Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has admitted for the first time that he was just 150 yards from her holiday apartment on the night she vanished in May 2007. In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the 49-year-old German national revealed he had been on the beach selling drugs and was stopped by police three times whilst attempting to leave the area, but was waved through without his van being searched. The admission is significant because Brueckner has previously refused to discuss his whereabouts on the night Madeleine disappeared, and it raises questions about a potential missed opportunity for Portuguese authorities to apprehend him.

Brueckner was named as the top suspect by German prosecutors in 2020, who claimed to have "concrete evidence" against him but insufficient grounds for conviction. He is a convicted sex offender with two rape convictions and guilty verdicts for theft, drug trafficking, assault and sexual abuse of children. A mobile phone registered to his name was traced close to the McCanns' accommodation on the evening Madeleine vanished, and German prosecutors noted his phone received a significant 30-minute call at 7:32pm that evening. The Metropolitan Police are continuing efforts to extradite him to the UK to stand trial for Madeleine's abduction and murder.