Madeleine mcCann news or not?

News or no news about Madeleine McCann? Let's stick to old news in a new guise!

Madeleine McCann is in the news again. Well, it's May/June again. As it actually happens every year, you don't hear anything all year round and exactly in this period it seems as if everyone has an alarm clock on and has to make mandatory news. Let it be clear, more than enough has been said about it in various articles, such as the video below.

Last year in 2019 it was about a mega-new suspect, a German of around 49 years old named Martin Ney, who is being held in a German prison. With a little googling you will probably still find enough about this in the same period May / June but then 2019. See for example a news article from May 2019

A year later, another 'new' suspect

Now a year later in June 2020 everyone has been shaken awake. Me too, seeing my phone was red hot with messages all evening and night, about strangely yet another suspect: unnamed, would be 43 years old and be in a German prison and be close to Praia da Luz a lot been/lived.

So what makes this new suspect different? Actually nothing at all, it is a suspect and the police are of course checking this out and looking for information. Of course, it may also be that the news is intended, just like last year, to initiate certain communication with certain suspects or people in the hope that something will come out. Hard to say and a logical step from a research point of view.

What do we know about the suspect out there now?

There is no NEW suspect at all, last year the news was leaked about a suspect and this was massively linked to the detained pedophile Martin Ney. Let it be clear that after a week it became clear that this was not the new suspect:

It reported today: “Leading Portuguese tabloid Correio da Manha, which revealed on the 12th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance last Friday that police had a“ new lead and a new suspect ”, did not publish the name of the man investigators are looking at. But it said 48-year-old convicted German paedophile Ney was not the new prime suspect. A German paedophile, serving life for the murder of three children and the sexual abuse of dozens more youngsters, was named by the British press as a Madeleine McCann suspect. "However this is not the new suspect that the Policia Judiciaria in Porto is investigating."

In short, I think we are still talking about the same suspect as discussed last year, a year later new information is needed to continue with this lead.

The German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) indicates that they are investigating it as a murder in which the suspect has had "multiple convictions for sex offenses and is in custody, they suspect that he also killed Madeleine". That is very similar to the situation of last year. Yesterday I was not the only one who doubted whether this is not the same story.

The suspicion goes back to a note that was received for a file number XY that was broadcast in 2013. This is a German television program that talks about cold cases. At the time, the information was not sufficient for an investigation and certainly not for an arrest. However, the information collected during the investigation led to the suspect being the culprit could be.

At the time the girl disappeared, the man had reportedly been at the scene of the crime - he had called there on his cell phone. The exact course of the crime is still the subject of the investigation.

Suspicious cars under investigation

Investigators are also hoping for information about the suspect's vehicles being used at the time - one of the cars may have been used in the crime:

A Jaquar XJR 6. A dark red or aubergine colored Jaguar XJR 6 with a German registration, which has been changed several times over the years. One of the license plates was one of the city of Munich, the last known license plate in May 2007 came from the city of Augsburg.

A VW T3 Westfalia. A white/yellow Volkswagen camper with a Portuguese registration. This car did not belong to the suspect and the owner is not a suspect in the case.

The police know where the vehicles are currently located. Only the period around May 3, 2007 is relevant for your investigations.

Use of housing

The suspect also used two houses during his stay in Portugal: one near Lagos / Praia da Luz, which he had rented. In the living room there was a noticeable supporting beam. And an empty house a few miles inland. The suspect would have visited this time and again. More information can be found in the PDF of the BKA in English, download it here.

Use of a cell phone

On 3 May 2007, the suspect had a long telephone conversation with a Portuguese number in Praia da Luz. His interlocutor is still sought as an important witness. The person on the phone was using a prepaid cell phone that was not registered at the crime scene. The number of the interlocutor was: +351 91 65 10 683. The suspect's +351 91 27 30 680. Who can provide information about the two mobile numbers or their users in May 2007? Also check old private phone books, travel diaries and phone bills!

Because some information is not completely made public, we will report it anyway, this number has been registered in the name of a certain Diogo M. This is absolutely not the interlocutor given that this number has been registered in his name since 2017 and it concerns a child. But of course it may be that the name does ring a bell. It won't be the first time that a phone number is reissued or simply given to a child.

Request for recordings from then

In addition to of course information about the above, the BKA asks. 'Who was in the Algarve in Portugal at the beginning of May 2007, especially in the region between Lagos and Luz or in the “Ocean Club” resort from which Madeleine McCann disappeared and took pictures/videos during her stay? Police are asking that these recordings be submitted to the online information portal of the BKA.

Does this mean that we also think this is the suspect?

No, we don't think he's a suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. Let it be clear that we did research then, of course. I personally, along with many people who have been involved such as Gonçalo Amaral, stand behind what was very clear at the time. Of course, and then my research and father heart speaks, I hope that every small or large part provides clarity in this interesting case. Of course that (the resting place) Madeleine is found and those responsible are addressed. Will this ever happen? As in any case, there is always hope but then remain fact.

Update: June 4, 2020 - video from Telegraaf today
According to German and English media, the culprit would be Christian Brueckner.

Nico van den Dries