Madeleine McCann prime suspect released from prison Max StephensSeptember 17, 2025 at 3:43 AM 0 A figure was driven from Sehnde prison, near Hanover, Germany, under a blanket in the rear of Christian Brueckner's lawyer's car on Wednesday morning Julian Simmonds for the Telegraph The prime suspect in...
- - Madeleine McCann prime suspect released from prison
Max StephensSeptember 17, 2025 at 3:43 AM
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A figure was driven from Sehnde prison, near Hanover, Germany, under a blanket in the rear of Christian Brueckner's lawyer's car on Wednesday morning - Julian Simmonds for the Telegraph
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence.
Christian Brueckner, a 49-year-old convicted paedophile, was released from Sehnde prison in northern Germany on Wednesday morning.
German detectives believe Brueckner was behind the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine who vanished from an apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz on May 3 2007 while on holiday with her parents and twin siblings.
Prosecutors were unable to produce enough evidence to formally charge Brueckner but remain adamant that he is the only suspect involved in her suspected abduction and murder.
He was known to be in the area at the time of Madeleine's disappearance from Praia da Luz, but has always denied any involvement.
Brueckner was being held at Sehnde prison, near Hanover, for the rape of a pensioner near Praia da Luz in 2005, two years before the British toddler went missing in the same Portuguese resort. Prosecutors have said he is still likely to be dangerous.
Prior to his release, Scotland Yard submitted a formal interview request in connection with Madeleine's disappearance, but Brueckner refused.
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The main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving out a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime.
German prosecutors first named Christian Brueckner a suspect in 2020, when he was already serving the sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same part of Portugal's Algarve region where McCann went missing.
"I can confirm that he was released at 9:15 local time, accompanied by a police escort," said Marcell Farbowski, spokesperson of the prison in Sehnde, adding that Brueckner had been driven away by his lawyer.
Reporters saw a car leaving the prison.
Brueckner's lawyer denies any connection with the McCann case. He did not immediately respond to a request to comment on his client's release.
Der Spiegel said Brueckner's release was tied to very strict conditions: his passport has been cancelled, he will wear an electronic tag and must declare a place of residence that he cannot leave without permission.
"This is an attempt by prosecutors to keep him in a kind of investigative detention where they have access to him at all times," Der Spiegel quoted lawyer Philipp Marquort as saying.
Police in Britain, Germany and Portugal, who have identified Brueckner as their main suspect, have long sought evidence to link him conclusively to the case. Portuguese and German police spent four days digging for evidence in the Algarve in June.
Photographer is stopped by police at Sehnde prison
A news photographer was stopped by police as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was released from a German prison on Wednesday morning.
Christian Brueckner, a 49-year-old convicted paedophile, was being held in Sehnde prison in northern Germany for the rape of a pensioner near Praia da Luz in 2005, two years before the British toddler went missing in the same Portuguese resort.
A news photographer is stopped by police as Christian Brueckner, a suspect in the case of British girl Maddie McCann - Shutterstock EditorialAnalysis: Brueckner's release will scupper chance to solve McCann case
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The release of Christian Brueckner from jail on Wednesday morning likely marks the end of any hopes of bringing Madeleine McCann's abductor to justice.
For five years, Germany detectives had attempted to charge Brueckner in connection with her disappearance.
A three day long police search was mounted in June for evidence in Portugal's Praia da Luz - the holiday resort where the three year old went missing.
It was considered a last ditch attempt to find the key piece of evidence to charge Brueckner.
However despite the best efforts of British, German and Portuguese detectives Brueckner has now walked away a free man and will, by his own admission likely travel abroad where it will be nigh on impossible for him to be found.
Scotland Yard says Brueckner remains a suspect in the case.
But without further evidence he may well remain only that.
Watch: Chaotic scenes as Brueckner is rushed from prison
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At 08:15 am (9:15 am local time) Brueckner was driven away from Sehnde prison by his lawyer in a black Audi.
Brueckner obscured his face behind a thick blue blanket as he sat behind his lawyer in the rear passengerseat.
Within five seconds he had disappeared from view along the main road Schnedebruch that runs parallel to the prison and headed north.
Credit: Max Stephens for The Telegraph
Pictured: Brueckner leaves prison
Christian Brueckner is driven from the prison under a blanket in the rear of his lawyer's car - JULIAN SIMMONDS
Brueckner has been suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia de Luz in 2007What are Brueckner's release conditions?
An application from the prosecutors to the courts to have Brueckner fitted with an ankle tag on his release was reportedly granted.
According to the German news magazine Spiegel, the Hildesheim Regional Court ruled on September 9 that he must fulfill a series of conditions as part of his probationary supervision.
This reportedly includes wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and regularly reporting to the probationary supervision office and the probation service.
Furthermore, according to the ruling, he is required to establish a permanent residence and that he may not leave without permission.
His passport has also reportedly been revoked.
Brueckner release confirmed
We have confirmation that Brueckner has been released.
Police reportedly closed off the road outside Sehnde prison in northern Germany.
Brueckner was serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a pensioner near Praia da Luz in 2005, two years before the British toddler went missing in the same Portuguese resort.
When did German police start to suspect Brueckner?
Christian Brueckner, a 49-year-old convicted paedophile, lived in Portugal from 1995 to 2007. He had been living a mile away from the Ocean Club resort when Madeleine vanished.
The German authorities began to investigate a potential link in 2013, after Madeleine's parents spoke about the case on German television, according to Christian Hoppe, the head of Germany's federal criminal police.
After Mr Hoppe in 2020 announced the investigation on public television, the public prosecutor in Braunschweig, Germany, announced that they were beginning a murder investigation into a 43-year-old German in the case.
Brueckner lived in the Portuguese coastal village of Praia da Luz on and off between 1995 and 2007, and was based around 1 mile away from the resort where the McCanns were staying.
He worked odd-jobs, and had experience of breaking into apartments. Police said he burgled hotels and villas, and also sold drugs.
Brueckner's Portuguese mobile phone was in Praia da Luz when it received a half-hour phone call around an hour before Madeleine, three, was last seen.
Detectives said Brueckner was believed to have been living in a distinctive early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia campervan at the time and re-registered a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 in someone else's name the day after her disappearance.
At the time the prosecutor announced an investigation, Brueckner was serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of the 72-year-old woman, an attack that occurred not far from the resort where Madeleine was abducted.
What happened in the McCann case?
Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007 from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, on Portugal's southern coast, where she was staying with her with her parents and twin siblings.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, doctors from Leicester, England, had left Madeleine and her two younger siblings in an holiday apartment for several hours while the parents ate dinner with friends.
Ms McCann told the police that she checked in on the sleeping children at around 9 pm, but that when she returned an hour later, Madeleine had vanished.
The Portuguese police, who searched the area, were soon joined by British officers. The initial investigation by the Portuguese police drew widespread criticism after Mr and Ms McCann were named as suspects. They were formally cleared in 2008.
Over the years, the international media intensely covered Madeleine's case, and pictures of her were soon familiar to much of Britain and the rest of Europe. The international search has since inspired books and a Netflix documentary series.
Timeline: Brueckner's long history of violent sexual offencesPolice prepared for Brueckner's release
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More than a dozen police officers and four vans were stationed outside the prison to manage Brueckner's release on Wednesday.
They were outnumbered by a throng of 30 or so journalists and photographers from the United Kingdom and Germany waiting on the grass verge outside the prison.
An application from the prosecutors to the courts to have Brueckner fitted with an ankle tag on his release was reportedly granted.
According to the German news magazine Spiegel, the Hildesheim Regional Court ruled on September 9 that he must fulfill a series of conditions as part of his probationary supervision.
This reportedly includes wearing an electronic ankle bracelet and report regularly to the probationary supervision office and the probation service.
Furthermore, according to the ruling, he is required to establish a permanent residence and that he may not leave without permission.
His passport has also reportedly been revoked.
How police ran out of time to keep Brueckner behind bars
The combined efforts of the Metropolitan Police, the German authorities and years of investigating by officers in Portugal have failed to keep the man widely believed to be responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann behind bars.
Christian Brueckner, whom a German psychiatrist once gave a 99 per cent rating on a scale of dangerousness, was set to leave prison on Wednesday.
In June, he told an interviewer he planned to lie low upon his release, but would first enjoy the moment with a "nice steak and beer". His lawyer has also claimed he will be free to leave Germany, despite an ankle tag.
Despite all that is known about Brueckner and his long, horrifying history of crime, how did it come about that he would be able to walk free?
Welcome to our live coverage
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the release of Christian Brueckner.
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