The prime suspect in the high-profile case of Madeleine McCann's disappearance has declined to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the force has said.
The Met stated they sent an international letter of request to Christian Brückner, 48, a German national, ahead of his imminent release for a separate offense, which he later rejected.
Brückner, who has never been charged with any crime related to the McCann case, denies any involvement. Madeleine vanished in 2007 from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, where she and her siblings had been left sleeping in a holiday apartment while their parents dined nearby.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, had checked on the children periodically until they discovered Madeleine was missing around 10 PM.
Currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, Brückner will be released by Wednesday, according to German authorities.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell stated that Brückner remains a suspect in the ongoing investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. Since 2020 and 2022, he has been the prime suspect according to German and Portuguese authorities respectively.
We have requested an interview with this German suspect, but, legally, we can only do so 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 continue to pursue viable lines of inquiry, Cranwell noted, providing no additional information while the investigation is ongoing.
Madeleine's case is one of the world's most famous unsolved missing person cases. Evidence, including mobile phone data, suggests Brückner was in the area when she vanished, although authorities have yet to find sufficient evidence for charges.
Brückner's past includes several convictions, including for sexually abusing children. Despite extensive search operations by Portuguese and German police, recent efforts have yielded no breakthroughs.
Brückner spent considerable time in the Algarve region and had photographs and videos showing him near the area where Madeleine disappeared.
Due to differing legal systems, German authorities suspect him of murder while British police continue to handle the case as a missing person investigation. Since 2011, the investigation has cost over £13.2 million, with further funding of £108,000 secured in April 2023.
