Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is RELEASED from prison & free to vanish into thin air in devastating blow

MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner has walked free from prison.

The convicted paedophile, 48, was released from a German jail this morning after serving time for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal.

Dan CharityChristian Brueckner has been freed from prison in Germany and will now walk free[/caption]

Dan CharityThe rapist was given breakfast before being driven away in his lawyer’s black Audi A6[/caption]

Dan CharityHe covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters[/caption]

PABrueckner is the only suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance[/caption]

Today marks the date his seven-year sentence for rape expires – allowing him to walk out of prison and re-enter society.

His freedom comes despite prosecutors branding him “dangerous” and warning “you have to expect him to commit further crimes”.

Brueckner officially left the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover just after 9:15am German time, this morning.

The rapist was given breakfast before being driven away in his lawyer’s black Audi A6.

A chilling image showed Brueckner wearing a red and white striped shirt as he sat in the rear seat with his hand up in the air.

He covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters.

Brueckner, a drifter with a long history of sex offences against women and children, remains the only suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.

His release comes as a bitter blow to Madeleine’s devastated parents – Kate and Gerry McCann – who have endured 18 years of anguish searching for answers.

The Brit tot was only three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

The parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant on the night their daughter vanished, returning at 10pm to find her gone while her twin siblings slept,

Despite spending years investigating Brueckner, German lead prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has admitted his team still doesn’t have enough evidence to bring charges over her disappearance.

He previously told reporters: “He is not just our number one suspect, he’s our only suspect.

“We have evidence against him but in our view it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely.”

Fears he could flee

Brueckner has refused to rule out fleeing Germany now that he is free.

This has sparked fears he could slip into a non-extradition country and dodge justice forever – even if a major Maddie breakthrough is found.

EPACops had to wrestle away journalists as Brueckner drove away[/caption]

AFPPolice officers entering the high-security prison in Sehnde near Hanover where Brueckner had been serving his sentence[/caption]

EPAGerman cops outside the jail waiting for the convicted paedophile early this morning[/caption]

Prosecutors reportedly sought out restrictions which will see him have to wear an ankle tag, according to the BBC.

Brueckner also denied a formal request to be interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives ahead of his release as well as Met officers.

Dark shadow of Maddie’s case

The McCann case, one of the biggest missing persons investigations in history, has seen multiple suspects let go and dead ends found.

But in 2020 German prosecutors sensationally declared Brueckner their prime suspect, pointing to his phone data and links to the Algarve at the time Madeleine vanished.

They have since carried out digs in Portugal, seized items from properties and pursued new leads.

But no smoking gun has emerged.

Mr Wolters insisted the case is still active and that prosecutors have built up evidence “which indicates that he is responsible for the disappearance and the death of Madeleine McCann.”

AFPThe Portugal apartment complex Maddie disappeared from in Praia Da Luz[/caption]

AlamyThe paedo’s freedom is a blow to the McCann family, who have been searching for answers for almost 20 years[/caption]

This week, a new lead has emerged after a notorious network of paedophiles linked to a serial child-killer were feared to have ordered Maddie’s kidnapping.

A former top Belgian official, who led the inquiry into the murderer and child-molester Marc Dutroux, says a gang of traffickers could be connected to her disappearance.

Three days before the girl was snatched in 2007, Belgian cops had issued an alert to European police forces over intelligence that a paedophile gang had ordered a small child to be snatched.

It comes as a Sun investigation — aired on Channel 4 earlier this year — revealed the existence of a hard drive and laptop containing images from Portugal, closely linked to the belief held by cops that Madeleine is in fact dead.

Brueckner’s dark past

Christian Brueckner’s criminal record spans decades.

He was jailed in 1994 for sexually abusing children, convicted again of child sex abuse in 2016, and was living in Portugal at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

He was later convicted of raping the American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005 – just yards from the McCann holiday complex – but was cleared last year in a separate rape and sexual abuse case.

A Sun investigation this year — aired on Channel 4 — revealed bombshell new evidence, including his obsession with snatching blonde girls.

Brueckner has always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

But prosecutors are adamant he remains their focus.

Wolters has previously said: “There is no one else. He is the only suspect.”

EPAJournalists gathered outside Brueckner’s jail waiting for him to exit[/caption]

AFPPortuguese police spent three days searching for clues around Maddie earlier this year[/caption]

AFPAn aerial shot of the jail where the convicted paedophile had been caged[/caption]

AFPProsecutors deem Brueckner dangerous and fear he may commit further crimes[/caption]