Madeleine McCann's parents face 'prolonged agony' as prime suspect refuses to co-operate with authorities
The new suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is refusing to co-operate with authorities, leaving her parents in "prolonged agony." This week, British and German authorities named a prisoner as the prime suspect in the case. He was later unmasked as Christian Brueckner by German media, per the Daily Star. Investigators believed he may have been in Praia da Luz the night Maddie mysteriously vanished in May 2007, but his alleged non-cooperation has left her parents Kate and Gerry agonized. "If he is responsible for taking Madeleine and suddenly crumbles and confesses it could end reasonably rapidly," a source close to German police told The Sun. "But so far he is saying absolutely nothing to officers, he is keeping schtum, so Kate and Gerry could be left in limbo for many weeks and months which is agonizing for them."
Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCann family, said on Saturday, June 6, that the family is "encouraged" by the recent developments. "They are just hoping that a new witness comes forward with significant information about the suspect. They are encouraged by the response to the Met Police’s appeal," he said. "Officers have received more than 270 calls and emails in the last 24 hours which is not bad going for a 13-year case. They will prioritize them and see if there are any strong leads." "All Kate and Gerry can do now is wait. They have no plans to return to Praia da Luz," he continued."They are staying at home behind closed doors and don’t want to be troubled by anyone."
"They can’t face going back and if the worst has happened and police start searching for the remains of their daughter in Portugal they don’t want to be there," Mitchell added.
Having said that, the suspect is currently doing time for raping an elderly woman in Praia da Luz. According to German police, he has two prior convictions for "sexual contact with girls." Brueckner is believed to have been living in an early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van at the time of Maddie's disappearance, police revealed, and he re-registered a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 in someone else's name the day after she vanished. Around an hour before Maddie went missing, the suspect reportedly took a half-hour call on his cellphone -- leading authorities to take the unprecedented step of releasing two mobile phone numbers.
The suspect is believed to have received a call on the number (+351) 912 730 680 from another Portuguese mobile (+351) 916 510 683 while in the Praia da Luz area. The call reportedly started at 7.32 pm and ended at 8.02 pm on the fateful night of May 3, 2007.
"Any information in relation to these mobile numbers during the spring and summer of 2007 could be critical to this investigation," Det Chief Insp Mark Cranwell told reporters Wednesday. "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," the detective continued. "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 should be very, very clear on this - while this male is a suspect, we retain an open mind as to his involvement," Cranwell added.