Fresh hope for McCann family after 13-year ordeal as second investigation launched
Authorities have launched a second investigation into whether the suspect was involved in the disappearance another child dubbed “German Maddie”.
On May 3 2020, shortly before what would have been Madeleine McCann’s 17th birthday, her parents Kate and Gerry penned a note to mark the 13th anniversary of her disappearance amid the coronavirus lockdown.
“We have been fortunate to spend more time together as a family since lockdown began, an enforced block to a usually frenetic life, a silver lining to this dark cloud,” they wrote.
“It has made us think about Madeleine even more, as she would have shared this period of special closeness with us too.”
The former doctors from England’s Leicestershire reminded their supporters the investigation into their missing daughter “remains open”.
“We remain grateful for the ongoing efforts and commitment from all those involved in the search to find her and we hope and pray, as always, that our efforts will be fruitful.”
It’s almost impossible to imagine what would have flashed through the McCanns’ mind this week as news exploded that police in Germany, Portugal and the UK had a new and chilling suspect in their daughter’s disappearance.
A 43-year-old paedophile and career criminal known from Germany named as Christian B was wanted on suspicion of murder by German prosecutors, who assume Madeleine is dead. Scotland Yard’s investigators say there is no “definitive evidence” either way.
Reports of a fresh lead in one of the world’s most high-profile missing person cases exploded around the world and led to another heartfelt but typically understated note from the McCanns.
“All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice,” the couple said of their 13-year search.
“We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.”
POLICE UNDER PRESSURE AS SUSPECT LINKED TO ‘GERMAN MADDIE’
Police are now under pressure to explain whether the chance to arrest a career criminal and sex offender known to be operating in the Praia da Luz area at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance had been squandered.
In 2007 after Madeleine disappeared, Portuguese police were criticised for failing to secure key forensic evidence and closing the case after 14 months.
Media reports claim a German paedophile was investigated but dismissed in 2008 and Scotland Yard has said Christian B was one of the 600 names initially considered.
Instead, Portuguese police formally labelled the McCanns as suspects and ex-lead detective Goncalo Amaral wrote a book implicating them in the crime and accusing them of hiding her body.
In July 2008, Portuguese authorities declared Gerry and Kate McCann were no longer suspects.
The McCanns have always maintained they had nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance, and in May 2009 they released a statement announcing plans to launch legal action for defamation over comments made in the media by Mr Amaral, which they described as “entirely unfounded and grossly defamatory”.
Now, German prosecutors have said they suspect Christian B may have opportunistily snatched Maddie while committing a burglary. They’ve even launched a second investigation into whether the suspect was involved in the disappearance of Inga Gehricke, 5, who was snatched on a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt in May 2015 – less than 100 km from where he was living at the time.
Her mother’s lawyer Petra Kullemi, told local media she wants further investigation.
‘The file was closed again only four weeks after starting work. I think that’s not very ambitious,” she told Volksstimme.
CAREER CRIMINAL OF PRAIA DE LUZ
A flood of disturbing revelations have emerged about Christian B since he was named as a suspect this week.
He was first convicted as a 17-year-old in 1994 of sexually abusing a child, attempted sexual abuse of a child and carrying out sexual acts in front of a child in his homeland of Germany.
The next year he fled for Portugal with his girlfriend to avoid his youth custody sentence and ditched his mechanic apprenticeship, travelling to Lagos on Portugal’s Algarve coast because “we liked the name.”
The couple initially camped out in the wild but when the relationship broke down, Christian B stayed in the area until 2007 where he made a life doing odd jobs, dealing drugs and committing burglaries in hotels and holiday villas. He had short flings, including with a British woman between 2004 and 2005.
In May 2007 when Madeleine disappeared, UK police believe he was using a distinctive VW TT3 Westfalia campervan which he may have been living in at the time.
They are also looking for information on a 1993 British Jaguar XJR 6, with a German number plate that was originally registered in Germany in Christian B’s name – but was re-registered to someone else in Germany on 4 May 2007 – the day after Madeleine disappeared.
Police are hunting the person Christian B spoke to on the phone for 30 minutes, from 7:32pm to 8:02pm on the night Maddie disappeared in a call that was made by a number from outside the local area.
That same night, around 30 minutes after Christian B ended his mystery phone call, Kate and Gerry McCann left their children – Madeleine and her twin siblings – asleep in their ground floor apartment and went to dinner at a tapas bar nearby.
The parents took it in turns to check on the children but when Kate McCann went at 10pm, she found Madeleine was gone.
In the years since, Christian B has been convicted of abusing another child and possession of child pornography in 2016.
Now 43, he is currently in jail after being convicted of dealing drugs in October 2018.
The fresh details have led to more than 270 calls in 24 hours to UK police and claims a blond man had been seen in the area at least four times around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
“These sightings have been a mystery for years and have been the subject of numerous police appeals,” a police source told The Sun.
“With a suspect now in custody it seems like they may have finally been solved.”
German media outlet Spiegel also reported investigative documents show in September 2013 the suspect fantasised online about the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a child.
He is said to have written online to a friend that he wanted to “capture something small and use it for days.” When told that would be dangerous, he replied: “Oh, if the evidence is destroyed afterwards.”
Christian B is reported to have come to police attention after allegedly confessing to Madeleine’s abduction in a bar to a friend on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
The details given by Germany prosecutors this week have raised the family’s hopes the mystery may finally be solved.
In Praia da Luz, locals even dared to hope the mystery of what happened in one of the world’s most famous missing person’s cases may have been solved.
“It’s been so long to actually find someone that might be responsible for what happened so long ago,” said 20-year-old Daniel Westcottoy, who was at a nearby school when Madeleine disappeared.
“It’s pretty shocking actually, but I think everybody wants to know what happened.”
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