Madeleine McCann: Jailed German paedophile at centre of new police inquiry
The suspect, who is currently in prison, had his car re-registered in someone else's name the day after Madeleine vanished.
Thursday 4 June 2020 10:25, UK
A German paedophile has been identified as a key suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The suspect, who has not been named, is described as white with short blond hair and about 6ft tall with a slim build at the time she vanished on 3 May 2007.
Christian Hoppe, from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), told the country's ZDF television channel the 43-year-old is serving a prison sentence for a sex crime and has two previous convictions for "sexual contact with girls".
Mr Hoppe said German police have not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime, which is being treated as murder by the BKA.
He added that the suspect may have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz - where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie - before spontaneously kidnapping her.
Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann, has said the family believe the development is "potentially very significant".
He added on BBC radio: "They've never given up hope that she may still be found alive but they are realistic.
"Whatever the outcome of this particular line of investigation maybe, they do need to know what happened to their daughter to find peace and to bring whoever is responsible to justice."
A BKA appeal said: "There is reason to assume that there are other persons, apart from the suspect, who have concrete knowledge of the course of the crime and maybe also of the place where the body was left."
The German national is known to have been in and around the area on the Algarve coast at the time Madeleine went missing shortly before her fourth birthday.
The suspect has been linked to an early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van - with a white upper body and yellow skirting, registered in Portugal - which was pictured in the Algarve in 2007.
Scotland Yard said he was driving the vehicle in the Praia da Luz area in the days before Madeleine's disappearance and is believed to have been living in it for days or weeks before and after 3 May.
He has also been linked to a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 with a German number plate seen in Praia da Luz and surrounding areas in 2006 and 2007.
The day after Madeleine went missing, the suspect had the car re-registered in Germany under someone else's name, although it is believed the vehicle was still in Portugal.
Both vehicles have been seized by German police, who said there is information to suggest the suspect may have used one of them in an offence.
The suspect's name was given to the Metropolitan Police in 2017 after the 10th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said: "We know a lot about the suspect, but we need to know more about his movements on the night Madeleine vanished and in the days before and afterwards.
"We know he was in the resort on the night, about an hour before Madeleine was last seen about 9pm.
"He took a phone call on his Portuguese mobile from another Portuguese mobile. The call lasted half an hour.
"While this male is a suspect we retain an open mind as to his involvement and this remains a missing person inquiry."
He lived in a ramshackle old farm building which sits on a remote hillside along a footpath that runs from above the beach where Madeleine and her family played during their week's holiday in 2007.
The suspect suddenly left the rented property a year before Madeleine disappeared, but police think he stayed nearby in the area.
A former neighbour of the suspect said: "He arrived in the mid-90s and rented the place from the English owner.
"He was always a bit angry, driving fast up and down the lane, and then one day, around 2006, he just disappeared without a word. I think he left some rent unpaid."
The neighbour added: "About six months later I was asked to help clean up the place and it was disgusting, absolutely vile. It had been trashed, with broken stuff like computers all over the place.
"We found a bin bag and inside were wigs and exotic clothing, whether just fancy dress or something stranger I couldn't tell."
The neighbour said she was contacted by Scotland Yard detectives who asked her about the man last year, without revealing any detail of their suspicion.
This year she was visited by Portuguese detectives who showed her photographs of the man and asked more questions.
Scotland Yard is launching a joint appeal with the BKA and the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria (PJ), including a £20,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible of Madeleine's disappearance.
A statement from Madeleine's parents, read by DCI Cranwell, said: "We welcome the appeal today regarding the disappearance of our daughter Madeleine.
"We would like to thank the police forces involved for their continued efforts in the search for Madeleine.
"All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.
"We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace."
DCI Cranwell released details of two mobile phone numbers.
The first, (+351) 912 730 680, is believed to have been used by the suspect and received a call from another Portuguese mobile, (+351) 916 510 683, while in the Praia da Luz area, starting at 7.32pm and ending at 8.02pm on the night of 3 May 2007.
The caller, who is not thought to have been in the Praia da Luz area, is not being treated as a suspect, but is said to be a "key witness".
"Any information in relation to these mobile numbers during the spring and summer of 2007 could be critical to this investigation," said Mr Cranwell.
The Operation Grange incident room can be contacted on 0207 321 9251 or operation.grange@met.police.uk