Christian Brüeckner, the German authorities' main suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Maddie McCann, could be released from prison in September after an anonymous donor paid a previous fine that he owed.
48 year old Brüeckner, who is currently serving a 7 year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72 year old American woman in the Algarve in 2005, is due to be released on September 17th this year.
The German Bild newspaper has reported that he had a fine of €1,446 euros outstanding from a conviction in 2015 and, if he failed to pay, he would face an additional 56 days in prison. According to the newspaper an anonymous donor paid the fine, which will allow him to be released from prison in September.
According to several media outlets, authorities hoped that extending the prison sentence would give investigators more time to file new charges in the McCann case.
Brüeckner's lawyer, Friedrich Fülscher, told Bild that he believes that, after his release, the German will live on the island of Sylt, in northern Germany, where he had previously received a 21-month sentence for drug trafficking.
However, prosecutors fear that Brüeckner will flee Germany, meaning it will be extremely difficult to bring him to trial if they find enough evidence to charge him with involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.
At the beginning of the month, searches were carried out in the Atalaia area, in Lagos, in the Algarve, requested by the German authorities, as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Maddie McCann in 2007.
Around 30 inspectors from the Judicial Police and the same number of members of the German police searched ruined buildings, cisterns and abandoned wells in dozens of properties in the area between Praia do Porto de Mós and the town of Luz, in places where Christian Brüeckner is believed to have passed.
Georadars, equipment that allows the identification of changes in the soil, brush cutters and bush cutters were used in the work to clear parts of the land, and several objects were collected to be analysed by the German police.
Madeleine McCann disappeared from the apartment where she was sleeping with her two-year-old twin brothers in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, while her parents were having dinner with friends in the village, just a few metres away.
In 2020, German police named Christian Brüeckner as the prime suspect in the child's kidnapping and murder, but no charges have been filed.
The German denies any involvement in the child's disappearance.
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/
