Suspect claims he was having sex with woman

The prime suspect linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from Praia da Luz (Algarve) in 2007 has presented an alibi which he claims places him “many miles from the scene”.

Reports Sky News, Christian Brückner says he was having sex with a woman in his camper van at the time of the disappearance and claims the woman will back his alibi.

The suspect adds that he drove this same woman to Faro Airport for a flight home the next day and they were stopped and photographed at a police roadblock. He also claims she was arrested at airport security for carrying an illegal pepper spray and later appeared in court, adding that Portuguese police must have a record of those events.

The newspaper adds that German police “apparently found a photograph of the woman lying in his camper van” during their investigation into a rape for which the suspect is now serving a seven-year jail sentence in Germany.

If his alibi is proven true, it would contradict “vital but circumstantial” evidence from mobile phone data masts that police say puts him close to the apartment from where Madeleine vanished from her bed, says Sky News.

According to police, the suspect’s mobile phone was in the village when it received a call from 7.32pm to 8.02pm. Madeleine’s parents said she disappeared between 9 and 10pm, while the suspect insists that by 10pm he had driven miles along the coast east towards Faro.