Here’s a timeline of the case that shook the world.
3 May 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, triggering a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
15 January 2016
Neighbor reports possible ‘grave’ at Bruckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Police found disturbing images on a USB stick and launched a large-scale search.
16 February 2016
Christian Brueckner has been convicted of abusing a five-year-old girl in a park after photographs were found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment but by then he had fled.
3 May 2017
Around this time, Helge B. calls an information hotline after watching the ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Bruckner.
27 September 2018
Fugitive Christian Brueckner has been arrested over outstanding drug claims in Italy.
The following year he was extradited to Germany.
16 December 2019
Christian Bruckner in Germany was convicted of the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, because his DNA matched hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
4 June 2020
German prosecutors told the world they have a suspect in their custody as part of the investigation into the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time he claimed that Madeleine was dead.
German media later named him Christian B (Christian Bruckner).
23 June 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B. alleged to the German newspaper Bild that Christian Bruckner had allegedly confessed to Madeleine’s kidnapping by saying “she did not scream” while talking about the case at a concert in Spain.
16 February 2024
Brueckner is on trial in Braunschweig, Germany, on non-McCann charges of rape and sexual assault.
Prosecutors expect a sentencing hearing to keep him behind bars permanently and to press charges against McCann.
8 October 2024
Bruckner was acquitted of all claims.
However, prosecutors launched an appeal. Decision Pending.
1 June 2025
Police ordered a fresh search for clues in Praia da Luz on the Faroe Islands in Portugal.
It lasts only for three days.
September 17, 2025
Christian Brueckner is released from prison after serving his sentence for rape and is allowed to move around freely.
