The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has been under investigation for four years, police say.
Christian Brueckner, 44, was first named a year ago after a joint announcement made by German authorities and Scotland Yard.
But it has now emerged that detectives have been probing the Brueckner’s alleged involvement for significantly longer.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told Sky News Brueckner had been a suspect for “three years” prior to his identity being revealed.
He said: “We did not take the decision to go public lightly.
“Since then we have found a lot more pieces of the puzzle, but I cannot reveal what they are.
“There is no time limit to our investigation, but we won’t keep it going forever.”
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(Image: PA)
Mr Wolters added that there is not yet enough evidence to charge Brueckner, whose defence lawyer says has not been quizzed over the case.
Three-year-old Madeleine, known as Maddie, vanished from her family’s apartment in Praia du Luz, Portugal in 2007.
Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly American widow in 2005.
But evidence has placed him in the area around the McCann’s property on the night Maddie vanished, and he is alleged to have confessed to her abduction in a bar.
(Image: Daily Mirror/Ian Vogler)
Brueckner denies any involvement in her disappearance.
Police in Britain and Germany launched a renewed appeal for witnesses in June 2020 after disclosing they had a new suspect.
The man – later revealed to be Brueckner, initially named as Christian B due to German privacy laws – was a convicted paedophile and in prison, authorities said.
It was said that the suspect had been in the Praia du Luz on the night Maddie went missing, that his mobile phone had been used nearby and that he changed his car number plates the following day.
(Image: Getty Images)
However, the German police probe has been criticised for moving slowly.
Peter Kirkham, a former Metropolitan Police DCI, told the Mirror that he suspects the investigation is “rapidly drying up”.
He said: “A year ago we heard Brueckner had become a person of great interest to the McCann investigation.
“But since then, nothing. To the public, this seems odd and it seems the police are dragging their feet. Identifying and interviewing a suspect is a very long way from having enough to charge, let alone convict, them.
(Image: ExpressStar)
“This investigation has run longer than most – I suspect in part because no politician wants to be associated with saying ‘stop’.
“But I think the time has come for someone to do so. A senior officer should gather together those with knowledge of the case and decide whether to continue.”
Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have become high-profile figures during the search for their daughter and continue to appeal for information.
More than £11m has been spent on the British investigation, known as Operation Grange, to date.