What do we know about the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann?

Updated

British and German police have not named the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, but he has been partially identified as Christian B in reports.

Here is what else is known:

– He is a German national, aged 43, but at the time Madeleine vanished on May 3 2007 in Praia da Luz, Portugal, he was 30 years old and may have looked between 25 and his early 30s.

– Christian Hoppe, from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), told the country's ZDF television channel that he is currently serving a prison sentence for a sex crime and has two previous convictions for "sexual contact with girls".

– German newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung reported he is serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005 after he was convicted at Braunschweig District Court in December last year.

– German magazine Der Spiegel reported he was extradited from Portugal in 2017 and initially convicted of drug trafficking.

– He is known to have frequented the Praia da Luz area between 1995 and 2007, with some short spells in Germany.

– Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor's Office, said the suspect was regularly living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he worked jobs, including in the gastronomy business, but funded his lifestyle by committing crimes, including thefts in hotel complexes and apartments, as well as drug dealing.

– The suspect is described as having a "transient lifestyle", living in his camper van for days at a time.

– An appeal on German Crimewatch-style programme XY said he was linked to houses in Portugal – including one between Praia da Luz and Lagos.

– A former neighbour told Sky News he rented a farm building from an English owner from the mid-90s, leaving a year before Madeleine disappeared.

"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 said.

A house in Portugal linked to the suspect
A house in Portugal linked to the suspect

"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."

– At the time of Madeleine's disappearance, he had access to a distinctive VW T3 Westfalia camper van, from at least April 2007 until sometime after May 2007, which was used in and around the area of Praia da Luz.

It is an early 1980s model, with two-tone markings, a white upper body and a yellow skirting, with a Portuguese registration plate.

Detectives believe he was living in the van for days, possibly weeks, and may have been using it on May 3 2007.

– The suspect has also been linked to a 1993 British Jaguar, model XJR 6, with a German number plate and registered in Germany, which is believed to have been in Praia da Luz and surrounding areas in 2006 and 2007.

The inside of a house in Portugal linked to the suspect
The inside of a house in Portugal linked to the suspect

The car was originally registered in the suspect's name but was re-registered to someone else in Germany the day after Madeleine's disappearance, although the vehicle is believed to have still been in Portugal.

– The suspect is believed to have been using a Portuguese mobile phone, number +351 912 730 680, on the day Madeleine went missing.

The phone received a call, starting at 7.32pm and finishing at 8.02pm, on May 3 2007 in the area of Praia da Luz from a second mobile number (+351 916 510 683) from a person not in the area.

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