MADELEINE McCann investigators are in "shock" after uncovering new evidence they believe could finally nail chief suspect Christian B.
German authorities believe convicted paedophile Christian B kidnapped and killed three-year-old Madeleine after she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in the southern Portuguese town of Praia da Luz in 2007.
Despite their suspicions, Christian B has never been charged with any offence in relation to the British toddler's disappearance.
But a team working on a documentary about Madeline have now handed over fresh evidence to detectives that they feel could finally solve the case.
They claim they have proof that Christian B was near Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine vanished from her bedroom while her parents dined with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
The documentary team from Sat.1, made up of ex-investigators and journalists, say they collected “many new clues and indications” that they claim suggests Christian B was behind Madeleine's disappearance.
Read our Madeleine McCann live blog for the latest updates...
Milica Cosic a minute ago
The key dates in Madeleine's disappearance? (Continued...) July 24, 2009 - Detective Goncalo Amaral alleges that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat the day she went missing in a book called The Truth Of The Lie. In a documentary for Portuguese television he claims there was no abduction and the McCanns had hidden her body. May 12, 2011 - On Madeleine's eighth birthday, Mrs McCann publishes a book about her disappearance. Scotland Yard launches a review into the case after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May, supported by Prime Minister David Cameron. April 25, 2012 - Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive. A new picture is released, showing what she might look like as a 9-year-old, and they call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, but Portuguese police say they have found no new material. July 4, 2013 - Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launch its own investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. They claim to have "genuinely new" lines of inquiry and identify 38 people of interest including 12 Britons. October 24, 2013- Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found.
Milica Cosic 16 minutes ago
The key dates in Madeleine's disappearance? May 3, 2007 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartments while they eat eat a nearby Tapas restaurant. At 10pm Kate finds Madeleine missing. May 14, 2007 - Property developer Robert Murat is quizzed by cops and 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, Sean and Amelie. 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, and shelve the investigation.
Milica Cosic 31 minutes ago
How much longer will the police investigation last?
In June 2019 it was confirmed that the Metropolitan Police were asking the Home Office for more funding to continue the work of Operation Grange.
Scotland Yard's investigation has been ongoing since 2011.
During that time the number of detectives working on the case was cut from 29 to four in 2015.
Funding for the search was due to expire in October 2017.
But on September 28, 2017, it was confirmed investigators have received ￡154,000 to keep the probe alive until March 2018.
Milica Cosic 46 minutes ago
Explained: How old would Madeleine McCann be now?
Madeleine would have turned 18 on May 12, 2021.
In April 2012, UK cops released a computer generated image of Madeleine showing what she would look like aged nine.
In 2019 updated age progression images were uploaded on social media but Kate and Gerry said the images of Madeleine are bogus.
Kate and Gerry warned the new fake images were neither "commissioned nor endorsed" by them or Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team.
Milica Cosic Today, 12:15
What theories are there about Madeleine's disappearance? (Continued…) Another theory is that Madeleine was taken as part of a bungled burglary in which an intruder panicked and snatched her after she woke up. While Scotland Yard looked into this theory it has always been dismissed by cops in Portugal since nothing else was taken from the apartment. US think tank The Rutherford Institute said Madeleine could have been taken by a sex trafficking gang after studying how kids are abducted and abuse in the sex industry. The institute's John Whitehead also believes these gangs could be aided by "predator cops" - although there is no evidence suggesting Portuguese police were involved in assisting with Madeleine's kidnapping. In 2019 Portuguese police were said to think Madeleine was kidnapped by a surgical-mask wearing man who is known to the cops, after a tip off from Scotland Yard.
Milica Cosic Today, 12:10
What theories are there about Madeleine's disappearance? (Continued…) In the 2019 Netflix documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, investigators point out that the coastal resort of Praia da Luz would make it easier for traffickers to escape on a boat and travel to North Africa. The resort is also only 90 minutes drive from the border with Spain. A local resident in the Netflix film pointed out that the Algarve has many wells, some of which are 100ft deep. They suggested Madeleine could have wandered out of the apartment and fallen to her death. Parents Gerry and Kate have been forced to confront rumours around their daughter's disappearance, with the couple vowing to fight "tooth and nail" if they are ever prosecuted over leaving their children alone. In July, 2017, Madeleine parents failed in their bid to silence ex Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral's over his claims they faked their daughter's kidnapping to cover up her death.
Milica Cosic Today, 12:07
What theories are there about Madeleine's disappearance? In June 2020, it was revealed that a German prisoner was the prime suspect in the case, with evidence showing he was in and around the Praia da Luz area at the time. Investigative journalist and ex-police officer Mark Williams-Thomas believes Madeleine left the apartment in search of her parents. Ex-police chief Goncalo Amaral has claimed MI5 helped cover-up Madeleine McCann’s body after her parents accidentally killed her. Veteran investigative journalist Danny Collins believes the toddler could not have been snatched from the room. He is convinced she left the apartment in Praia da Luz looking for her parents before being abducted and possibly sold to gypsies. Former Scotland Yard detective Colin Sutton says the “most likely and credible scenario” for Madeleine’s disappearance is a targeted kidnap by child traffickers - possibly to replace some grieving parents’ own dead child.
Milica Cosic Today, 12:04
When did Madeleine McCann disappear?
Madeleine vanished 13 years ago on May 3, 2007, when her family, from Leicestershire, were holidaying in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, Portugal.
Parents Gerry and Kate left their three children – including toddler twins Sean and Amelie – sleeping in their apartment while they dined at a tapas bar - 120 metres away.
When Kate returned to check on the kids at around 10pm that evening, she discovered that Madeleine was not in her bed and was missing.
In September of that year, Gerry and Kate, both doctors, were sensationally named as "arguidos" by Portuguese police.The following summer the McCanns were cleared by investigators in Portugal who declared they had exhausted all avenues in the case.
Milica Cosic Today, 12:01
Maddie vanished nearly 15 years ago
MADELEINE McCann vanished from her family's Portuguese holiday flat more than 14 years ago, triggering a global search which has so far failed to find the missing child.
Despite a ￡12million police probe, Madeleine's whereabouts - or whether she's dead or alive - still remains a mystery.
Milica Cosic Today, 11:58
‘We’re in the dark because it’s an active investigation’
A McCann family source told The Sun Online: “Police don’t tell us what’s going on, we’re in the dark because it's an ongoing investigation.
“But if it is him, and there’s no direct and conclusive evidence he may never say a word. He’s not saying a word now.
“He’s locked up for other crimes, so at least he’s in the best place - in jail.
“Portuguese police had looked at him before and last year they looked at him again. We don't know what this means but without a confession we may never know.
“We don't know what evidence police have.
“It may be, sadly, that we may never know what happened to Madeleine. But we hope to find out. We keep hoping after all these years.”
In November 2021, Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry revealed that they “have hope” they will find their daughter after missing Australian toddler Cleo Smith was found alive and well.
Milica Cosic Today, 11:55
Cops ‘believe Madeleine McCann may still be ALIVE’
SCOTLAND Yard's Madeleine McCann team reportedly believe she may still be alive as they are treating the toddler's disappearance as a missing person case.
The top police unit, codenamed Operation Grange, are still operating in an "active" phase of their investigation.
A source told the Mail Online: "The Met Police's Operation Grange is still running this as a missing person's investigation.
"Clearly the Met have more open thinking than the German authorities have at the present.
"Madeleine's parents have always said if they are presented with hard proof she has died they will accept it.
"But the fact Operation Grange still exists and still gets funding shows the Met still thinks there is still work and investigation to be done."
Operation Grange survives on the ￡350,000 special grant awarded by the Home Office to use until 2022.
Scotland Yard's Madeleine McCann team reportedly believe she may still be alive Credit: PA
Milica Cosic Today, 11:52
Suspect prosecutors slam claims case is ‘crumbling over his alibi’
PROSECUTORS have rebuffed claims the case against Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B is set to crumble after British investigators allegedly found he has an alibi.
A team led by an ex-detective claim to have discovered the sex predator, 44, was “30 minutes away” from the resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when Madeleine disappeared.
But the new probe led by former Surrey Police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, is said to show an alibi for B “stacks up”.
But German authorities have dismissed the claims.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told the Daily Mirror: “If I had an alibi and was accused of this, I would say it. But I have heard no such claims from [Christian B] or his lawyer.”Read more here.
Milica Cosic Today, 11:49
Christian B as the prime suspect
Christian B was identified as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance June 2020.
He is serving a seven-year sentence in prison for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005.
Police officers are also investigating Christian B's alleged involvement in three other cases.
The first of the three offences is the rape of Irish woman Hazel Behan in Praia da Rocha on the Algarve in 2004.
The second offence is over the sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in Portugal in 2007 and the third involves the abuse of four children at a festival in S？o Bartolomeu de Messines in 2017.
Christian B’s lawyer Friedrich Fulscher had said his client “denies any involvement” in the McCann case.
Milica Cosic Today, 11:46
‘New clues and indications’
The documentary team from Sat.1, made up of ex-investigators and journalists, say they collected “many new clues and indications” that Christian was behind the incident.
Editor-in-chief Juliane Ebling said: “The sad story of Madeleine McCann is a story that has many German facets.
“The case is being tried at the Regional Court of Braunschweig, as the German Christian B. is the main suspect.
“In his environment there are many German women and men who can describe individual details surrounding the crime.
“Jutta Rabe has researched shocking material in Germany, Portugal and England over the past months, which heavily incriminates Christian B.”
Milica Cosic Today, 11:43
Madeleine McCann investigators ‘discover shocking evidence’
MADELEINE McCann investigators have discovered “shocking” new evidence they claim could finally nail suspect Christian B.
German authorities believe convicted paedophile Christian B kidnapped and killed Maddie three-year-old Madeleine, who vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007.
But now a team working on a documentary about Madeline have handed over fresh evidence to detectives.
They claim they have proof that shows Christian B was near Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished while her parents dined in a tapas restaurant.
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