Bruckner sent a gloating letter to police after the search ended, saying: “Are there any traces of her in my vehicle?”

Startling new evidence linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has emerged from a remote German property once used by Christian Brueckner.  The convicted paedophile long suspected of involvement in the three-year-old’s alleged abduction and murder. Brueckner, 47, is currently serving time in Germany for an unrelated rape, but could be released as early as September. He has never been charged in connection with the McCann case and refuses to speak to police or provide an alibi for the night Madeleine vanished in May 2007.

Despite a years-long investigation by British, German and Portuguese authorities, no forensic evidence has been found linking him directly to Madeleine. However, prosecutors believe they are now closer than ever to unravelling the mystery. A YouTube documentary released entitled Madeleine McCann: Inside the Secret Evidence – exposes a cache of disturbing circumstantial material found at Brueckner’s old box factory hideout in Neuwegersleben, including more than 70 children’s swimsuits, a toddler’s bike, inflatable toys, and a stash of images on an 80GB hard drive allegedly taken in Portugal.

The search team in Portugal last week (Image: Getty)

Police also discovered a laptop key and a mask, along with guns and a handwritten story about using kidnap drugs to abduct a woman and child from outside a preschool. One entry describes a man watching “a very small girl” enter the room, noting she couldn’t be older than five: “Blonde, long hair tied in pigtails bounces cheekily back and forth… I feel like I’m in paradise right now.”

Brueckner has never explained why he possessed so many children’s items despite having no kids of his own. In one online chat recovered by police, he boasted about wanting to “capture something small and use it for days” before adding: “I’ll make a lot of films… hehe.” He also commented that it wouldn’t matter “if the evidence is destroyed afterwards.”

Now, Brueckner has added to the mounting unease by taunting police from his prison cell. In a handwritten letter, first published by Bild, he dismissed the case against him, writing: “Are there any traces of her in my vehicle? Any other traces of her in my possession? Photos? Is there a body? No, no, no.” He insisted investigators would never be able to prove their claims—repeating that without a body, there is no case to answer.

The documentary also details a claim that Brueckner once chillingly told an associate, in reference to a young girl: “She didn’t scream.” Investigators believe this conversation took place near the Arade Dam in Portugal—an isolated area he was known to frequent around the time Madeleine vanished.

A document obtained by police is said to place Brueckner at the dam site, which has become central to the investigation. The area, around 30 miles from Praia da Luz, was the focus of an intensive three-day search last week involving German and Portuguese officers, mechanical diggers, and ground-penetrating radar.

Although that operation failed to produce DNA or forensic breakthroughs, the hope is that the dam may yet hold answers about what happened to Madeleine. Officers confirmed they had found “nothing of consequence,” but insisted their work was ongoing.

Brueckner, who has a long criminal history involving sexual offences against children, was identified by German authorities as the prime suspect in 2020.

At that point, they claimed to have “concrete evidence” that Madeleine was dead – but have never released details publicly.

The Sun’s film also includes an interview with Irish holiday rep Hazel Behan, who accused Brueckner of raping her in 2005, two years before Madeleine’s disappearance.

He was later cleared of that charge in court, but remains under investigation in several other cold cases.

The unsettling stash of items discovered in Neuwegersleben – and the contents of the hidden hard drive – are now being used to strengthen the case against Brueckner. Prosecutors face a race against time, with the suspect expected to walk free in just three months unless charges are filed.

Madeleine was three when she disappeared from the Ocean Club apartment complex in Praia da Luz while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were dining at a nearby tapas restaurant. Despite one of the largest missing person investigations in history, her whereabouts remain unknown more than 17 years later.