Will the discovery of a credible suspect lead to answers in the Madeleine McCann case?
CBSN
[This story previously aired on February 27, 2021.] GERRY MCCANN [to reporters, May 2007]: We will leave no stone unturned in the search for our daughter, Madeleine. KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: We have to be hopeful. It's what keeps us going and keeps us focused. KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: We were having a great holiday. It was — we had lots of fun. GERRY MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: She might look like Kate but in terms of personality she's much more of a McCann. She's very extroverted and lively. KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: She is very sociable. GERRY MCCANN [to reporters in May 2007]: Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come home to her mummy, daddy, brother, and sister. GERRY MCCANN [to reporters in May 2007]: It's obviously extremely difficult … KATE MCCANN [2007 BBC interview]: Well it was something that Madeleine has with her every night. And if she was upset or not well, then she has cuddle cat. So, it provided me with a little bit of comfort, something of Madeleine's close to me. JENNY MURAT [2007 interview]: They couldn't have seen him. He was home all night. JANE HILL [2007 BBC interview]: A lot of people, in the last three weeks, have … said, 'I can't imagine doing such a thing. I wouldn't be able to leave three children, in that situation." How do you deal with those sorts of comments? GERRY MCCANN [statement at airport, 2007]: We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter, Madeleine. SUSAN HEALEY [2007 interview]: Kate said, "Why — why would I sign that confession?" you know. … If an accident had happened, Madeleine had fallen, Kate and Gerry wouldn't have hidden that. KATE MCCANN [2008 interview]: It's hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguido and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction. KATE MCCANN | May 2011 BBC interview: I think there's a really good chance she's still alive. … [takes a deep breath] I guess I feel she's out there. "A MINUTE FROM MADELEINE MCCANN": Madeleine disappeared on the 3rd of May, 2007, while on holiday with her family in Portugal. … If you know who's involved, and you're keeping this secret … KATE MCCANN [2011 BBC Interview]: Obviously that was our biggest fear. … But just the thought of someone so lovely and beautiful, our child, being subjected to something like that was, was enough to destroy us. CHARLIE D'AGATA [CBSN, June 4, 2020]: German police revealing that a convicted sex offender, currently serving a jail sentence, is now the prime suspect. GERRY MCCANN [2017 interview]: On anniversaries and her birthday they are by far the hardest days, by far. FRIEDRICH FULSCHER: He is innocent until proven guilty. KATE MCCANN: Madeleine is a beautiful, bright, funny and caring little girl. She is so special. … We beg you to let Madeleine come home …
It's a mystery that has been compared to a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces missing — until now. In 2007, while on vacation with her parents at a beach resort in Southern Portugal, 3-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed, sparking one of the biggest missing child investigations in history. GERRY McCANN [2007 BBC interview]: I think, you know … no one will ever feel more guilty than us. … If you thought for a minute that someone could abduct your child, of course, you would never have left them. KATE MCCANN [2017 interview]: Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, there is still hope we can find Madeleine.
Despite a global media storm and a multinational search and investigation, years passed with no answers until June 2020, when German authorities announced they had a suspect — a sex offender with several previous convictions. His name is Christian Brueckner. GERRY MCCANN [2017 interview]: Certainly, from my point of view, somebody knows what happened.
