German man identified as suspect in Madeleine McCann case

German police identify the main suspect in the most dramatic development of the 13-year case.

A German pedophile with convictions for sexual assaults against young girls has been identified by German police as the main suspect in the mystery disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the British three-year-old who has been missing for 13 years.

In the most dramatic development of the long-running case, German police believe Madeleine, who disappeared on May 3, 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, is dead and they have launched a murder investigation. However Scotland Yard is still maintaining the case is a missing person’s investigation.

On Wednesday night Scotland Yard and the German authorities made a joint public appeal in Germany for any other victims of the German man and any associates of his to come forward.

The suspect’s name has not been released, as that contravenes German laws, but he has two previous convictions for sexual assaults against young girls and drug offences. German police have also revealed he was breaking into hotels and holiday homes in Portugal during an itinerant lifestyle while living out of a camper van in Portugal from 1995 to 2007.

An undated handout photograph released by the Metropolitan Police shows VW T3 Westfalia campervan, used in and around Praia da Luz, Portugal, by a new suspect in the case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann.

The search for Madeleine has continued since she vanished from a holiday apartment where she was sleeping with her younger twin siblings while her parents Kate and Gerry McCann dined with other friends at a nearby tapas restaurant in May 2007.

In a statement the McCanns said all they wanted to do was “uncover the truth”.

“We welcome the appeal today regarding the disappearance of our daughter, Madeleine,” they said.

“We would like to thank the police forces involved for their continued efforts in the search for Madeleine.

“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.”

Scotland Yard said detectives have been working with German authorities for the past three years after new information came to light during an appeal to mark 10 years of Madeleine’s disappearance.

In a statement Scotland Yard said: “This man is white and in 2007 is believed to have had short blond hair, possibly fair. He was about 6ft in height with a slim build. He is 43-years-old, but in 2007 may have looked between 25 to early 30s.

“We have established that he lived on and off in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007. He is connected to the area of Praia da Luz and surrounding regions, and spent some short spells in Germany.

“This individual, who we will not identify, is currently in prison in Germany for an unrelated matter.”

Police have established he received a 30-minute phone call in Praia da Luz, the resort where the McCanns were holidaying, just an hour before Madeleine disappeared. The phone call was received at 7.32pm and ended at 8.02pm and police have urged the caller to come forward.

The day after Madeleine went missing, the man re-registered another vehicle he owned, a 1993 Jaguar XJR6, into another person’s name in Germany, even though the car remained in Portugal.

An undated handout photograph released by the Metropolitan Police shows a 1993 British Jaguar, model XJR 6, believed to have been used in and around Praia da Luz, Portugal, by a new suspect in the case of missing British girl Madeleine McCann.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, who heads Operation Grange, the probe into Madeleine’s disappearance, said: “It’s more than 13 years since Madeleine went missing and 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.

“The Met conducted a number of inquiries and in November 2017 engaged with the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) who agreed to work with the Met.

“Since then a huge amount of work has taken place by both the Met, the BKA and the Polícia Judiciária.

“While this male is a suspect we retain an open mind as to his involvement and this remains a missing person inquiry.

“Our job as detectives is to follow the evidence, maintain an open mind and establish what happened on that day in May 2007.”

The BKA said: “There is reason to assume that there are other persons, apart from the suspect, who have concrete knowledge of the course of the crime and maybe also of the place where the body was left.

Kate and Gerry McCann in 2011.

“We explicitly ask these persons to contact us and provide information.”

Madeleine’s disappearance has made headlines around the world and the British government has continued to fund investigations because of the high public interest in the case.

A friend of the McCanns reported seeing a man carrying a child during the night the day after Madeleine went missing. But by September of 2007 Gerry and Kate McCann were made formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance, as was a local property developer. All three were cleared nearly a year later.

Kate McCann wrote a book which was released on the fourth anniversary of the disappearance. In 2013 and 2014 British police conducted a detailed review of the case including extensive searches in Portugal and 38 people were identified as “persons of interest”.

But by late 2015 the case had stalled and the number of police officers involved in the Taskforce was reduced to just four. However government funding continued as the new leads, particularly the German link, emerged.