner, currently imprisoned for unrelated crimes, denies involvement in the McCann case.
It's the case that shocked the world. Three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her parents' apartment while on holiday in Portugal on May 3, 2007. The young girl was left alone with her siblings, and has not been seen since. It's one of the most complicated criminal cases in history, with unreliable evidence, false leads, and new suspects.
In this gallery, we look back at one of the most publicized disappearances in recent history, and the recent leads that may provide answers after all these years. Click on for more.