It's been more than 15 years since Madeleine McCann disappeared from her holiday apartment in Portugal's Algarve, triggering a missing persons' case that has only heightened the anguish for her parents Gerry and Kate.
But a development this week could herald a major breakthrough after Portuguese police formally identified German national Christian Brueckner as a murder suspect.
Investigators have given convicted sex offender Brueckner, 44, the title of “arguido” — meaning he is now officially the centre of the criminal investigation.
Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence in northern German for raping a woman in 2005.
Here is a breakdown of the main events since Madeleine, 3, vanished.
2007
– May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal, while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters just after 9pm, but when Ms McCann goes back at about 10pm she finds Madeleine missing.
Jane Tanner, one of the friends dining with the McCanns, reports having seen a man carrying a child earlier that night.
– May 14: Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him a formal suspect — but this is later withdrawn.
– August 11: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly say for the first time that she could be dead.
– September 7: During questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them arguidos in their daughter’s disappearance — but this is also later withdrawn.
– September 9: The McCanns, with their twins Sean and Amelie, 2, fly back to England.
2008
– July 21: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the arguido status of the McCanns and Robert Murat.
2011
– May 12: Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance, on Madeleine’s 8th birthday.
London's Metropolitan Police launch a review of the case after a request from Theresa May, home secretary at the time, supported by David Cameron, prime minister at the time.
2012
– April 25: UK detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look at 9 and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case. However, Portuguese police say they have found no new evidence.
2013
– July 4: UK police say they have launched their own investigation ― Operation Grange ― into Madeleine’s disappearance, two years into a review of the case. They claim to have “genuinely new” lines of inquiry and have identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
– October 24: Portuguese police confirm that a review of their original investigation has uncovered new lines of inquiry, and they reopen the case.
2014
– January 29: British detectives fly to Portugal, amid rumours they are planning to make arrests.
– June 3: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
– December 12: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.
2015
– September 16: The UK government says that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine has cost more than £10 million.
– October 28: London's Met Police cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.
2017
– April 30: The McCanns prepare to mark 10 years since their daughter’s disappearance with a BBC interview in which they vow to do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to find her.
2019
– May 3: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.
2020
– June 3: Police say a German prisoner — later named as Christian Brueckner, 43 — has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
– June 4: London's Met Police say Operation Grange — which had received £12.3 million in funding up to April 2020 — is still a missing person inquiry, as detectives have no “definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead”.
2021
– May 4: Kate and Gerry McCann post a statement on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign website saying they still cling to the hope of seeing their daughter again, as they prepare to mark her 18th birthday on May 12.
2022
– April 21: Christian Brueckner is made an arguido formal suspect by Portuguese authorities.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
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Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
