Scotland Yard has revealed there is a new prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007.
A German sex offender, named today as Christian B, may have kidnapped Madeleine after breaking into her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal, police have revealed.
The Met and counterparts in Germany have appealed for information about the man and his movements as they seek to finally solve the 13-year mystery.
Madeleine disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on the evening of May 3, 2007 when she was three-years-old.
The suspect, 43, is described as white with short blond hair, possibly fair, and about 6ft tall with a slim build at the time she vanished on May 3 2007.
Here's everything we know so far:
- He is a German national, aged 43, currently in prison in Germany for an unrelated matter.
- At the time Madeleine vanished on May 3 2007 he was 30 years old and may have looked between 25 to early 30s.
- He is known to have frequented the Praia da Luz area between 1995 and 2007, with some short spells in Germany.
- The suspect is described as having a "transient lifestyle", living in his camper van for days at a time.
- An appeal on German Crimewatch-style programme XY said he is thought to have worked odd jobs, including as a waiter, but also committed burglaries in hotels and holiday resorts and dealt drugs.
- It said also said he was linked to two houses in Portugal - one between Praia da Luz and Lagos, and a second inland.
- At the time of Madeleine's disappearance, he had access to a distinctive VW T3 Westfalia camper van, from at least April 2007 until sometime after May 2007, which was used in and around the area of Praia da Luz.
- It is an early 1980s model, with two tone markings, a white upper body and a yellow skirting, with a Portuguese registration plate.
- Detectives believe he was living in the van for days, possibly weeks, and may have been using it on May 3 2007.
- The suspect has also been linked to a 1993 British Jaguar, model XJR 6, with a German number plate and registered in Germany, which is believed to have been in the Praia da Luz and surrounding areas in 2006 and 2007.
- The car was originally registered in the suspect's name but was re-registered to someone else in Germany the day after Madeleine's disappearance, although the vehicle is believed to have still been in Portugal.
- The suspect is believed to have been using a Portuguese mobile phone, number +351 912 730 680, on the day Madeleine went missing.
- The phone received a call, starting at 7.32pm and finishing at 8.02pm on May 3 2007 in the area of Praia da Luz from a second mobile number (+351 916 510 683) from a person not in the area.
- The suspect is believed to have been using a Portuguese mobile phone, number +351 912 730 680, on the day Madeleine went missing. The phone received a call, starting at 7.32pm and finishing at 8.02pm on May 3 2007 in the area of Praia da Luz from a second mobile number (+351 916 510 683) from a person not in the area.
What have Madeleine McCann's parents said?
A statement from Madeleine’s parents, read by Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, said: “We welcome the appeal today regarding the disappearance of our daughter Madeleine.
“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.
“We will be making no further comment in relation to the appeal today.
“We would like to thank the general public for their ongoing support and encourage anyone who has information directly related to the appeal to contact police.”
What have the German police have said?
Christian Hoppe, from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), told the country’s ZDF television channel the 43-year-old is serving a prison sentence for a sex crime and has two previous convictions for “sexual contact with girls”.
Mr Hoppe said German police have not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime, which is being treated as murder by the BKA.
He added that the suspect may have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz – where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie – before spontaneously kidnapping her.
In an appeal over the crime which they are treating as murder, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said: "The suspect lived more or less permanently in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007.
"For several years, he lived in a house between Lagos and Praia da Luz, among other places.
"He had several occasional jobs, among other things in the gastronomy business, in the Lagos area in this time period.
"In addition, there is information suggesting that he also earned his living by committing criminal offences, such as burglaries of hotel complexes and holiday flats as well as trafficking in narcotic drugs.
"Furthermore, the suspect was sentenced on numerous occasions to prison terms for sexual abuse of children in the past. This fact is probably not known to most of the contact persons."
A BKA appeal 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.”
The BKA is also appealing for other potential victims to come forward.
What have Scotland Yard said?
Scotland Yard is launching a joint appeal with the BKA and the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria (PJ), including a £20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible of Madeleine’s disappearance.
The Met’s investigation has identified more than 600 people as potentially significant and were tipped off about the German national, already known to detectives, following a 2017 appeal 10 years after she went missing.
German police are treating her disappearance as a murder investigation but the Met’s Operation Grange, launched in 2013, has always considered the case a missing person inquiry.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell told reporters on Wednesday that he was taking the “really unusual” step of releasing two mobile phone numbers as part of the appeal.
“Any information in relation to these mobile numbers during the spring and summer of 2007 could be critical to this investigation,” said Mr Cranwell.
“Some people will know the man we are describing today, the suspect in our investigation. I’m appealing to you directly.
“You may know, you may be aware of some of the things he has done. He may have confided in you about the disappearance of Madeleine.
“More than 13 years have passed and your loyalties may have changed.
“This individual is in prison and we are conscious that some people may have been concerned about contacting police in the past. Now is the time to come forward.
“I’m appealing to you to contact us, or the German authorities or the Portuguese authorities.
“I should be very, very clear on this – while this male is a suspect, we retain an open mind as to his involvement.”
Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the camper van in or around Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine went missing, or in the days before or weeks after.
Detectives also want to speak with anyone who saw the van together with the Jaguar, or individually, during the spring and summer of 2007.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said the investigation into the suspect had seen Met detectives sent to Portugal and Germany.
He added: “This is a significant development, which is why we’ve made the decision to take this significant step of making a public appeal on some information that we would not normally talk about in our major investigations.”
The Operation Grange incident room can be contacted via 0207 321 9251 or operation.grange@met.police.uk.
