It is now 15 years to the day when British toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort that shocked the entire world.
Kate and Gerry McCann, both British doctors living in England, said in a statement to mark Tuesday's anniversary of their daughter's disappearance that "a truly horrific crime" was committed on May 3, 2007.
They said on the website created to help find Madeleine that "our need for answers, for the truth, is essential."
They thanked British, Portuguese and German police who continue to work on what happened when the 3-year-old disappeared from her bed in southern Portugal's Algarve region.
She was in the same room as her 2-year-old twin brother and sister while her parents had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.
Last month, Portuguese prosecutors formally accused the latest suspect in the investigation.
They didn't name the suspect, in line with Portuguese privacy laws, but said they were acting on a request by German authorities and in coordination with British investigators.
In mid-2020, Germany's police identified Christian Brueckner, a 45-year-old German citizen who was in the Algarve in 2007, as a suspect in the case. Brueckner has denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.
The Portuguese accusation prevents the statute of limitations expiring in the case. The expiry would have occurred 15 years after the alleged crime took place, but accusing a suspect halts that count.
"He absolutely matches the profile of a person who could potentially abduct and or kill a little girl like Madeleine McCann," Germany-based crime and intelligence analyst Mark Hofmann told "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant about Brueckner in 2021.
"His cellphone was tracked at the crime scene or at least next to the crime scene the night Maddie disappeared," Hofmann told Van Sant, who has covered the case since 2007.
"For the first time in 13 years, I have to say … I actually feel here is a credible suspect," Jim Gamble, the former head of the United Kingdom's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, told Van Sant last year.
hristian Brueckner has had a parole application rejected in Germany, according to a report.
The convicted sex offender was declared an official suspect by Portuguese authorities last month.
According to the Daily Mirror, Brueckner – who was sentenced to a seven-year term for rape in a separate case in 2019 – was denied parole in April due to his “social prognosis”.
A spokesperson for the Oldenburg District Court told the paper: “The court ruled there were no grounds for suspending the remainder of the sentence.”
Investigators believe the convicted sex offender killed Madeleine, then three, after abducting her from the holiday apartment.
Lead German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told the Mirror: “His request was rejected on the grounds that he could not be given a positive social prognosis.
“In other words, the court has said it believes that the convict will commit further offences if released.”
In July 2013, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell from the Metropolitan Police, who leads the operation, said: “Fifteen years on from Madeleine’s disappearance in Praia Da Luz our thoughts, as always, are with her family.
“Officers continue to investigate the case and our dedicated team are still working closely with law enforcement colleagues from the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria as well as the German Bundeskriminalamt.
“At this time, the case remains a missing person’s inquiry and all involved are committed to doing what we can to find answers.”
Madeleine's disappearance stirred worldwide interest, with public claims of having spotted her stretching as far away as Australia, and brought the publication of books and television documentaries about the case.
Rewards for finding Madeleine reached several million dollars.
The case involved sensational developments. In one dramatic twist, Madeleine's parents were briefly named as official suspects after police found traces of blood in their vacation rental car.
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