There are few disappearance cases that have received as much attention as The Madeleine McCann case. It’s been 14 years since three – year – old McCann disappeared during a family holiday in the Algarve region of southern Portugal in 2007.
In June last year, a German man (44) suspected of being behind Madeleine McCann’s disappearance and presumed death in 2007. The man, who has previously been convicted of assault, is imprisoned in Kiel, where he is serving a drug sentence.
Police have previously stated that the suspect has been in their spotlight for four years, but that they have not had enough evidence to prosecute him. The police are said to have gathered information about him before they identified him as a suspect.
Suspicion of murder breaks the silence
– Would be pointless
In an interview with Mirror Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters says that the police now have sufficient evidence to prosecute. He emphasizes that the German prosecution authorities are 100 percent sure that the man is guilty, but that they will still wait with an indictment.
– This is not just about prosecuting him. We want to prosecute him with the best evidence possible, says Wolters, and adds:
– When we still have questions, it would be pointless to address him instead of waiting for the answers that can strengthen our position, he says.
LEADER OF PROSECUTION: Hans Christian Wolters claims that the police now have sufficient evidence to bring charges against the suspect. Photo: NTB / AP Photo / Martin Meissner
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Police have not been able to find technical evidence linking the man to the kidnapping. However, they are not dependent on technical evidence for a possible indictment.
Police hope to prosecute the man next year.
– We will investigate as long as there are clues or information that we can investigate. I am not saying that the evidence we have now is insufficient. But he’s in jail, so we do not have any pressure on us. We have time, he says.
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Violent publicity
Madeleine (3) disappeared while her parents Kate and Gerry McCann had dinner with friends at a restaurant 50 meters away from the holiday apartment in Portugal.
When the mother went to the apartment to check if everything was fine, she discovered that the eldest daughter had disappeared, while their two younger twins were still sleeping in the room.
The case has received a lot of coverage in the international media, and there has been complete confusion about what happened that fateful night.
After the disappearance in 2007, Kate and Gerry McCann created a website, www.findmadeleine.com, which received 100 million hits in just a few days. Almost the whole world became involved in the case.
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Important development
The suspect lived between 1995 and 2007 for periods on the Algarve coast, near where the McCann family vacationed. There he was guilty of various offenses, such as burglary of hotels and holiday homes, as well as drug trafficking.
After the police suspected the 44-year-old, the parents stated via spokesperson Clarence Mitchell that the new information was «An important development».
“This seems to be the most important clue the police have received since Madeleine disappeared 13 years ago,” said Mitchell.
