The parents of a British toddler who went missing nearly 15 years ago welcomed news this week that authorities in Portugal have formally announced a suspect in their daughter’s disappearance.
Kate and Gerry McCann said the news reflected progress in the case of their missing 3-year-old daughter, Madeleine, who disappeared in the Algarve region of Portugal in May 2007 while the family was on vacation.
“We welcome the news that the Portuguese authorities have declared a German man an ‘arguido’ in relation to the disappearance of our beloved daughter Madeleine,” the McCanns posted on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page this week.
Prosecutors in Faro, Algarve’s main city, made Christian Brueckner an “arguido” on Thursday but did not formally reveal his name, according to the BBC.
“It is important to note the ‘arguido’ has not yet been charged with any specific crime related to Madeleine’s disappearance,” the McCanns said. “Even though the possibility may be slim, we have not given up hope that Madeleine is still alive and we will be reunited with her.”
German police first announced they were investigating Brueckner in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020. He is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany on drug-related charges. He was also given a seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman near the same resort at Praia da Luz where McCann went missing.
Portuguese prosecutors traveled to Germany this week to grill Brueckner about McCann’s disappearance. He refused to answer any of the questions, according to a report.