A German man, still regarded as the primary suspect in the 2007 case of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, may be freed from prison this Wednesday, where he was serving time for an unrelated offense.

Christian Brückner, who was officially identified as a suspect in the vanishing of the British toddler by Portuguese investigators in 2022, has been in custody for a seven-year term for the 2005 assault on a 72-year-old woman in a separate incident, reports CBS News.

As the date of Brückner’s potential release approaches, officials have confirmed he continues to be a suspect in Madeleine’s case. He has also declined to meet with British detectives prior to his expected release from the German facility.

“We have maintained close collaboration with our colleagues in Germany and Portugal over several years to pursue Madeleine McCann’s case and to assist her family in uncovering the events of the night of May 3, 2007, in Praia da Luz,” stated Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, head of the investigation by the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service, in a statement provided to Oxygen.

Cranwell further mentioned the awareness of Brückner’s forthcoming release and noted their attempts to interview him were unsuccessful prior to his anticipated departure from incarceration.

Christian Brückner remains a suspect in Madeleine McCann case

“We can confirm that this individual remains a suspect in the Metropolitan Police’s own investigation,” Cranwell said. “We have requested an interview with this German suspect but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted. It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.”

Cranwell declined to provide further information about the case, citing the ongoing investigation.

Brückner was first named a possible person of interest in the case by German investigators in 2020. 

At the time, prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said he believed McCann was abused and then killed “relatively quickly” after she was abducted from her family’s Portugal rental apartment, although her body has never been found, according to the UK publication, The Times.

Two years later, Portuguese prosecutors officially named Brückner as an “arguido” or “named suspect” in the case.

Christian Brückner denies involvement in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance

Brückner has never been formally charged and continues to deny any involvement with the young girl’s disappearance. 

Authorities say that Brückner — who was convicted of past sexual offenses involving children — was living as a drifter and petty criminal at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

He was known to spend time in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 and is set to be released after serving a seven-year stint in prison for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in 2005 in Praia da Luz.

Wolters told the BBC last month that Brückner remains “the only suspect” in Madeleine’s case. 

“We have evidence which speaks against [Brückner], which indicates that he is responsible for the disappearance and the death of Madeleine McCann,” he said. 

According to Wolters, the challenge is having enough evidence to file charges against the suspect.

“We haven’t found anything in the last five years that exonerates [Brückner],” Wolters told the BBC. “We found evidence that strengthens our case. But in our view, it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely, and that’s why so far we couldn’t charge him or apply for an arrest warrant.”