Christian Brueckner

When the McCann family went on a family holiday to Praia de Luz, Portugal in 2007, they never imagined the nightmare that would result. On the evening of May 3, their young daughter Madeleine, was taken from their apartment as they two youngest slept. Their parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were sitting just yards away having drinks with friends. The subsequent Portuguese investigation into the kidnapping would focus initially on the parents as suspects, before closing their initial inquiry in 2008. The McCann’s set-up their own investigation, and Scotland Yard launched Operation Grange to review the case. Several different suspects have been named as part of the murder inquiry, but no-one has been charged with Madeleine’s disappearance. Numerous theories have been put forward about what happened to the three-year-old child. 13 years after she vanished, a new prime suspect has been identified. German police announced in June 2020 that Christian B, a convicted child sex offender currently serving a prison sentence, was now suspected of kidnapping and murdering the young girl.