(Credits: via Reuters)
Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner is living in a woodland lair following his release from prison.
The 49-year-old was freed from jail in September after serving six years for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal – where Madeleine went missing.
He was in the area at the time of her disappearance and is the prime suspect in the case.
Brueckner is currently living in a tent in wooded area close to a northern German city, according to The Sun, who visited the spot.
The convicted paedophile has recently moved from another makeshift camp, which was also uncovered by The Sun.
The newspaper said he is guarded by two female ‘helpers’ named locally as Mona and Mandy, as well as a ‘vicious’ pit bull terrier.
The women denied they were romantically involved with Brueckner – claiming they were just helping him out.
(Credits: PA/PA Wire)
Since his release, he has regularly been refused entry to hotels and homeless hostels.
He was also told to leave a city centre park where he’d pitched his tent close to nursery.
Brueckner is hoping to start a new life with a new identity outside of Germany, after a court gave him permission to leave the country.
It would mean the ankle tag he wears will no longer work, a concern for police who fear they won’t be able to keep track him anymore.
But prosecutors are trying to delay the move, and hope new witnesses in the Maddie case will lead to a new case being brought against him.
Breuckner was named as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance while serving his rape sentence.
He has always publicly denied any involvement, but according to one man, Helge Bushching, he all-but-confessed the abduction to him, by allegedly saying ‘she didn’t scream’ when they spoke of the case at a music festival in Spain.
In an interview with The Sun, prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said that if Breuckner leaves Germany it will be very difficult to continue monitoring him.
‘But we don’t need Christian Brueckner here to keep investigating. He doesn’t speak with us anyway,’ he added.
‘We will keep going as long as we believe there is still evidence out there to find — and we believe there is. One piece of forensic evidence or a new witness could crack the case instantly.’
He added that they hold more on Brueckner than the public knows, and that there are other witnesses.
Although detectives have circumstantial evidence, they have not year charged him due to fears the lack of forensic evidence would affect their chance of a conviction.
As well as his Praia da Luz rape conviction, Brueckner was convicted of abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months in prison in 2016 but was on the run at the time.
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