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- Madeleine McCann vanished in 2007 at the age of 3<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist, has long been the primary suspect<\/strong><\/li>\n
- A 2016 search of Brueckner’s home includes a hard drive that indicates Madeleine is dead, say police<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/div>\nA hard drive police discovered at\u00a0Christian Brueckner<\/a>\u2019s home allegedly includes evidence police say indicates that Madeleine McCann is dead, according to an investigative report by a British newspaper set to air on Channel 4 in the UK this week.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThe\u00a0Sun<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0this week that its investigative update is set to air on the network on Wednesday, May 7, which includes new information about a hard drive that contains photographs authorities believe indicates that Madeleine, who went missing in 2007, is dead. According to the newspaper, authorities searched the property in 2016.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nPEOPLE\u00a0recently looked back<\/a>\u00a0at the 2007 abduction and murder case surrounding the missing 3-year-old British girl. No one has ever been charged in her disappearance, though German authorities have said Brueckner, 48, the primary suspect.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nMadeleine<\/a>, who would’ve turned 22 next week, is believed to have been taken from her family\u2019s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. Madeleine, who was just days shy of celebrating her 4th birthday at the time of her disappearance, had been left alone at the family’s vacation apartment with her twin 2-year-old siblings while their parents Kate and Gerry McCann dined at a nearby restaurant.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThe McCanns were initially considered suspects in their daughter\u2019s disappearance after forensic tests revealed traces of Madeleine’s blood in a car they rented 25 days after her disappearance. However, more than a decade later, police zeroed in on Brueckner and named him a primary suspect in the case.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGerman authorities previously said they have evidence that connects Brueckner, a convicted rapist, to McCann\u2019s murder. Brueckner is currently serving a sentence for a rape conviction.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nBraunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who was leading the investigation into Brueckner, said during a 2020\u00a0CNN<\/a>\u00a0interview that authorities “actually have findings that suggest that he is Madeleine McCann’s murderer.” However, Wolters lamented that investigators had \u201cinsufficient evidence to convict\u201d Brueckner of McCann\u2019s kidnapping and murder. By 2022, German and Portuguese authorities announced they had an \u201cofficial\u201d suspect but did not clarify whether it was Brueckner.<\/p>\n
\n \n![\"Metropolitan](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/sGSm9EKMeOssql9jBDS7vhxFkj8=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(742x444:744x446):format(webp)\/Madeleine-McCann-060724-8891ede030cc499788195d2f4cb62d4e.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Madeleine McCann.<\/span>Metropolitan Police\/AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Now, the new\u00a0Sun\u00a0<\/em>investigative report says that authorities have continued searching Brueckner\u2019s property for clues, discovering his deceased dog, and a wallet containing six USB sticks and two memory cards buried underneath the animal.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nOne hard drive was described by police as “deeply concerning,”\u00a0according to the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0of London<\/a>. German police allegedly told\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0that during the search, they found more clues \u2014 including writings by Brueckner describing the kidnapping of young children. Police also said they discovered photographs depicting child abuse, along with more than 75 children\u2019s swimsuits and toys.<\/p>\n
- Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist, has long been the primary suspect<\/strong><\/li>\n