GERMAN cops leading the probe into Madeleine McCann have been inundated with new tip-offs and evidence that could be “vital.”
Investigators are optimistic they are finally able to crack the case after “hitting a brick wall” due to the new information they’ve received following Christian Brueckner’s court appearance.
Dan CharityChristian Brueckner has been the prime suspect in Maddie’s disappearance since 2020[/caption]
Dan CharityThe German pictured in handcuffs as he arrived at Braunschweig regional court[/caption]
PAMadeleine disappeared from her parents’ holiday home in Praia da Luz in May 2007[/caption]
Dan CharityBrueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison term for rape and drug trafficking[/caption]
The paedophile, 47, appeared before court last week facing the charges of three rapes and two sex assaults.
Despite being named as the prime suspect in Maddie’s disappearance in 2020 he has not been charged.
But now a source close to the case told The Sun Online that detectives in Germany have received new leads and clues which they “hope could prove vital”.
And cops hope his appearance in court will continue to generate even more information in the days ahead.
The source said: “New information has been coming in ever since Brueckner appeared in court last week.
“It’s a massive boost for German detectives because their investigation had really hit a bit of a brick wall.
“So they are really pleased about this, and really hope this will give fresh impetus to the investigation into what happened to Madeleine.
“They remain convinced Christian Brueckner was either involved in Maddie’s disappearance or knows about how Maddie vanished.
“Having his face on TV screens, and in newspapers across the world, has generated fresh calls, tip-offs and leads which they will look into and which they hope could prove vital.”
Sun Online understands at least one of the leads is linked to fresh information about where Christian Brueckner was living in Portugal around the time three-year-old Maddie went missing.
“The timeline of where Christian Brueckner was and when during that period is still far from clear,” the source added.
“He was living a nomadic lifestyle. He was a drifter going from here to there and he would have come into contact with a lot of people.
“The police are convinced many of them may not yet have come forward.
“The publicity around this case could prompt someone who knows something into doing just that. This is what the German cops are now hoping for.”
Last week a court in Braunschweig heard how an alleged rape victim was terrified the twisted sex offender would behead her.
The court also heard how he tied Hazel Behan’s legs to table legs and raped her, before quipping: “You are afraid of me aren’t you?”
The prosecution said the German used a rape drug to incapacitate his victims as he trapped them and held them prisoner.
Meanwhile, a shocking claim that Brueckner was wiretapped while in prison could be a major blow to the trial.
A former employee of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) sensationally claimed that Brueckner’s cell was equipped with bugging devices and said she had photos to prove it.
The monster’s lawyers have requested for the witness to be heard in the trial.
If the allegation is confirmed it would be a massive hit to Brueckner’s trial as conversations between him and his lawyers could also have been tapped.
The German is currently serving a seven-year prison term for rape and drug trafficking
It comes as The Sun revealed how vehicles owned by Brueckner in Portugal were taken to Germany and scrapped.
Previously it emerged that Brueckner has blown “tens of thousands” transforming his appearance since the toddler vanished.
German detectives probing the convicted rapist are convinced his current identity may be “an illusion” – and that he most likely looked totally different at the time Madeleine vanished.
The cops also believe this is a “key area” that Portuguese officers failed to drill down on at the height of the search for Maddie.
A source close to the investigation told Sun Online: “The Christian Brueckner of today is not the same person he was back in 2007 when Maddie disappeared.
“German detectives are convinced he looks very, very different and has blown tens of thousands of pounds changing the way he looks.
“For a long time, Christian Brueckner was a prolific drug dealer who earned a lot of money and lived a very nice lifestyle. He had the means to have surgery and to make changes to the way he looked.
“Officers think there’s every chance the way he looks now is an illusion to the man he was 10, 15 years ago.
“They’ve always been concerned that this is a key area cops in the Algarve failed to properly grip or investigate fully from day one.
“So it’s an area they will be focusing on a lot more in the months ahead.”
The source added there’s a chance they could even re-issue photo e-fits and wanted posters if they think it will help drum up fresh information about what happened to Maddie.
The British tot vanished on May 3, 2007, from her parents’ holiday home in Praia da Luz.
It’s also been claimed that Brueckner had surgery to remove a birthmark on his left thigh after an alleged rape.
Brueckner, 47, had it erased to avoid being identified after the knife-point attack on student Hazel Behan who had told police where it was located, prosecutors allege.
Officers found scarring in the spot described by Irish Hazel, then a holiday rep, and, in a key breakthrough, spotted the birthmark on an earlier scan of Brueckner, who is serving seven years for rape.
The evidence against the German paedophile has been presented to judges.
Brueckner was previously said to have spent cash having his jaw reset and four “rabbit” teeth straightened four months after Maddie vanished in Praia da Luz in Portugal‘s Algarve in 2007.
Soon after, a police sketch showed a man with buck teeth seen near the McCanns’ holiday flat.
Brueckner is on trial accused of raping Hazel, now 39, in 2004 in nearby Praia da Rocha.
He denies it, and other alleged sex crimes, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Bruckner was identified as the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s case
German cops hope the new evidence will help them crack the case of Maddie’s disappearance
Key dates in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 – and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearace.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates:
May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 – Property developer Robert Murat is named an “arguido” or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 – The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann are made “arguidos”
September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007– Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 – Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance
October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance
March 11, 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 – Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 – Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 – An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 – More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 – UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 – Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 – Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 – New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 – Brueckner formally made an “arguido”
May 2023 – Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his “little paradise”
