Senior officers of the Portuguese Police met in London with Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father, and apologized for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family. For years, the parents of the 3-year-old girl were suspected of covering up the girl’s death. Gerry even claimed that the police offered him a deal in which they would give him a short sentence if he confessed to the crime.
Gonçalo Amaralthe lead detective who led the case, was later removed from the investigation, but wrote a book accusing the McCanns of being involved in their daughter’s disappearance.
Portuguese security forces now acknowledge that their initial investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance was not handled properly and that at that time not enough importance was given to certain details that clearly exonerated his parents.
The German authorities have affirmed since 2020 that they have evidence of the murder of Maddie, who disappeared in Portugal at the age of 3, and point to a German repeat pedophile, identified as Christian Brueckner. The man is currently serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 in southern Portugal.
Madeleine McCann, called Maddie, disappeared on May 3, 2007 shortly before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luza tourist destination in the south of Portugal where his parents were on vacation with a group of friends.