Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has been accused of playing a 'game of cat and mouse' with German police. The 49-year-old convicted paedophile has been under 24-hour surveillance since his release from prison last September and has moved areas at least four times, most recently from Braunschweig to the Schleswig-Holstein region.
Braunschweig police spokesperson Lars Dehnert stated: 'It is true that Christian B. regularly played a game of cat and mouse with the police. He was clearly not amused by the constant surveillance he was under in Braunschweig.' Brueckner has reportedly attempted to give officers the slip on several occasions, including briefly escaping on a bicycle before calling emergency services to ask where his escort had gone.
Brueckner is the main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine from Praia da Luz, Portugal. He was jailed for seven years for raping a US pensioner at the same resort and released last September. He is living on benefits and must wear a monitoring tag for five years. He has boasted of sneaking out of his accommodation without being spotted.
Since his release, Brueckner has drifted across northern Germany, initially registering as homeless in Neumünster before being moved to Kiel, where he lived in a tent. He later moved to Braunschweig but faced backlash from neighbours. Last year, he was acquitted of three rape charges and two counts of child abuse, but prosecutors have appealed the verdict.
A psychological expert described Brueckner as belonging to the 'absolute top league of dangerous offenders' and warned his probability of reoffending within two years could be 30 to 50 per cent. Brueckner denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, stating: 'There will be no charges against me in the Maddie case. That is because I am innocent.'
