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There has been a major breakthrough in the investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

Christian Brueckner has been named an “official suspect” in the case by Portuguese prosecutors, almost 15 years since the young British girl vanished while on holiday in Portugal.

Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in the holiday resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, just a few days before her fourth birthday.

Brueckner has been the prime suspect since he was named by German police two years ago, with officials sensationally revealing they believed he killed the three-year-old.

German newspaper Bild reported the 44-year-old has been named as an “arguido” or “official suspect” by prosecutors in Portugal, which is often followed by official charges.

A written statement issued by the Portimao section of the Faro Department of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution (DIAP) said: “As part of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007, a person was made an arguido on Wednesday.”

Portugal’s Attorney-General’s Office and the country’s national criminal investigation police agency have yet to make any official comment.

News agency AFP has reported that German authorities charged a suspect on Thursday evening at the request of the Portuguese prosecutor.

However, Brueckner’s lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, spoke to the Daily Mail and denied reports his client had been charged over the young girl’s disappearance.

Mr Fulscher also told Bild that the step taken by Portuguese authorities should not be overstated.

“Without knowing the Portuguese legal situation in detail, I assume that this measure is a procedural artifice to stop the statute of limitations threatening in a few days,” he said.

Portugal officials reportedly acted in the last few days after it emerged the 44-year-old could escape charges due to Portugal’s statute of limitations kicking in for serious crimes after 15 years.

In June 2020, Brueckner, 44, was named by German prosecutors as the man responsible for Madeleine’s kidnap and murder.

But since then, no charges had been brought.

The Daily Mail reported that police in Portugal are understood to have acted in the last few days due to Portugal’s statute of limitations. It kicks in for serious crimes after 15 years.

“The legal grounds for making Brueckner an arguido include the fact that he allegedly confessed to a friend he had snatched Madeleine and mobile phone records placed him in Praia da Luz the night she vanished,” a source told the publication.

“But it is obviously linked to the fact that the Portuguese authorities want to keep their options open with the 15-year deadline looming.”

Brueckner is currently serving seven years in Oldenburg prison, northern Germany, after being convicted of raping a 72-year-old woman in 2005 in Praia da Luz.

He is also being probed over the 2004 rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan, who has waived her anonymity, and a sex assault on a 10-year-old girl at Praia da Luz just a month before Madeleine vanished.

In a letter obtained by German media in June, Brueckner denied being involved with the disappearance. He said the prosecutors were engaged in a “scandalous pre-denial campaign in the present against me as an innocent person” and were “not suitable for an office as a lawyer for the honest and trusting German people”.

Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, a few days before her fourth birthday.

Shortly afterwards, her parents Kate and Gerry, who live in Rothkey, Leicestershire, were made suspects and questioned at length several times before they were cleared.

Madeleine’s disappearance has been the source of documentaries, podcasts and a Netflix series, with police identifying hundreds of people as potentially significant to the case.

The disappearance of Madeleine, or “Maddie” as she is known in Britain, sparked a massive search effort and an international media frenzy.

No trace of her has ever been found.

Last year her parents, Kate and Gerry, marked what would have been their daughter’s 18th birthday.

“We hang on to the hope, however small, that we will see Madeleine again,” they said last May.

“As we have said repeatedly, we need to know what has happened to our lovely daughter, no matter what. We are very grateful to the police for their continued efforts.

“We still receive so many positive words and good wishes despite the years that have gone by. It all helps and for that, we are truly grateful – thank you.”

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