Full Name: Madeleine Beth McCann

Alternative Name: Maddie, Maddy

Case Status: Missing

Record ID#: 0206

*The names “Jane Doe”  and “John Doe” are English names used when the person’s true name is not known. If used above, the name refers to a person of unknown identity.

Date of Birth*: May 12, 2003
Birthplace: Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Age at the Time: 3
Age Group: Toddler (2 to 5 Years Old)
Biological Sex: Female
Hair: Straight, shoulder-length, light-to-dark blonde tones
Eyes: Blue-green with a distinctive darker rim; right eye blue-green, left eye blue-green with dark vertical coloboma
Skin Complexion: Fair or Light
Shoe Size:
Ethnicity: Caucasian or White
Nationality: Britain, United Kingdom
Languages Spoken: English

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Physical Build:

Height:

Weight

Distinguishing Marks:

• Birthmark, Physical Abnormality

Medical Condition:
Physical Abnormality: Unique coloboma (dark defect) in left iris, noticeable on close inspection; became key identifying feature in Interpol bulletins
Dental Condition: Baby teeth present, no known dental work; no reported missing teeth
Scars & Other Marks: Brown mark on her left calf.
Piercings:
Tattoos:

Other Descriptors:

Clothing

Generally described simply as a light-colored pajama set. But some sources point to a specific set.

• Short-Sleeved Pink and White Pajama shirt with capped sleeves The Disney character “Eeyore the Donkey” and the words “Sleepy EEYORE” printed on the front.
• The matching bottoms were white cotton with small multi-colored flowers and an Eeyore motif on the right leg.

Possessions:

Madeleine’s toy cat — “Cuddle Cat” — was concerningly not missing. It was left behind in the holiday apartment.

Date of the Disappearance*: May 3, 2007

Description: On the evening of May 3, 2007, three-year-old Madeleine Beth McCann vanished from her family’s holiday apartment at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, a quiet seaside village on Portugal’s Algarve coast. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were vacationing with friends and their three young children. That night, after settling the children into bed, the adults gathered at a nearby tapas restaurant roughly 55 meters from the apartment, taking turns checking on the sleeping kids. When Kate returned around 10 p.m., she discovered Madeleine’s bed empty, the bedroom window open, and the shutter raised. Within minutes, the search began — but the little girl was gone.

The immediate aftermath was chaotic. Resort staff and guests fanned out through the complex, calling her name into the night while local police were alerted. Portuguese authorities quickly issued border and airport alerts, fearing an abduction. The following day, a nationwide search was underway, and the case soon captured the attention of the world. Volunteers, helicopters, and tracking dogs combed the area. Yet in those crucial early hours, the apartment and surrounding grounds were not fully secured — a mistake that would later draw criticism and complicate forensic efforts.

Witnesses offered fragments of hope and mystery. One vacationer reported seeing a man carrying a small, blonde child in light-colored pajamas near the resort around 10 p.m. Another couple recalled a similar sighting on a nearby street, though neither observation could be conclusively tied to Madeleine. Over the days that followed, the McCanns made emotional public appeals, distributing posters and appearing before cameras holding Madeleine’s pink stuffed cat, “Cuddle Cat,” which had been found on her bed after she disappeared. The toy soon became a symbol of their campaign to find her.

As the investigation unfolded, it drew global scrutiny — and controversy. In May 2007, local resident Robert Murat was named an official suspect but was later cleared. That September, the focus turned dramatically toward Madeleine’s parents, as Portuguese police speculated that the child might have died accidentally in the apartment and her death concealed. The McCanns were formally declared suspects but strenuously denied involvement. With little physical evidence and mounting public pressure, the Portuguese prosecutor closed the case in July 2008, clearing the McCanns and shelving the investigation.

In 2011, at the request of the British government, the Metropolitan Police launched Operation Grange — a fresh review of all evidence and leads. The British team, working with Portuguese and later German investigators, re-examined old files, followed up on overlooked tips, and reconstructed timelines. For more than a decade, theories swirled: stranger abduction, burglary gone wrong, human trafficking, and even mistaken identity. The case continued to generate thousands of alleged sightings across Europe, North Africa, and beyond, though nearly all were ruled out.

A major development came in June 2020, when German prosecutors identified Christian Brückner, a convicted sex offender with a long criminal history, as their prime suspect. Brückner had lived intermittently in the Algarve around 2007, driving a distinctive camper van and working odd jobs. Investigators linked him to other crimes in the region, including the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005 — for which he was later convicted. German authorities publicly stated they were treating Madeleine’s case as a murder investigation, though no body has ever been found. Brückner has consistently denied any involvement.

In the years since, searches have periodically resumed in Portugal and Germany, including excavations at properties and reservoirs connected to Brückner. In June 2025, police launched another large-scale search near a lake several miles from Praia da Luz, but results have not been disclosed. Brückner, recently released from a German prison on unrelated charges, remains under investigation but has not been charged in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance.

Nearly two decades later, Madeleine McCann remains missing, and her fate is one of the most enduring mysteries in modern criminal history. The McCanns continue to keep their daughter’s memory alive through appeals, advocacy, and a fund supporting the ongoing search. Operation Grange remains active but scaled down, while German authorities maintain that they hold evidence suggesting Madeleine is no longer alive. For the world — and especially for her family — the case endures as a haunting reminder of how, even in the age of surveillance and technology, a child can vanish into the night without a trace.

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The unsolved vanishings of Madeleine McCann (2007, Portugal), René Hasee (1996, Portugal), and Inga Gehricke (2015, Germany) have haunted investigators and families alike with their striking similarities. For a time, all three cases were considered possibly linked to suspect Christian Brückner, a German citizen who lived near the location of all three disappearances when they occurred. However, he was cleared in Inga’s disappearance and has only circumstantial connections to René’s disappearance, leaving any tie between their cases still uncertain.

René Hasee

René Hasee, a six-year-old German boy from Elsdorf near Cologne, disappeared on June 18, 1996, while on a family holiday at Amoreira beach near Aljezur in the Algarve, Portugal. Around 5:00pm (17:00), René was stung by a jellyfish while playing in the shallow waves. He ran toward the ocean to rinse off, leaving his clothes on the sand. When his parents looked up moments later, René was gone. His abandoned clothes and sandals were found, but no other traces.

René was described as a slender boy with short blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and a small scar on his forehead from a bicycle accident. He stood about 120 cm (3’11”) tall and was wearing blue swim trunks.

The case remains open and unsolved. Portuguese and German authorities reopened the investigation in 2020 amid the McCann probe, focusing on Brückner due to his residence in the Algarve from 1995-2007. Phone records and witness sightings place him near Amoreira that summer, but no charges have been filed. Searches of his properties in 2021-2023 yielded no evidence. As of October 2025, tips continue, with a €20,000 reward offered; Brückner remains under investigation but denies involvement.

Inga Gehricke

Inga Gehricke, a five-year-old German girl, disappeared on May 2, 2015—almost exactly eight years after Madeleine—during a family barbecue at a forested area in Wilhelmshof, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. She helped bring drinks to the sports field and then went off with the other children to collect firewood for a campfire. She was last seen playing at the edge of the forest at around 7:00pm (19:00). When the children returned with the wood, Inga was no longer with them and has not been seen since. Inga had blonde hair in braids, blue eyes, long eyelashes, and was missing her two front upper teeth. She stood about 120 cm (3’11”) tall.

The case was officially closed in 2019 after extensive searches yielded no clues, despite over 2,000 tips and a €25,000 reward. In February 2025, police launched new searches in the area, but no breakthroughs have been reported. Brückner was initially considered due to his nearby property and a traffic incident the day before, but he was ruled out by investigators in October 2024.

Comparison

All three children—René (6), Madeleine (3), and Inga (5)—shared physical similarities: fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. They were young, slender, and disappeared during family outings in tourist-heavy or recreational areas (beaches for René and Madeleine, a forested area for Inga). The incidents occurred in early spring/summer: June for René, May for the others. All were on holiday or away from home, with brief moments of parental distraction.

René and Inga were German speakers, while Madeleine spoke English, but a German suspect could plausibly interact with them. Brückner, with prior convictions involving children (including a six-year-old girl), has been linked circumstantially to René and Madeleine due to his presence in Portugal around those times. However, the connections are weak: no direct evidence ties him to René beyond proximity and timing, and he was cleared in Inga’s case. With Christian Brückner ruled out in Inga’s disappearance, there are fewer similarities between her case and the other two, as Inga’s occurred in Germany rather than Portugal, lacked the beach setting, and has no ongoing ties to Brückner—making her vanishing potentially unrelated and highlighting it as more of a geographic outlier. It’s possible the cases are unrelated, or only some are connected.

Nearly three decades after René’s disappearance, and with Madeleine and Inga’s cases also unresolved, the families continue to seek answers. Whether linked by a common perpetrator or mere coincidence, these tragedies highlight the vulnerabilities of children in seemingly safe environments. The public is urged to report any information to authorities, as even small tips could bring closure. As of October 2025, hope persists, but the mysteries endure.

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Multiple Victims?: Maybe

Rumored or Actual Sightings:

• On the evening of 3 May 2007 (the night of her disappearance), a holidaying couple from Ireland, Martin and Mary Smith, reported that at around 22:00 in the village of Praia da Luz they saw a man walking away from the resort carrying a little girl aged approximately 3–4. The girl was described as having pale skin and blonde hair, wearing light-coloured pyjamas, barefoot. The man was described as mid-thirties, short brown hair, wearing cream/beige trousers and a black leather jacket. The sighting occurred on Rua da Escola Primária, about 500 yards from the McCanns’ holiday apartment. Investigators regarded this as a credible lead.
• On 4 May 2007, a taxi driver (identified in media as Antonio Castela) claimed that he picked up a group – “three men, a woman and a girl resembling Madeleine” – at about 19:50 from Monte Gordo (some distance from Praia da Luz) and drove them to the Hotel Apolo in Vila Real de Santo António, where they then transferred into a blue Jeep and drove away. The taxi driver told this to Portuguese authorities some years later, though he says he was never formally questioned at the time.
• In the days following her disappearance, CCTV from a petrol-station near Lagos (in the Algarve) reportedly captured a child matching Madeleine’s description being accompanied by a woman and two men; this sighting was reported on 9 May 2007. The child was alleged to have been in distress or in a dispute with the adult woman. This lead was flagged in the files of the Portuguese police and investigators.

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Date the Body was Recovered:

Description: Unknown

Time of Death:

Cause of Death:

Recovered Remains (if partial):

Suspected Homicide?:

Multiple Victims?: Yes

DNA Tested (No Match):

*If the date says January 1, this is often just a placeholder for an unknown specific date. It usually means “sometime that year”.

Description: The following vehicles are linked to Christian Brückner, a key person of interest in the Madeleine McCann disappearance and possibly René Hasee‘s disappearance. Both cars have been recovered by police, but witnesses are asked to keep them in mind when considering information that may assist police.

• Early 1980s Volkswagen T3 Westfalia Camper Van (recovered): White upper body with yellow skirting. Brückner acquired it around 2006–2007 and kept it until 2015.
• 1993 Black or Aubergine-Colored Classic Jaguar, Model XJR6 Supercharged Sedan (recovered): Well-maintained. Brückner bought it secondhand after his release from prison in 1999 and used it in Portugal from 2000–2007. It was re-registered in Germany under his friend’s name (Alexander Bischof) on May 4, 2007—the day after Madeleine disappeared; however, the car was still in Portugal at the time.

License Plate:

• Jaguar – German Plate
• VW campervan – Portuguese Plate

Description: Christian Brückner, a 49-year-old German national (born December 7, 1976), emerged as a key person of interest in 2020. He has a lengthy criminal history spanning over three decades, beginning with petty crimes and escalating to serious sexual offenses. Brückner, described as a drifter, burglar, and handyman, has convictions for burglary, theft, drug trafficking, rape, sexual assault, child abuse, and possession of child pornography.

His criminal activities started early: at age 15, he was convicted of burglary in 1992 in Würzburg, Germany. In 1994, at age 17, Brückner was first charged and convicted of sexual abuse involving a six-year-old girl. He served part of his sentence before fleeing to the Algarve region of Portugal in 1995, the year prior to René’s disappearance.

Brückner remained in Portugal until 1999, when he was arrested and served a couple of months there for petty theft before being extradited back to Germany to complete the remainder of his two-year sentence for the 1994 offense. Upon his release, he returned to Portugal and lived intermittently between Lagos and Praia da Luz until 2007, just after Madeleine’s disappearance.

He stayed off the police radar for several years until 2006, when he was arrested on new theft charges and served an additional nine months. Free once more, his phone logs placed him in Praia da Luz, near the Ocean Club resort, on the same day that Madeleine vanished in 2007. Several witnesses supplied police with descriptions of a suspicious man in the neighborhood the night Madeleine disappeared, descriptions that seemingly match that of Brückner. There is information suggesting he was burglarizing hotels and holiday apartments at the time and may have initially entered the McCanns’ room for that purpose, potentially turning into an opportunistic abduction.

After Madeleine disappeared, Brückner abandoned Portugal and returned to his native Germany. He was sentenced in 2011 to twenty-one months in prison on charges of drug-trafficking before being released once more. In 2015, Brückner sold off his camper van, which police later seized for the investigation into Madeleine’s case. In 2016, he was found guilty on charges of child abuse, sexual abuse of a child, and possession of child pornography.

It was not until 2017 that his potential ties to the disappearance of Madeleine were first recognized, when he allegedly confessed to a friend while drunk that he had information about Madeleine’s case (Link). In the ensuing investigation, it was revealed that Brückner was noted as a potential suspect early in McCann’s case but was seemingly overlooked.

Brückner was arrested again in 2018 and belatedly convicted in 2019 of raping an elderly American woman at her apartment in Praia da Rocha, Portugal, back in 2005. He was identified in that case due to DNA evidence, but he denied the accusations and sought to appeal the conviction. He ultimately served nearly seven years for this crime.

In 2024, Brückner was acquitted of additional charges of rape and sexual abuse in unrelated cases dating back to 2000-2017. Following this, he was released from prison on September 17, 2025, as authorities stated they no longer had legal justification to hold him. Since his release, Brückner has been living on state benefits in a small town in northern Germany, under police surveillance amid public protests demanding his relocation due to safety concerns. Just days after his release, he was spotted enjoying a night out at a nightclub, which reportedly terrified other patrons. In October 2025, Brückner broke his silence in media interviews, denying any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance with a four-word response: “I didn’t do it.” He has also claimed that investigators might “kill” him to silence him, portraying himself as a victim of the state.

Regarding links to René Hasee, it is unclear if there is any direct evidence potentially linking Brückner. All that seems to connect the two is the similarity in proximity, shared nationality, and the opportunity for Brückner to have committed the crime, as he was living in the Algarve at the time. It is unclear if Brückner had targeted boys previously; his known convictions primarily involved females, though some child abuse charges were not gender-specific. He would have been 19 at the time of René’s disappearance. René’s father has expressed hope that the investigation into Brückner might provide answers, but no charges have been filed.

We emphasize the presumption of innocence: Brückner has not been convicted in relation to René or Madeleine, and has been ruled out in the case of Inga.

Described as: German Citizen, Caucasian, Male, Thin or Slender, Light Colored Hair, Blue Eyes