The prime suspect in the case of missing Madeleine McCann may have taken photos of the missing toddler and buried them in an underground hideaway, police believe.
Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner is alleged to have taken ‘trophies’ from his victims in the past.
In May, German Police embarked on a search of a manmade reservoir in the Algarve, near the town of Silves, that Brueckner frequented in the hope of finding clues that would bring them closer to finding Madeleine.
An unnamed source told The Sun: ‘[Authorities investigating] now know Christian B buried data carriers like hard drives and USB sticks at any of the places where he’s stayed so that was their real hope at the lake.’
‘They really thought they might find pictures there, but they are not giving up hope. They believe he made duplicates because he loved to keep them like trophies.’
Madeleine Beth McCann went missing from her bed while on holiday with her family on the evening of May 3 2007, aged three.
Police scoured the location near Silves that Brueckner reportedly called his ‘little paradise’ in May this year.
According to The Sun, experts believe the decision to contact Brueckner in 2013 about his whereabouts in 2007 may have given him time to destroy evidence.
But German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the case, later confirmed that a ‘number of items’ had been seized during the search.
It was the first major operation of its kind since June 2014 when British police were given permission to dig in Praia da Luz using sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.
Portuguese broadcaster SIC reported that German police sought permission to search the dam in an official judicial request to Portugal after concluding it was ‘an area of interest’.
The prompt for the search was not initially given.
According to the Spain-based Olive Press newspaper, Brueckner, 46, is now likely to appear next February at Braunschweig High Court for his involvement in multiple – separate -crimes.
The trial, expected to span over a month, could spell a lifetime behind bars for the German due to the severity of the charges against him.
Christian Brueckner was officially named as a suspect in April 2022 after his yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly spotted near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where Maddie vanished.
Brueckner has denied he was in the area at the time and distanced himself from the allegations against him.
But German prosecutors say phone logs show he received a call on May 3 2007 near the Ocean Club.
Brueckner maintains that he was miles away with a young woman.
He remains the sole significant suspect in the case since 2007.
Madeleine’s family kept the investigation open with private detectives until Scotland Yard opened its own enquiry in 2011.
Nine years later, police in Braunschweig, northern Germany, identified a convicted paedophile and German national as a new suspect.
In 2021, prosecutors said they were ‘100% sure’ that they had the right man.
German prosecutor Hans Wolters said evidence included phone analysis placing him at the Ocean Club resort the family was staying at when Madeleine went missing and an alleged confession Brueckner made to a friend.
In April, it was reported Christian Brueckner may not face charges in Germany over Madeleine’s disappearance after a court ruled prosecutors had no jurisdiction to pursue a case against him, however.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
