German detectives have begged British police to reopen their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann before the prime suspect ‘walks free’.
The Metropolitan Police’s Operation Grange could unearth vital evidence before Christian Brueckner is released from jail after serving a separate sentence for sexual assault.
The UK team currently mans hotlines and tip-offs, but their German counterparts want them to be more involved.
A source told The Sun: ‘There is huge interest in Germany in the British stepping up their investigation again.
‘The clock is against the case here and investigators do not want to see Brueckner walk free.
‘Their best option could be intervention from UK cops – but they have to be prepared to take it on.
‘There are 20,000 pages of Madeleine evidence and the Germans are ready to translate the lot.’
Brueckner, 47, is nearing the end of a seven-year prison term in Germany for raping an American woman in the same Algarve region where three-year-old Maddie vanished two years later.
He is set to be released on September 17 – just 19 weeks away – with prosecutors scrambling to launch an appeal to keep him behind bars.
Evidence found inside his lair was made public for the first time yesterday, with officers saying they found children’s swimming costumes, a gun and pictures of girls aged four and five-years-old inside the abandoned factory.
But there is a lack of forensic evidence linking Brueckner to Maddie’s disappearance, despite all but admitting to her abduction at a music festival in April 2008.
Last October lead prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters sid he believes Brueckner kidnapped and murdered the three-year-old girl – also claiming they have physical proof she is dead.
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘We continue to support Madeleine’s family to understand what happened on the evening of 3 May, 2007 in Praia da Luz.
‘This includes working with our colleagues in Germany and Portugal. Our thoughts remain with the family.’
Source: metro.co.uk
