The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is reportedly no longer under 24.7 police surveillance.
There are fears Christian Brueckner could disappear nine months after he was released from prison last September.
The paedophile had been followed non-stop by officers since his freedom but a court ruled the police observation was no longer required.
Brueckner will still wear an electronic ankle tagto monitor his location, but prosecutors say the tech has malfunctioned in the past.
Sources claim the tag will fail to work if he leaves Germany, warning he could soon vanish out of sight.
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A source told The Sun: ‘The fear has always been that as soon as Brueckner got the opportunity he would disappear.
‘He might have been let out of jail but he still hasn’t had that because he has been monitored by police all day every day.
‘Once that surveillance stops who knows what will happen.
‘He has a history of leaving the country when he faces suspicion so there is a very real danger he will disappear before the McCann case can ever get to court.’
German cops in the Schleswig-Holstein state are understood to have appealed the decision not to renew the surveillance order.
Brueckner will remain under police observation until the court has made a final decision.
Madeleine was three when she vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve while on a break with her siblings and parents.
Prime suspect and convicted rapist Brueckner was released after serving a prison sentence in his native Germany last September.
He had been serving a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime. In addition to his conviction for the rape of the woman in the Algarve, he also has convictions for child abuse and drug trafficking.
State prosecutors in Germany have said there is circumstantial evidence suggesting Brueckner was involved in Maddie’s disappearance, including three witnesses who said he had confessed to them.
He lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, with a period spent working as a pool maintenance assistant at the Praia da Luz resort, where the McCanns were staying when their daughter vanished.
But extensive searches for more direct evidence have ended without success.
He has denied any involvement in her disappearance and has never been charged with any crimes in connection with Madeleine.
In March, it was announced that more funding had been granted to continue to investigate the disappearance.
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