The new prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case is reportedly linked to another missing child case
A 43-year-old man currently in a German prison was revealed this week as a suspect in the McCann disappearance. McCann was three years old when she went missing from Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007, sparking an investigation which has gripped the world ever since. German authorities believe McCann is dead, but British police are still treating the investigation as a missing persons case.
The suspect's name is reportedly Christian Brueckner, but he is only being named in Germany as Christian B due to privacy laws.
Over the last two days, new details have emerged about the man who lived in the Portugese area between 1995 and 2007, had vehicles seen nearby on the night of McCann's disappearance, and had a history of breaking into hotels and committing criminal offences to supplement his lifestyle.
He's reported to currently being in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005 and has previous convictions for sexual contact with girls.
According to German media outlet Der Spiegel, Brueckner was connected to the investigation into the disappearance of five-year-old girl Inga Gehricke. The child went missing in a forest in Saxony-Anhalt in 2015 and police later searched a dilapidated factory facility Brueckner owned about 90km away for information.
Der Spiegel reports that child porn was found as well as girls' clothing, even though the man had no family. Authorities also believed the man knew someone at a facility the girl had recently visited.
Despite this The Guardian reports it appears the man wasn't investigated further. The Associated Press says local prosecutors are again looking into whether there is a link between the suspect and the 2015 disappearance.
