Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Madeleine McCann disappearance: German prosecutor claims he has ‘evidence’ girl is dead

Police are investigating suspect

Zoe Tidman
Monday 08 June 2020 18:51 EDT
German suspect identified in Madeleine McCann disappearance

A German prosecutor has claimed there is evidence Madeleine McCann is no longer alive, according to reports.

“After all the information we got, the girl is dead,” Hans Christian Wolters told Sky News.

“We have no information that she is alive.”

The prosecutor told Sky News: “We got things we cannot communicate that speak for the theory that Madeleine is dead, even if I have to admit that we don’t have the body.”

Investigators have received hundreds of tips over Madeleine’s disappearance since they announced a new suspect in the case earlier this week.

The 43-year-old convicted German child sex offender, currently in prison in his home country, has been named in reports as Christian Brueckner.

Mr Wolters told Sky News: “At the moment we also don’t have enough proof for a trial at court, but we have some evidence that the suspect has done the deed.

“That’s why we need more information from people, especially places he has lived so we can target these places especially and search there for Madeleine.”

German prosecutors are reportedly examining any links to the disappearance of two other children.

They believe Madeleine is dead after she vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in May 2007, while on holiday with her family, and are investigating the suspect over her murder.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said earlier this week police still consider Madeleine’s case as a missing person inquiry because there is no “definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead”.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in