Madeleine McCann Suspect to Be Freed, but His Side About the Case Remains a Secret - Why Is He Keeping Mum?

The prime suspect for the disappearance of the three-year-old British girl named Madeleine McCann in Portugal in 2007 is about to get out of prison, but he intends to keep mum about the case.

The Metropolitan Police revealed Monday that German national Christian Brueckner, the main suspect for McCann's disappearance and a sexual assault convict, will be released on Wednesday after completing his seven-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in the Portuguese town of Praia da Luz in 2005.

He denied any involvement in McCann's case, which happened in the same holiday resort.

Yet the British police were still determined to speak with Brueckner, aged 49, to help shed light on the British toddlers case before his jail time concludes.

'For a number of years, we have worked closely with our policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and support Madeleine's family to understand what happened on the evening of 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz,' DCI Mark Cranwell, Metropolitan Police Senior Investigating Officer, said in a statement.

Cranwell also shared that they are aware of the suspect's pending release, which is why they aim to question him about the missing toddler's case before he comes out of prison in hopes of getting more information.

'We have requested an interview with this German suspect, but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an international letter of request, which has been submitted. It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry,' he added.

Post-Prison Plans

Brueckner, who was also a convicted paedophile, talked about his post-prison plans in an interview with German news outlet RTL in June.

According to him, he plans to go incognito after his release because of his reputation. But thanks to the media's involvement, half the world thinks I'm a cruel rapist.'

He is expected to move to a country that will not extradite criminals to the UK or Germany, like Suriname in South America.

Once there, he said that he will look forward to enjoying a nice steak and some beers.

He also said that he had been imprisoned for several years for something that he never did, insisting on his innocence in all the charges involving the British girl.

What Happened in Portugal?

McCann went missing while on a holiday with her family in the town of Algarve in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007. It led to a frenzied search and captured the media's attention worldwide.

The toddler has never been seen since that incident.

The most recent search for the girl took place near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, approximately 30 miles from Praia da Luz. No trace of McCann nor other evidence came out from the search.

The suspect allegedly spent time in the same area from 2000 to 2017. He also possessed photos and videos of himself taken near the reservoir.

McCann's family is still waiting to hear any updates regarding the child's whereabouts since her mysterious disappearance 18 years ago.