German pedophile Christian Brueckner is the suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance but denies any wrongdoing in a letter written from his prison cell

Portuguese authorities officially declared him a suspect this week, just less than a month before the 15th year since Madeleine McCann’s abduction.

Brueckner was first named as a suspect by German police in mid-2020, after mobile phone records placed him in the same area the night Madeleine disappeared.

The prime suspect is currently in a high-security prison in northwest Germany serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2005.

Ticker News spoke with case researcher Isabelle McFadden for more

McFadden says that Brueckner “shockingly” responded to her and a colleague about the recent claims in Madeleine McCann’s case.

McFadden suspects the Portuguese police named Brueckner as a suspect so that the investigation can continue, despite no new breakthrough findings.

She adds that she has “doubts” about the parents and that the McCann family should not be ruled out as potential suspects due to some very “damaging accusations” available against them.

Madeleine went missing on May 3, 2007, from a Portugal holiday apartment she was staying at with her family, just a few days before her fourth birthday.

Her parents Kate and Gerry were having dinner at a nearby restaurant, situated on the resort.

In 2007, the parents were made “arguidos” or “named suspects”, yet when the Portuguese police’s investigation was archived in 2008, their status was lifted.

This year will mark the 15th anniversary of then three-year-old Madeleine’s disappearance from the Praia da Luz holiday resort in the Algarve, Portugal.

However, Brueckner remains the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance and police investigations are continuing.

Ticker News: Danaya Malenda contributed to this report.