Madeleine McCann suspect named by German media as prosecutors say child is ‘assumed dead’

The suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been named by German media. Prosecutors say the child is likely dead.

The suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been named on suspicion of murder as prosecutors say the child is assumed dead.

The 43-year-old German has been named as Christian B — who was jailed last year for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal’s Praia da Luz — shortly before Maddie was snatched from a holiday home 13 years ago.

He had allegedly told a friend about Maddie’s abduction over a drink on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance, and then shown the person a video of a rape which led to the person tipping off police.

On Thursday, German prosecutors said Madeleine McCann is assumed to be dead and they were investigating the suspect on suspicion of murder.

A house the suspect is believed to have used. Picture: STR / BKA / AFP

The man named as Christian B

Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office, told journalists “we are assuming that the girl is dead”.

“In connection with the disappearance of the three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann on May 3 2007 from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, the Braunschweig prosecution is investigating against a 43-year-old German on suspicion of murder.”

“With the suspect, we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he’s already serving a long sentence.”

German tabloid Bild reported the suspect is named as Christian B – as is the style in the German police system – and he is in custody for the rape of a US woman in 2005. His full name has been reported in British press.

He also has criminal records for the distribution of child pornography, sexual abuse of children, and violations of the Narcotics Act, according to German media.

Mr Wolters said the suspect was living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 where prosecutors allege he funded his lifestyle by theft and drug dealing.

“The Braunschweig prosecution is now concerned because before going abroad he last had his residence in Braunschweig,” he said.

A picture from the German Federal Criminal Police Office shows a house in the region around the Praia da Luz resort and Lagos in the Algarve, Portugal, that was used by a German man suspected in the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in 2007. Picture: STR / BKA / AFP

Inside the home Christian B is said to have used. Picture: STR / BKA / AFP.

The fresh lead comes 13 years after the three-year-old British girl disappeared while on holiday in Portugal with her family around the Praia da Luz resort area on the Algarve coast in May 2007.

Though numerous suspects have come to light in the case previously, family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said that it seems as if there is something different this time.

“In more than 13 years of working with the family I can’t recall the police being so specific about an individual,” Mitchell told Sky News.

“Of all the thousands of leads and potential suspects that have been mentioned in the past, there has never been something as clear cut as that from not just one, but three, police forces,” he told BBC Breakfast.

The long-running case of Madeleine McCann, who vanished shortly before her fourth birthday, has mesmerised Britain for more than a decade.

Her parents say Madeleine disappeared after they had left her and her twin siblings asleep in their holiday complex while they had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

More than 600 people had been identified as being potentially significant, but officers were tipped off about the German suspect following a 2017 appeal, 10 years after the girl went missing.

Police said the suspect, described as white with short, blond hair and a slim build, was linked to a camper van seen in the Algarve in 2007 and was believed to be in the resort area in the days before and after May 3 that year.

Madeleine McCann is assumed dead by German prosecutors. Picture: AFP.

The inside of the home rented by a German man near the Praia da Luz resort. Picture: STR / BKA / AFP

Gerry and Kate McCann have never stopped looking for their daughter. Picture: FRANCISCO LEONG / AFP

Christian Hoppe of Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office told German public broadcaster ZDF that the suspect, a German citizen, is currently imprisoned in Germany for a sexual crime.

He spent numerous years in Portugal and has two previous convictions for “sexual contact with girls.” Hoppe said German police aren’t ruling out a sexual motive. They said whoever abducted the girl may have broken into the holiday apartment and then spontaneously committed the kidnapping.

The suspect is being investigated on suspicion of murder by prosecutors in the German city of Braunschweig, where he was last registered before moving abroad.

Police from Britain, Germany and Portugal launched a new joint appeal for information in the case Wednesday.

They asked for anyone to come forward if they had seen two vehicles linked to the suspect – a Volkswagen camper van and a Jaguar. They also sought information on two Portuguese phone numbers, including one believed to have been used by the suspect on the day of Madeleine’s disappearance.

The family, as ever, is searching for answers.

“They do remain hopeful that she could still be found alive,” Mitchell said. “They’ve never given up on that hope, nor will they, until they are presented with any incontrovertible evidence to the contrary. But they say that despite all that, whatever the outcome of this particular line of inquiry might be, they need to know as they need to find peace.”

Kate and Gerry McCann in 2011. Picture: Dominic Lipinski / POOL / AFP.

The UK Met Police’s Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, who leads Operation Grange into Madeline's disappearance said “none of us can imagine what it must be like for her family, not knowing what happened or where she is.”

“Following the ten- year anniversary, the Met received information about a German man who was known to have been in and around Praia da Luz. We have been working with colleagues in Germany and Portugal and this man is a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.”

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: “Madeleine’s disappearance has attracted huge international interest. We are appealing for the public to help us establish what happened.

“We are committed to do everything we can to establish what happened and to find Madeleine.”

Madeline’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann said they welcome the appeal and thanked police for their continued efforts into the case.

“All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice. 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.

– With wires