A suspected of kidnapping Madeleine McCann could be released before police complete their investigation, the man in charge of the case has admitted, reports The Mirror.
Hans Christian Wolters spoke three years after publicly naming imprisoned German hustler Christian Brückner as the prime suspect in the disappearance of a British child.
Brückner is serving a seven-year sentence for raping a pensioner in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2005.
And Mr. Wolters’ team tried to gather enough evidence to charge him with Madeleine’s disappearance at the same facility 18 months later. However, he acknowledged that the investigation could continue beyond 2026 if Brueckner was to be released.
The revelations will bring new grief to Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, who have been hoping for a response from German authorities for three years, reports The Mirror.
Mr Wolters said: “The investigation into the Maddie case will take as long as is necessary. If necessary, beyond a possible release of the accused,” reports The Mirror.
In June 2020, German prosecutors said they had “strong” evidence against Brückner and that the investigation was “90 percent” there. He also controversially claimed that Madeleine was dead – before later admitting he had no proof.
Mr Wolters spoke as German forensic scientists prepare to analyze items found during a three-day search in a reservoir 30 miles from Praia da Luz, which Brückner, 46, once called his “little paradise”.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from her home on May 3, 2007, while on a family holiday, just days before her fourth birthday, reports The Mirror.
Brueckner was reportedly at the facility on the night of her disappearance, according to phone records.
Mr Wolters’ team has yet to question Brueckner, who has been convicted of crimes including child molestation and was questioned by German police as a witness in the case in 2013.
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