Hiding his face under a thick blue blanket in the back seat of a black Audi, Christian Brueckner was pictured being driven quickly past a waiting pack of journalists and out of a German prison on Wednesday morning.
The 49-year-old convicted paedophile is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, some 18 days ago.
But a lack of evidence gathered by German detectives means Brueckner was released from Sehende prison, near Hannover, after serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2005.
Although now free, Brueckner’s passport has been cancelled, say local media, and his release has been tied to strict conditions, including wearing an electronic tag and declaring a place of residence he cannot leave without permission.
However, the release is a major blow for authorities in Britain, Germany and Portugal, who had collaborated for a last-ditch attempt to find key evidence in a three-day search in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in June, which came to nothing.
Just days ago, the Metropolitan Police said Brueckner had refused an interview as part of their own investigation, which has cost £13.2m since 2011.
Gerry and Kate McCann, Madeleine’s parents, have so far not commented on Brueckner’s release. In May, on the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, the couple thanked their supporters for “never forgetting about Madeleine”.
What happened to Madeleine McCann and has she been found?
Madeleine was on holiday with her parents in the resort of Praia da Luz, in Portugal’s Algarve, when she went missing in 2007.
Staying at the Ocean Club, the then three-year-old was sleeping in an apartment with her two-year-old twin siblings while her parents were out for dinner with friends at the hotel’s tapas bar.
But when Kate went to check on them at 10pm, she discovered Madeleine was gone.
It sparked a huge police search of the area over the coming days, weeks and months that quickly became world news – before in July, the following year, Portuguese police announced it was to shelve its investigation with no trace of the toddler found.
That, however, has not stopped the hunt, with numerous appeals including computer-generated images of how Madeleine would look growing up.
Who is Christian Brueckner and why was he released?
The investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance appeared not to have made it far, until in 2020, when Brueckner emerged as a prime suspect.
Brueckner’s yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near the Praia da Luz resort when the girl went missing.
And at the time, he was said to be renting a run-down cottage in a valley just outside the resort.
But he has never been charged over Madeleine’s disappearance, and has always denied involvement.
Last October, a German court acquitted him of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Until Wednesday, he had been serving a seven-year jail sentence at the high-security prison in Sehnde for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005.
According to German media, Brueckner will be required to wear an electronic tag, report to probation staff, and surrender his passport under the conditions attached to his release.
On 27 October, he is due to attend a court hearing in Oldenburg in north-west Germany over an allegation he insulted a prison employee.
Will Christian Brueckner face questioning in the UK?
Just days ago, the Met Police issued an update on its investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine, ahead of Brueckner’s release.
The German national is also the prime suspect in the Met’s investigation, but Scotland Yard detectives have been left repeatedly frustrated by attempts to interview him.
In their update, the force said it had submitted a formal international request to question him, but he declined.
It appears detectives do not have the evidence for an international warrant for his arrest, and so are powerless in their appeals to speak to him.
What happens next in the Madeleine McCann case?
Investigations by British, German and Portuguese police over Madeleine’s disappearance remain open. Only in April did the Labour government provide the Met Police with a further £108,000 towards its inquiries.
However, the release of the prime suspect, despite the best efforts by the authorities, appears to be a major setback in the case.
Brueckner has been under suspicion for several years, but has never been charged.
In 2023, a ground search saw detectives comb areas around the Barragem do Arade reservoir, 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where Brueckner was known to have spent time.
Then, in June, a fresh search across three days of countryside and abandoned buildings between Praia da Luz and Lagos took place.
But like in previous searches, nothing to bring the case to court was found.
With no further evidence, it’s unlikely Brueckner, who reportedly has plans to leave Germany, will be charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.
The situation prolongs the pain for Gerry and Kate, who continue their appeal for information over their daughter’s disappearance.
“No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day,” the family from Leicestershire said in a statement in May.
