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Brief explanation -

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.

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The McCanns -

Maddie's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, were employed as physicians. Maddie was born in 2003, and they welcomed twins in 2005.

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Spring vacation -

The McCanns began their spring break on April 28, 2007, at Praia da Luz, a resort in Portugal's Algarve region.

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5A -

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.

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The Tapas Seven -

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.

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Children left alone -

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.

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The father returned to check on them -

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.

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The Tanner sighting -

Shortly after, Jane Tanner (one of the Seven) reportedly witnessed a man holding a child, now referred to as the "Tanner sighting."

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False lead -

The investigation now had a timeline, revealing that the man was merely a tourist, heading back from the Ocean Club on that particular night.

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Maddie vanished -

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.

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"Someone's taken her" -

Kate rushed back to the Tapas Seven, shouting that "Madeleine's gone! Someone's taken her!"

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Notifying the Portuguese police -

Portuguese police officers were informed by midnight. Around 60 staff and guests searched until 4:30 am.  

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Additional lead -

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.

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Mistakes during crucial moments were made -

Numerous errors occurred during the crucial hours following the disappearance, which led to conflicts between the McCanns and the Portuguese authorities throughout the investigation.

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Police mistakes -

Border and maritime authorities were not promptly informed for several hours. According to Kate, there were no inspections of residences or road closures.

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Missed opportunities -

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.

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Scene tampering crime -

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.

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Crime scene rented out -

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.

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Suspects? -

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.

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Marketing Maddie -

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.

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Unprecedented focus -

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.

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Robert Murat -

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.

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Cleared -

Several witnesses reportedly spotted Murat and an investigation was conducted on May 15, although he was later cleared of suspicion in 2008.

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Car rental -

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.

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Sol accuses the McCanns -

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.

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Police develop suspicion -

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.

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McCanns came back to UK -

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.

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Gonçalo Amaral -

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.

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Reward for missing individuals -

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.

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Another suspect identified -

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.

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Criminal record -

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.

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He was around -

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).

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Looking for new information -

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.

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Scotland Yard steps back -

In 2022, Scotland Yard announced the conclusion of its 11-year investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, while authorities in Portugal affirmed that their inquiry would persist. On the eve of the 15th anniversary of her disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann shared on Facebook that this year "feels no harder than any other but no easier either."

"Many people talk about the need for 'closure.' It's always felt like a strange term. Regardless of the outcome, Madeleine will always be our daughter, and a truly horrific crime has been committed. These things will remain. It is true, though, that uncertainty creates weakness; knowledge and certainty give strength, and for this reason, our need for answers, for the truth, is essential."

They also conveyed gratitude to the UK, Portuguese, and German authorities for their efforts, and to their supporters for their well-wishes. "It is a huge comfort to know that regardless of time passed, Madeleine is still in people's hearts and minds. Thank you," they said.

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Not her -

In February 2023, a 22-year-old Polish woman, Julia Wandelt, claimed to be the answer to the Madeleine McCann mystery, asserting that even the McCanns had considered her claim and accepted her offer for a DNA test. Wandelt, sharing her story on Instagram, pointed to shared characteristics with Madeleine and claimed to be a victim of sexual abuse by a key suspect in the case. However, subsequent DNA proved that Wandelt is not the missing McCann.

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Media coverage -

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.

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Chris Brueckner on trial -

While still serving his sentence for sex crimes, Christian Brueckner appeared in court in Germany again on February 23, 2024, to face five more heinous charges. Brueckner stands accused of the rape of a woman in her seventies and the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl, as well as other sexual assaults. The attacks reportedly occurred across Portugal between 2010 and 2017. German police are also still investigating Brueckner as the lead suspect in the McCann case, but these unrelated charges suggest that he was actively carrying out sex crimes around the time and the place of McCann's disappearance. 

Sources: (BBC) (Telegraph) (Independent) (DailyMail) (SIC)

See also: The American nightmare: the Lindbergh baby kidnapping

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