19 Years On, Suspect In Missing UK Toddler Case Denies Wrongdoing: "Was 150 Yards Away"

Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has claimed that he was standing just '150 yards' from her holiday apartment on the night she disappeared. The 49-year-old convicted sex offender told the Daily Mail that he was on a beach close to the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz selling 'illegal drugs' when the three-year-old British child disappeared on May 3, 2007. During the interview, he spoke about his exact location that evening for the first time, revealing what he was doing.

Brueckner claimed he had smuggled cannabis from Spain into Portugal and was dealing on the local beach. He admitted that as police swarmed the resort following Madeleine's disappearance, officers pulled him over three separate times.

"I was even stopped by police three times on the street while they were looking for Maddie," Brueckner said, describing his escape.

"Luckily, they didn't find the drugs. My van was full of them. There were flashing blue lights and checkpoints everywhere, and I just thought, 'Get me out of here.'"

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What happened the night Madeleine McCann disappeared?

Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she vanished from her family's ground-floor holiday apartment at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal. The case remains a mystery, involving police and authorities from different countries.

On the night of May 3rd, Kate and Gerry McCann put Madeleine and her two-year-old twin siblings to bed in their apartment (5A), and left to dine with a group of friends.

As per reports, they confirmed to police that they lowered the window shutters and left the front door unlocked so they could easily check on the children throughout the evening.

The restaurant was roughly 180 feet (55 meters) away from the apartment, and the group were taking turns to check on their children every 30 to 40 minutes.

Gerry did the first check. All three children were sleeping in the room, but he noticed the bedroom door was slightly ajar. He pulled it and returned to dinner.

After Gerry, a friend went to check on her own family, but she later reported seeing a man walking away from the area carrying a small child in pyjamas. However, it was found that the individual was likely another holidaymaker carrying his own child.

A friend then went to check the apartment block, but only checked the door from the outside. As per the report, they did not enter apartment 5A.

When Kate McCann came for the next check, she was shocked to notice that Madeleine was missing from her bed, and only her two siblings were there in their cots, sleeping. She also reported that the bedroom door was wide open, the window shutter was raised, and the window was open.

She informed the staff, and police were also called, but the efforts went in vain as they couldn't find her or determine the exact circumstances of her abduction.

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Christian Brueckner's alleged involvement

Brueckner, who has consistently denied any involvement in the case, claimed he kept quiet about his location for nearly two decades because he feared authorities would attempt to frame him.

German police officially identified Brueckner as their main suspect in 2020, pointing to phone records that placed a mobile registered in his name near the McCanns' apartment around the time of her disappearance.

However, prosecutors have yet to file formal charges regarding Madeleine's case due to a lack of sufficient direct evidence.