GERMAN convicted rapist Christian B was officially named as a suspect in the investigation in 2022.
Maddie disappeared during a family holiday in the Algarve in May 2007, sparking a nationwide hunt.
Who is Madeleine McCann suspect Christian B?
Metropolitan Police took over the investigation – known as Operation Grange – in 2011.
But they had hit several dead ends in the hunt to find the truth behind what happened to Madeleine in 2007.
However, further findings revealed that a German prisoner – Christian B – as a "significant" suspect in the disappearance of the then-toddler.
His last name has been withheld by police due to German privacy laws.
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He is a prolific burglar, who has previous convictions for sex crimes against young girls.
The suspect was born in Germany in 1976 but moved to Portugal in his late teens.
The paedo has been described as being white with short blond hair and of slim build at around 6ft tall.
The suspect – who was 30 at the time of Madeleine's disappearance – has twice been convicted for sex crimes against young girls.
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German police previously claimed to have "concrete evidence" that Maddie is dead, sending a letter to her parents.
They believe he initially planned to rob the holiday apartment before he "moved on to a sexual motive".
In May 2023, it was reported police had launched a new search for Maddie's body in the first major operation of its kind in nine years.
German cops were set to search a remote Algarve reservoir Christian B is believed to have used.
It is approximately a 45-minute drive from the Ocean Club holiday resort of Praia da Luz where Maddie vanished from in 2007.
The area is where there was a sighting of a child being handed to a man days after the three-year-old disappeared.
How was the suspect identified?
The prime suspect was already known to British and Portuguese police concerning Madeleine's disappearance in Praia da Luz.
Yet, the information came from a witness who stepped forward following the appeal by the Met Police on the tenth anniversary in 2017.
The suspect is believed to have been leading a "transient lifestyle" at the time, as he travelled between Portugal and Germany.
It is believed he was living in the Iberian nation between 1995 and 2007 working in the food industry.
The man is known to have been in the area at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, having taken a 30-minute phone call an hour before she went missing.
Christian B has always denied any involvement, despite an alleged confession.
In 2017, he allegedly confessed to kidnapping Madeleine while sitting in a German bar watching coverage of the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
The friend he spoke to came forward to German police.
In June 2020, German police said that Madeleine was assumed dead and that Christian B was likely responsible for it.
However, he has not been charged with any crime related to the disappearance.
Hans Christian Wolters, one of the German prosecutors on the case, said they hoped to complete their investigation by the end of 2023.
“It’s a big puzzle and we have some important pieces but some pieces are missed.
"So, we hope to find as many pieces as we could get, so the picture will be a complete one.
“We think that he was involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and we think that he murdered Madeleine McCann.”
What other cases has Christian B been linked to?
Christian B has been linked with the disappearances of several children over the past 25 years, including that of a six-year-old boy in Portugal in 1996 and a five-year-old girl in Germany in 2015.
Authorities in Belgium have also linked him to the murder of missing 16-year-old Carola Titze, who disappeared while on holiday in De Haan on July 5, 1996.
Her severely mutilated body was discovered among the sand dunes on July 11.
Christian B has also been associated with the missing person’s case of Inga Gehricke.
The child disappeared during a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt on May 2, 2015.
The father of missing six-year-old René Hasee, who disappeared on June 21, 1996, while on vacation with his family in Aljezur, Portugal – roughly 40km from Praia da Luz – has also claimed his son's case has been reopened by police.
Christian B has also been linked with the disappearance of Jair Soares, a seven-year-old who vanished in August 1995.
Meanwhile, Peggy Knobloch's disappearance has also been linked back to the German paedo, after she went missing in May 2001.
In 2020, Christian B was being investigated over 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 in the same place where Madeleine went missing.
The suspect is believed to have a total of 17 convictions, including burglary – with German Federal Crime Agency (BKA) director Christian Hoppe claiming he is known for stealing from hotels and holiday apartments.
German police – who are treating the case as a murder inquiry – believe he initially planned to rob the holiday apartment before he "moved on to a sexual motive".
Scotland Yard also revealed that a 1980s VW T3 Westphalia white campervan has been linked to the suspect, and was seen in Praia da Luz days before she vanished.
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He is also believed to have been living in it in the days and weeks before and after the disappearance.
A 1993 Jaguar XJR6 has also been connected to the German sex offender, with one of the two vehicles believed to have been used the kidnapping of Madeleine.
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