The German team investigating the Madeleine McCann case say they have not spoken to her parents in the year since naming their prime suspect.
Hans Christian Wolters added he doesn’t know if Christian Brueckner will ever face court over her disappearance.
Wolters – a prosecutor – warned the probe into the convicted paedophile is likely to take “several” months and they won’t be “rushed”.
And he hit back at critics who have claimed they believe it is unlikely there will be any prosecution of Brueckner, 44.
Asked if his team have had any contact with Kate and Gerry McCann, Wolters said: “No.” He added: “I don’t care who believes what.
“We are seriously and diligently trying to clear up the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and we will not be rushed into it. Quality comes before speed.
“In the end the only thing that counts is whether we have investigated comprehensively. That is the standard by which we must be judged.”
Madeleine vanished 14 years ago while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz in the Algarve. The German investigation follows efforts by cops in Portugal and the UK to solve the case.
It was claimed there is “concrete evidence” against Brueckner but he has not been charged.
Wolters added: “The investigations in the Maddie case will take several months. Whether there will be an indictment in the end, I cannot foresee at the moment.”
Wolters also denied previous reports he had said “we think we have 90 per cent evidence” against Brueckner, who he first named as the prime suspect 12 months ago this Wednesday.
He said: “I never said 90 per cent and I never said percentages in general. You cannot express it in percentages.”
Wolters said last June that he believed Madeleine is dead and identified convicted paedophile Brueckner as their only suspect, claiming police have “concrete” evidence against him and he was “very confident” he would be charged.
Just last month, Wolters added: “I am optimistic we will solve this case.”
Brueckner, serving seven years for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz, has still not been interviewed by the investigation’s officers.
His lawyer has repeatedly denied he had any part in Madeleine’s disappearance from her family’s apartment on May 3, 2007 – just days before her fourth birthday.
She was with parents Gerry, 53, and Kate, 52, and her twin siblings, then aged two, from Rothley, Leicestershire.
Wolters added: “The investigation is progressing. However, we are still missing important information.
“We want to leave no stone unturned to find them. Our appeal for witnesses still stands.”
