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Madeleine McCann: German investigators have found ‘new evidence’ in disappearance case

Madeleine McCann: German investigators have found 'new evidence' in disappearance case

German prosecutors say they have found new evidence against a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A spokesperson for the Brunswick public prosecutor’s office has told Portuguese television that the investigation is moving forward.

“We have found some new facts, some new evidence – not forensic evidence — but evidence,” Hans Christian Wolters said in an interview with CMTV on Tuesday.

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from an apartment in the seaside resort of Praia da Luz in 2007 while on holiday with her British family.

She had been in the same room as her two-year-old twin siblings as her parents dined with friends at a nearby restaurant.

The case has generated international headlines and prompted multiple investigations in Germany, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

Last month, the Portuguese public prosecutor’s office announced that it was examining a suspect in Germany as part of the investigation.

The suspect has been identified in Germany as “Christian B.”, a 45-year-old man who had lived in southern Portugal for several years and is already serving a prison sentence for the rape of an American woman in 2005.

German investigators had identified him as the main suspect in the murder of Madeleine McCann in 2020. He has denied any involvement.

“We are convinced that he is Madeleine McCann’s killer,” Wolters told CMTV, without giving further details.

According to German authorities, phone records place “Christian B.” near the hotel complex where Madeleine disappeared on the evening of 3 May 2007.

“We are still looking into who called him on the phone,” Wolters said, adding that the suspect “has no alibi”.

Fifteen years on from their daughter’s disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann thanked authorities for continuing the investigation to find answers.

In a statement on their website, they described Madeleine’s disappearance as a “truly horrific crime”.

Madeleine’s parents were initially declared suspects in their daughter’s disappearance in 2007 but were formally cleared in 2008.

The Portuguese accusation against “Christian B” last month prevented a 15-year statute of limitations from expiring in the case.

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