A suspect has formally been named in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a young British girl who disappeared almost 15 years ago while on vacation with her family in Portugal.
Portuguese prosecutors said there was an official suspect in the case in a statement on Thursday, according toReuters.
German authorities previously identified Christian Brueckner as a suspect in the case in mid-2020, per the outlet. Brueckner is currently in prison in Germany on rape and drug convictions.
Madeleine disappeared from her family’s vacation villa in the Algarve region of Portugal on May 3, 2007. She was 3 years old at the time of her disappearance.
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German authorities said in 2020 that Madeleine is believed to be dead and they were investigating Bruekner in connection with her death. “We are assuming that the girl is dead,” Hans Christian Wolters, from the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office, told theBBCpreviously.
Madeleine McCann.METROPOLITAN POLICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
At the time, McCann family spokesperson Clarence Mitchell explained that the little girl’s family remained hopeful, though, that they would still one day be reunited with her.
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“All they have ever wanted is to find their daughter. To establish the truth of what happened back in May 2007 and to bring whoever is responsible, whether that’s one person or more, to justice,” Mitchell said on BBC Radio.
“They have never given up hope of finding Madeleine alive, even now despite all these grim reports that are emerging, because they haven’t had anything to suggest the worst has happened,” he continued.
Added Mitchell: “They say they need peace. They need to find peace. And I think everybody can understand that.”
source: people.com
