The man identified as a suspect in the 2007 disappearance and presumed death of the young child Madeleine McCann was freed from a German prison on Tuesday. He had completed a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman.
Christian Brueckner was released on Tuesday morning. He was escorted out of the prison by police and driven away by his attorney, according to prison spokesperson Marcell Farbowski, as reported by Reuters.
The British toddler vanished from a resort in Portugal’s Algarve region while her family was vacationing as noted by CrimeOnline. Despite numerous searches in several areas, her body has never been located, and no charges have ever been made. In 2020, German prosecutors named 49-year-old Brueckner as a suspect.
German authorities reportedly examined an abandoned factory owned by Christian Brueckner and uncovered masks, chemicals, firearms, and children’s clothing and toys. Police also purportedly found a hard drive with images suggesting McCann is deceased, according to British tabloids, but charges have yet to be filed.
Per Der Spiegel, Brueckner’s release includes stringent conditions, such as the revocation of his passport and what amounts to house arrest with electronic monitoring, as stated by Reuters.
