Madeleine McCann suspect’s phone records ‘are new evidence that may reveal his movements in Portugal at time she disappeared’

• Phone record of suspect Christian Brueckner could reveal his movements in ’07 
• Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters earlier alluded to key new evidence in case 
• Maddie, aged three, disappeared from Portugal’s Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007 

Key new evidence uncovered by police in the search for Madeleine McCann has been revealed as phone records showing a suspect’s movements in Portugal.

Three-year-old Madeleine, known as Maddie, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. 

Officers investigating her disappearance believe she was killed in Portugal by German suspect Christian Brueckner, 44. 

Earlier this week prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the McCann investigation in Germany, alluded to new evidence which has been gathered in recent days, though he declined to reveal specifics.

A source told The Sun they relate to phone records.

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (left) now believe she was killed in Portugal by German suspect Christian Brueckner (right)

They said: ‘For a long time German officers have said many key pieces of the jigsaw were missing about Christian B’s movements in the Algarve.

‘This new information may help provide one of those pieces.’

Earlier today it was reported police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann now believe she was killed in Portugal by the suspect.

Detectives initially feared the convicted rapist had moved Madeleine to Germany from Praia da Luz, where the three-year-old vanished 14 years ago.

Mr Wolters, who is leading the McCann investigation in Germany, claims the police are convinced she died in Portugal, reports the Sunday Mirror.

Brueckner is currently serving a prison termfor raping a pensioner in Portugal and is thought to be the man responsible for her abduction, have new leads.

Three-year-old Madeleine, known as Maddie, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. Pictured: Praia da Luz beach (file)

Kate and Gerry (pictured in 2017) will lay presents and cards in her bedroom which is understood to remain as a shrine to her and unchanged since she was snatched 14 years ago

Investigators believe convicted child sex offender Brueckner – referred to as Christian B in Germany due to the country’s strict privacy laws – murdered Madeleine after abducting her from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

But now prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the McCann investigation in Germany, claims the police are convinced she died in Portugal

When asked where he believed Maddie was killed, Mr Wolters told the newspaper: ‘In Portugal. I am optimistic we will solve this case.’

Authorities hope to be in a position to charge Brueckner by the end of the summer, with a reconstruction soon due to take place in the Praia da Luz resort following a tip-off from a key witness.

It comes after Madeleine’s parents said this month they ‘hang on to hope, however small’ that they will see their daughter again as they marked the 14th anniversary of her disappearance alone.

In a message shared online earlier this month, Kate and Gerry McCann noted that this year’s anniversary was even more poignant because it would have been missing Maddie’s 18th birthday.

The message, which was shared on the Find Madeleine website, read: ‘Every May is tough – a reminder of years passed, of years together lost, or stolen.

‘This year it is particularly poignant as we should be celebrating Madeleine’s 18th birthday. Enough said.’

On Friday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick vowed to continue the search for Madeleine.

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann, known as Maddie, disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

She was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann; her two-year-old twin siblings; and a group of family friends and their children.

She and the twins had been left asleep at the apartment, while the McCanns and friends dined in a restaurant 55 metres (180 ft) away.

The parents checked on the children throughout the evening, until Kate discovered she was missing at 10pm.

What followed is widely regarded as one of the most reported on missing person investigations in the world.

Portuguese authorities closed their enquiries in July 2008 but Maddie’s parents continued with private detectives.

Scotland Yard launched their own investigation – Operation Grange – in 2011 and enquiries are ongoing.

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