Madeleine McCann, who would have been 21 years old this year, vanished without trace on holiday back on May 3, 2007 and no-one has ever been charged in connection with her disappearance
Madeleine McCann was just three years old when she disappeared on a family holiday and 17 years on, she remains missing.
The toddler was sleeping in an apartment at the Ocean Club in Praia de Luz, Portugal, with her younger twin siblings, while her parents dined with friends at the complex. The adults had developed a rota system to check on the kids on May 3, 2007 and when it was Kate McCann’s turn to check on her daughter, she had vanished.
Madeleine would have been 21 this year, yet Kate and husband Gerry have never found out what happened to their precious child. Kate is said to be back working as a doctor and still buys her missing daughter presents every Christmas and birthday.
When a chief suspect was named in 2020, the couple said in a heartbreaking statement: “All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice. We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.”
Is the case still active?
The investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is still ongoing. Scotland Yard’s investigation, Operation Grange, has three police officers and one member of police staff working on the case on a part-time basis.
In June 2020, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters sensationally claimed police in his country had ‘strong’ evidence against Christian Brueckner, a serial burglar and sex offender from Germany, in relation to the missing toddler. Two years later, he said: “We are sure he is the murderer of Madeleine McCann”.
Brueckner is said to have lived in Praia de Luz at the time of the tot’s disappearance and German police claimed to have found evidence related to Madeleine inside his campervan. The criminal, currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping a pensioner in Portugal in 2005, has denied any involvement in the famous missing person’s case.
What are the latest developments?
Brueckner, 48, is currently on trial in Germany for three rapes and two cases of sexual abuse of children, with claims emerging relating to Madeleine. Giving evidence recently, his former cellmate Laurentiu Codin told the court that he has ‘confessed’ to abducting a child in Portugal.
“He told me that in Portugal, he had stolen there,” claimed the 50-year-old. “He was in a region where there are hotels and rich people live. He said there was somewhere with an open window, he told me this.
“He was looking for money. He said he didn’t find any money but found a kid and took the child. He said that two hours later, there were police and dogs all over the place, so he then went away, out of the area.
“He said he took the child in Portugal in his car, and in the time when the police and dogs were at the house, he drove away and he was gone. He asked me if the DNA from a child can be taken from bones under the ground.”
In June, German senior detective Titus Stampa told the court he had discovered emails on Brueckner’s Hotmail account that link him to Madeleine’s case. Calling it the ‘murder’ account, he said he had no clearance to discuss the contents of the emails because it was ‘related to the killing’.
And in May, Met Police detective Det Con Mark Draycott shared details at the trial of a voicemail about Brueckner left on a Scotland Yard answer machine in May 2017. The man, Helge Busching, went on to claim the German told him during a conversation that ‘she did not scream’ when the pair discussed Madeleine.
How much has been spent to date by British police?
A total of £13.2 million has been spent in the 17-year hunt to find Madeleine. Earlier this year, Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom revealed the latest round of funding in response to a written parliamentary question by Conservative peer Lord Black of Brentwood.
A total of £192,000 was granted by the Home Office for Operation Grange for the year 2024-5. Lord Sharpe said: “Operation Grange’s special grant budget currently funds a team of three police officers and one member of police staff, all of whom operate on a part-time basis. Special grant funding is reviewed annually by the Home Office.
“The department also liaises regularly with the Operation Grange investigation team to assess progress and challenge the use of funds as necessary.”
Brueckner’s sex offences trial is set to finish later this year in December and if he is cleared, he could be freed from prison early in 2025. This could increase pressure on investigators into Madeleine’s disappearance to charge him in relation to the missing tot.
