A man long considered the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann is scheduled for imminent release from a German prison, prompting a former criminal associate to issue a stark public warning.
Christian Brueckner is due to be freed this week after completing a seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly woman in Portugal, a crime that occurred in the same region from which three-year-old Madeleine vanished. While German prosecutors formally identified him as a suspect in the McCann investigation five years ago, he has never faced charges related to the case.
In a recent televised interview, Helge Busching, who describes himself as a former business partner of Brueckner’s in Portugal, stated he is “100 percent sure” of the convict’s involvement. Busching, who claims to have reformed and is now cooperating with authorities, portrayed Brueckner as a continuing danger.
“He is a dangerous man. A really dangerous man,” Busching asserted from an undisclosed location in Europe. He detailed a past criminal partnership involving theft and drug dealing, but stressed they were not friends.
The most chilling revelation from Busching concerns a conversation at a Spanish festival in 2008, a year after Madeleine went missing. After Busching remarked he could not understand how someone could take a child from a hotel, he alleges Brueckner replied, “She was not screaming.”
“How do you know this?” Busching recalled thinking, interpreting the statement as implicit knowledge of the crime. “He took Maddie from this hotel. He is involved, sure,” Busching concluded.
German police have previously stated they believe Madeleine McCann is dead and that Brueckner is responsible. The suspect has consistently denied any involvement.
With Brueckner’s release pending, Busching’s account has intensified scrutiny on the long-stalled investigation, highlighting the unresolved nature of one of Europe’s most famous missing persons cases as a key person of interest prepares to re-enter society.
