Who is Madeleine McCann’s suspect “Christian B”?
CONVICTED sex offender Christian B is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Maddie disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007 at the age of three.
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Who is Madeleine McCann’s suspect Christian B?
The Metropolitan Police took over the investigation – known as Operation Grange – in 2011.
However, in their search for the truth about what happened to Madeleine in 2007, they had hit several dead ends.
However, further findings revealed that a German prisoner – Christian B. – is considered a “substantial” suspect in the disappearance of the then small child.
The 45-year-old is a prolific burglar who already has a criminal record for sex crimes against young girls.
Due to German data protection laws, his full name may not be disclosed.
The suspect was born in Germany in 1976 but moved to Portugal in his late teens.
The paedo was described as white with short blond hair and a slim build with a height of about 1.80 m.
The suspect – who was 30 at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance – has been convicted twice of sex crimes against young girls.
German police previously claimed they have “concrete evidence” that Maddie was dead and sent a letter to her parents.
They believe he originally planned to rob the vacation rental before he “had a sexual motive.”
In May 2023, it was reported that police had launched a new search for Maddie’s body in the first major operation of its kind in nine years.
German police officers were to search a remote reservoir in the Algarve that Christian B is believed to have used.
It is about 45 minutes’ drive from the Praia da Luz resort of the Ocean Club, from which Maddie disappeared in 2007.
A child was seen being handed over to a man in the area days after the three-year-old disappeared.
How was the suspect identified?
The main suspect was already known to British and Portuguese police in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance in Praia da Luz.
However, the information came from a witness who came forward after the Met Police’s tenth-anniversary appeal in 2017.
The suspect is believed to have been leading a “fugitive lifestyle” at the time, traveling between Portugal and Germany.
It is believed that he lived in the Iberian nation between 1995 and 2007 and worked in the food industry.
The man is known to have been in the area at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance, having answered a 30-minute phone call an hour before her disappearance.
What other cases has Christian B been linked to?
Christian B has been linked to the disappearances of several children over the past 25 years, including a six-year-old boy in Portugal in 1996 and a five-year-old girl in Germany in 2015.
Belgian authorities have also linked him to the murder of missing 16-year-old Carola Titze, who disappeared on July 5, 1996 while on holiday in De Haan.
Her badly mutilated body was discovered in the sand dunes on July 11.
Christian B. was also associated with Inga Gehricke’s missing person case.
The child disappeared on May 2, 2015 during a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt.
The father of missing six-year-old René Hasee, who disappeared on June 21, 1996 while on holiday with his family in Aljezur, Portugal – some 40 km from Praia da Luz – also claimed his son’s case had been reopened by the police.
Christian B has also been linked to the disappearance of Jair Soares, a seven-year-old who disappeared in August 1995.
Meanwhile, Peggy Knobloch’s disappearance has also been linked to the German pedophile after she disappeared in May 2001.
In 2020, Christian B was investigated for the rape and murder of 13-year-old German boy Tristan Brübach.
Why is Christian B in prison in Germany?
Christian B is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of raping a 72-year-old woman in 2005.
The act happened at the same place where Madeleine went missing.
The suspect is said to have a total of 17 criminal records, including burglary. BKA director Christian Hoppe claims that he is known for thefts in hotels and holiday apartments.
German police, who are treating the case as a murder investigation, believe he initially intended to rob the holiday home before “devolving to a sexual motive”.
Scotland Yard also revealed that a white 1980s VW T3 Westpha has been linked to the suspect and was seen in Praia da Luz a few days before she disappeared.
He is also believed to have lived in it in the days and weeks before and after the disappearance.
A 1993 Jaguar XJR6 has also been linked to the German sex offender, with one of the two vehicles believed to have been used in the Madeleine kidnapping.