Accused Madeleine McCann suspect denies involvement

Case suspect Christian Brückner denies killing Madeleine McCann.
Case suspect Christian Brückner denies killing Madeleine McCann. Photo credit: Getty

Christian Brückner, the latest suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, is denying any involvement in the case. 

McCann,3, vanished from a resort where her family were holidaying in Portugal in 2007. She has been missing for 13 years and police have spent £11.75 million, (NZ$22.8 million) trying to find her. 

Her parents, Kate and Gerry, left Madeleine and her twin siblings asleep while having dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant. After checking on their children over the course of the night, when they returned at the end of the evening she was not there.

Police believe Brückner was living near the resort in Portugal close to the time Madeleine disappeared. They cannot be certain as it is alleged he lived a nomadic lifestyle.

New York Post reports Brückner, who has previous paedophile convictions and is in prison for an unrelated drug offence and the rape of an elderly woman, kept children's clothes and swimwear in his campervan.

He also said he used it to drive between Germany, Spain and Portugal and could "carry children and drugs" inside.

Police found "countless children's items, most of them small swimsuits" after looking through the vehicle in May 2016, The Sydney Morning Herald said.

They also uncovered six USB sticks and two memory cards containing pictures of child sex abuse, German newspaper Der Spiegel reports.

This search was related to five-year-old German girl Inga Gehricke's disappearance. Brückner has since been ruled out as a suspect for Gehricke's case.

In the McCann case, Brückner surfaced as a key suspect two weeks ago after German prosecutors could tie his movements to match when the family was staying at the Praia Da Luz resort in Portugal.

Brückner's lawyer Friedrich Fulscher said on Tuesday his client "denies any involvement" in the case.