Investigators on the Madeleine McCann case have reportedly been handed key police files relating to prime suspect Christian Brueckner, Wonderwall.com can report, nearly two decades after the British toddler vanished while on vacation with her family in Portugal.
According to The Sun, German authorities recently provided Operation Grange detectives in the U.K. with a dossier tied to Brueckner as investigators continue to coordinate efforts across Britain, Germany and Portugal.
‘These developments are huge’
Operation Grange, launched in 2011, is the Metropolitan Police’s long-running investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance. British officers continue to work alongside Portuguese and German authorities.
“These developments are huge. It shows the Met’s interest in Brueckner is real,” a source told The Sun. “They are after him — like the Germans.”
The newspaper reported that the dossier handover is being viewed as a sign of closer cooperation between British and German investigators as authorities continue to pursue leads in the case. The Met said it remains in close contact with authorities in Germany and Portugal and will continue pursuing “any viable lines of enquiry.”
Brueckner, 49, was released from prison in September 2025 after serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 assault of an American woman in Portugal.
German police reportedly have him under 24-hour surveillance and are protecting him from potential public threats.
Madeleine’s mysterious disappearance
Madeleine was 3 years old when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. At the time, her parents, British doctors Gerry and Kate McCann, were looked at as suspects before they were later cleared.
Several theories have been floated about what happened to Madeleine after she vanished from her family’s vacation apartment while her parents dined nearby.
Helge Busching, a former associate of Brueckner’s, claimed Brueckner likely attempted to rob the McCanns’ apartment when he encountered the little girl.
“He can say, ‘I am innocent.’ I know what he was doing, I saw it with my proper eyes. I know he’s a dangerous man,” Busching has said of Brueckner, who lived near the Portuguese resort where the McCanns were staying at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.
Disturbing items found on Brueckner’s property
Meanwhile, German investigators have long maintained that evidence recovered during their investigation strengthened their belief that Madeleine is dead, though prosecutors have not publicly produced forensic evidence linking Brueckner to her disappearance.
According to The Sun, one of the most significant pieces of evidence is a hard drive recovered during a search of Brueckner’s property. The newspaper previously reported that the device contained image files from Portugal dating to the period when Madeleine vanished in 2007.
The hard drive was discovered during a 2016 search of Brueckner’s former property. Previous reports have also alleged that investigators found disturbing messages, online chats and other material connected to children.
A Skype chat in which Brueckner allegedly wrote that he wanted to “capture something small and use it for days” was also found, as were 75 swimsuits for adolescent girls and photographs allegedly depicting child abuse.
German prosecutors continue to publicly identify Brueckner as the prime suspect in the case, though he has repeatedly denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Gerry and Kate McCann: ‘The search goes on to find her’
In May, Madeleine’s parents declared their commitment to solving the mystery of what happened to their daughter.
“The search goes on to find her, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer,” the McCanns said in a statement.
“We remain very grateful for all our support — from friends and family, people we know and those we don’t — and from the police and authorities for their continued determination and effort. Thank you.
“For Madeleine, who we love and miss every day, we will never give up.”
Gerry and Kate, along with their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, recently attended a prayer vigil marking the day of Madeleine’s disappearance.