Christian Brückner, the German man identified by authorities as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has revealed new details about where he says he was on the night the British toddler disappeared in Portugal in 2007.

In a new interview, Brückner claims he was on a beach in Praia da Luz, roughly 150 yards from the resort where Madeleine was staying with her family, while selling drugs.

He also claims Portuguese police stopped him three times that night as officers searched the area following Madeleine’s disappearance.

Brückner says the officers did not discover the drugs he was carrying and that he was trying to leave the area as police checkpoints appeared throughout the resort.

The claims represent the first time Brückner has publicly described his whereabouts that night in such detail, according to reports.

But his account remains his own version of events. Authorities have not publicly confirmed that every detail of his account is accurate.

Brückner continues to deny any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

MADELEINE DISAPPEARED IN PRAIA DA LUZ
Madeleine McCann was three years old when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007.

She had been staying at the Ocean Club resort with her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, and her younger twin siblings.

Her parents were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant while the children remained in the apartment.

At approximately 10 p.m., Madeleine was discovered to be missing.

A massive international investigation followed, eventually becoming one of the most closely watched missing-child cases in the world.

Despite years of searches and investigations across Portugal, Germany and Britain, Madeleine has never been found.

BRÜCKNER NOW SAYS HE WAS NEARBY
For years, Brückner has refused to publicly provide a detailed account of where he was during the crucial hours surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance.

That has now changed.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Brückner said he was on a beach close to the resort and was selling marijuana.

He claimed he had traveled from Spain with drugs that he had brought into Portugal.

According to his account, he was approximately 150 yards — around 450 feet — from the location where Madeleine was staying.

That is less than 500 feet, placing his claimed location extremely close to the area where the child disappeared.

Brückner says he was not hiding from police because of Madeleine.

Instead, he claims he was attempting to leave because he feared being caught with the drugs in his vehicle.

HE CLAIMS POLICE STOPPED HIM THREE TIMES
One of the most striking parts of Brückner’s account involves his description of encountering Portuguese police.

He says officers stopped him three times as the search for Madeleine was underway.

According to his version of events, police were establishing checkpoints and searching vehicles around Praia da Luz.

Brückner claims he was driving a van containing a large quantity of marijuana.

He says the officers did not discover the drugs.

He also claims he was eager to get away from the area as police activity intensified.

The account has not been independently established by authorities as a definitive reconstruction of his movements.

WHY BRÜCKNER SAYS HE KEPT QUIET
Brückner was asked why he had never previously provided this detailed public account of his whereabouts.

He claimed that he had remained silent because he believed investigators wanted to blame him for Madeleine’s disappearance.

He continues to insist that he had nothing to do with the child.

His position has remained consistent in one important respect: despite being identified as the prime suspect by German authorities, he has never been charged with Madeleine’s disappearance.

The new interview therefore does not amount to a confession to the crime.

Instead, Brückner is presenting an alternative explanation for why he was in the area on the night Madeleine disappeared.

GERMAN AUTHORITIES NAMED HIM AS THE PRIME SUSPECT
Brückner became the central focus of the German investigation in 2020.

German prosecutors publicly identified him as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance and said at the time that they had concrete evidence pointing toward him.

However, prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence to charge him with the crime.

The investigation has continued for years, involving German, Portuguese and British authorities.

Brückner has repeatedly denied involvement.

The Metropolitan Police in Britain also continues to investigate Madeleine’s disappearance through Operation Grange, working with international law-enforcement partners.

The case remains open.

HIS PHONE HAS LONG BEEN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE INVESTIGATION
One reason Brückner became such a significant suspect was evidence concerning a phone number associated with him.

Investigators determined that a mobile phone registered to Brückner was active near Praia da Luz around the time Madeleine disappeared.

German investigators have previously highlighted a call received by that phone on the evening of May 3, 2007.

The call reportedly lasted approximately half an hour.

Brückner has disputed the significance of the phone evidence and said he does not remember using the number in the way investigators have suggested.

The new account of his location adds another element to the long-running debate over his movements that night.

HE WAS LIVING IN PORTUGAL AT THE TIME
Brückner had a significant connection to the Algarve.

He lived and spent extended periods in Portugal and was familiar with the Praia da Luz area.

That history became particularly important to German investigators because it placed him in the same region where Madeleine disappeared.

His previous criminal history in Portugal also brought him to the attention of investigators.

Brückner was convicted in Germany of the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.

He served a prison sentence for that crime before being released in September 2025.

His conviction for that unrelated crime should not be confused with the Madeleine McCann investigation.

He has not been convicted or charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.

HE WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON LAST YEAR
Brückner was released from German prison in September 2025 after completing his sentence for the 2005 rape conviction.

His release renewed international attention on the Madeleine McCann investigation.

British investigators had sought to speak with him after his release, but reports indicated that he declined to cooperate with the interview request.

His freedom also meant that he could publicly present his own version of events.

That is what he is now doing in interviews in which he continues to reject the allegations surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance.

THE NEW ACCOUNT DOES NOT SOLVE THE CASE
Brückner’s admission that he says he was close to the resort on the night Madeleine disappeared is significant because it provides a new public account of his movements.

But it does not by itself establish what happened to Madeleine.

His claim that he was selling drugs is also based on his own statement.

There is currently no new public evidence proving that police actually stopped him three times that night without discovering drugs.

Likewise, his claim that he was on a nearby beach does not independently establish whether he was anywhere near Madeleine’s apartment at the critical moment.

Those questions remain matters for investigators and any future legal proceedings.

THE TIMELINE REMAINS CRITICAL
Madeleine disappeared shortly after her parents had left the apartment to dine with friends.

The timing of events that evening has been examined repeatedly by investigators.

Any evidence establishing where Brückner was during the relevant period could potentially be significant.

That is why his new statement about being approximately 150 yards away has attracted renewed attention.

But proximity alone does not establish involvement in a crime.

Brückner’s account must be considered alongside the broader body of evidence collected over nearly two decades.

BRÜCKNER SAYS HE WAS TRYING TO ESCAPE POLICE
According to his account, the police presence in Praia da Luz became increasingly intense after Madeleine was reported missing.

He says he saw flashing blue lights and checkpoints and decided he needed to leave quickly.

His explanation is that he was worried about being caught with drugs rather than anything connected to Madeleine.

That distinction is central to his current defense.

If his account is accurate, he was near the resort for an unrelated criminal activity and left because he feared arrest for drug possession or trafficking.

If investigators dispute parts of his story, those claims could become another area of scrutiny.

At present, the public record does not independently resolve the question.

MADELEINE HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND
More than 19 years after Madeleine vanished, her whereabouts remain unknown.

There have been numerous searches over the years.

Investigators have examined locations in Portugal, Germany and elsewhere, including areas connected to Brückner.

One of the most significant searches took place around the Arade Dam in Portugal in 2023.

German investigators searched the area because Brückner had previously spent time there and had connections to the region.

No publicly confirmed discovery has solved the case.

BRÜCKNER CONTINUES TO DENY INVOLVEMENT
Despite being the central suspect in the German investigation, Brückner has continued to insist that he had nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance.

In his latest comments, he again rejected any connection to the child.

He has suggested that investigators are attempting to frame him and that his proximity to Praia da Luz has been misinterpreted.

Authorities, meanwhile, have never publicly announced that they have enough evidence to charge him.

That legal distinction remains important after years of headlines identifying him as the prime suspect.

A NEW DEVELOPMENT AS THE CASE APPROACHES TWO DECADES
The latest revelations come as the Madeleine McCann investigation approaches its 20th anniversary.

The case has remained active despite the passage of time.

British detectives continue to work with German and Portuguese authorities, while prosecutors in Germany have also pursued other legal matters involving Brückner.

In August 2026, reports emerged that German prosecutors were seeking to revive a separate rape case involving him through an appeal process. That proceeding is unrelated to the evidence required to establish what happened to Madeleine.

WHAT THE NEW CLAIM ACTUALLY CHANGES
Brückner’s statement provides something investigators and the public have rarely heard from him directly: his own account of his location on the night Madeleine disappeared.

He says he was nearby.

He says he was selling drugs.

He says his vehicle contained marijuana.

He says police stopped him three times.

And he says he left because he feared being caught with the drugs.

But none of those statements, standing alone, establishes what happened to Madeleine.

The central mystery remains unresolved.

The three-year-old disappeared from Praia da Luz in May 2007 and has never been found.

Brückner remains the prime suspect in the German investigation, but he has never been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance and continues to deny involvement.

His latest account may give investigators another version of his movements to examine — but whether it changes the underlying case will depend on evidence that can independently confirm or contradict what he has now claimed.

SOURCES
NEW YORK POST — Christian Brückner’s new account of the night Madeleine disappeared