Madeline McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner may have taken pictures of missing toddler and buried them in underground hideaway, police believe

The main suspect in the Madeleine McCann missing person case may have taken photos of the missing toddler and buried them in an underground shelter, police suspect.

Convicted pedophile Christian Brueckner is said to have taken ‘trophies’ from his victims in the past.

In May, German police began a search for an artificial reservoir in the Algarve, near the town of Silves, which Brueckner visited in the hope of finding clues that would bring them closer to finding Madeleine.

This is according to an unnamed source The sun: ‘(Investigating authorities) now know that Christian B buried data carriers such as hard drives and USB sticks at one of the places where he stayed, so that was their real hope at the lake.’

‘They really thought they might find pictures there, but they haven’t given up hope. They think he made duplicates because he liked to keep them as trophies.”

Madeleine Beth McCann disappeared from her bed while on holiday with her family on the evening of May 3, 2007, at the age of three.

Christian Brueckner is said to have taken ‘trophies’ from his victims in the past

In May this year, police searched the location near Silves, which Brueckner reportedly called his ‘little paradise’.

According to The Sun, experts believe the decision to contact Brueckner in 2013 about his whereabouts in 2007 may have given him time to destroy evidence.

But German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the case, later confirmed that a “number of objects” had been seized during the search.

It was the first major operation of its kind since June 2014, when British police were given permission to dig in Praia da Luz using sniffer dogs trained to find bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

Portuguese broadcaster SIC reported that German police had requested permission to search the dam in an official court request to Portugal, after concluding it was “an area of ​​interest.”

The query prompt was not initially provided.

According to the Spain-based Olive press The newspaper Brueckner, 46, is now likely to appear at the Braunschweig High Court in February for his involvement in several – separate – crimes.

The trial, which is expected to last more than a month, could mean a lifetime behind bars for the German due to the seriousness of the charges against him.

Christian Brückner was officially named as a suspect in April 2022 after his yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia camper was reportedly spotted near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal, where Maddie disappeared.

Brueckner has denied he was in the area at the time and distanced himself from the allegations against him.

But German prosecutors say phone logs show he received a call near the Ocean Club on May 3, 2007.

Authorities gather at a makeshift base camp in the Arade dam area, Faro district, during the search operation in Silves, Portugal, May 25, 2023

The operation, which began on May 23, stemmed from a European investigation order issued by German authorities to Portugal, which focused on the Arade Dam.

In the sinister ‘camp’ of suspect Madeleine McCann, next to the reservoir, searched by police

Brueckner claims he was miles away with a young woman.

He remains the only major suspect in the case since 2007.

Madeleine’s family kept the investigation open with private investigators until Scotland Yard opened its own investigation in 2011.

Nine years later, police in Braunschweig, northern Germany, identified a convicted pedophile and German national as a new suspect.

In 2021, prosecutors said they were “100% confident” they had the right man.

German prosecutor Hans Wolters said the evidence included phone analyzes placing him at the Ocean Club resort where the family was staying when Madeleine went missing and an alleged confession Brueckner made to a friend.

In April, it was reported that Christian Brueckner may not be charged in Germany over Madeleine’s disappearance, after a court ruled that prosecutors did not have jurisdiction to prosecute a case against him.