'Moment Maddie McCann investigators hoped would never happen - nightmare scenario'

It was the moment Madeleine McCann investigators hoped would never happen - their nightmare scenario.

When they named Christian Brueckner as their prime suspect in 2020, he was just 12 months into a seven-year rape sentence. They had already spent years investigating the convicted paedophile, and it was assumed charges would follow. But fast-forward five years and the man they suspect of abducting and killing Madeleine is a free man, having served his time.

The sight of Brueckner leaving Sehnde prison is the ultimate humiliation for German prosecutors. They have so-far failed to prove the 48-year-old had any involvement in the British youngster’s disappearance.

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Their case increasingly appears to be in disarray. The fact they have allowed their only suspect to walk free shows how far they still are from charging him.

I have covered the Madeleine case for over 18 years and have grown used to false dawns and leads that come to nothing. Back in 2020 it genuinely felt like the authorities had finally ‘got their man’ when Brueckner was named for the first time.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told me he was “100% convinced” the imprisoned German had killed Madeleine. I would never have dreamed I would be watching him walk free years later.

I was reminded of the words of forensic psychiatrist Christian Riedemann, who said Brueckner remains “extremely dangerous”. He told a court last year that he is in the “absolute top league of dangerousness” and very likely to reoffend.

Even that warning could not prevent Brueckner leaving prison today. It is hard to imagine what is going through the minds of Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry.

How must they be feeling, watching the man suspected of abducting their daughter walk free? German prosecutors insist their investigation is continuing.

I pray they are able to give the McCanns some answers soon.