The prime suspect in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007 has been released from prison in Germany.
German national Christian Brueckner had been serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005.
British police said the 49-year-old remains a suspect in their own inquiry – with Portuguese and German authorities also investigating he three-year-old girl’s disappearance.
Madeleine vanished in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, shortly after she was left sleeping by her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Brueckner left the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover just after 9.15am German time, on Wednesday, German police said.
Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Police said it had sent an international letter of request to Brueckner for him to speak with them upon his release, which he later rejected. He has previously denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
A number of searches have been carried out by German, Portuguese and British authorities since Madeleine’s disappearance – with the latest taking place near the Portuguese municipality of Lagos in June.
In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 50km from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. – PA