Madeleine McCann cops fear suspect could be linked to another ‘German Maddie’ snatched in 2001
MADELEINE McCann cops fear paedo Christian B could be linked to another "German Maddie" who was snatched and killed in 2001.
Peggy Knobloch, nine, vanished on her way home from school in May 2001 but her remains were not discovered until 15 years later in a forest near her home in Bavaria.
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The case is Germany's most infamous unsolved child murder and the chilling similarities between little Peggy's disappearance and Madeleine's led to her being dubbed the "German Maddie".
Investigators are now re-examining her brutal killing to establish whether there is a link to Christian B, who had been released from jail for child sex attacks just months before she vanished.
Bayreuth chief prosecutor Martin Dippold said: “The suspect in the 'Maddie' case is now also being reviewed in the 'Peggy' case."
In May 2001, the youngster's final words as she left for school were "I love you".
Tragically, Peggy was never seen again after being snatched in broad daylight while walking home.
A huge search was launched but no trace of her was found until 2016 when a mushroom picker discovered her remains in a forest.
The case has left German police baffled over the years with a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the mysterious killing.
Just like Madeleine's disappearance in Portugal in 2007, some believe she may have been abducted by an organised child trafficking gang.
Peggy’s mum Susanne Knobloch said: "The Maddie case takes me back to this time, everything comes up again."
In 2002 - a year after Peggy vanished - a man with learning disabilities was accused of killing her to cover up sexual abuse.
He was jailed for life two years later but his conviction was overturned and he was freed in 2014.
In 2018, another man came forward and claimed he had dumped the little girl's body in the forest but denied killing her.
He was later released as "there was no immediate suspicion" and he later retracted the confession.
Peggy is the second child branded the "German Maddie" that has been linked to Christian B since he was revealed to be the prime suspect in Madeleine's case.
Last week, police in Germany confirmed they are re-investigating the paedo over the disappearance of five-year-old Inga Gehricke in May 2015.
The little girl had been enjoying a family BBQ in woodland in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, around 50 miles from Berlin, when she vanished without a trace.
There were fears Christian B might be involved in the case after a sick stash of child abuse images were found at his German farmhouse lair near where she vanished.
They also fear his involvement amid claims he booked a parking space in a rest area less than 60 miles from the spot where Inga disappeared, reports.
Nine months after Inga vanished, Christian B's ramshackle farmhouse 55 miles away from the spot in Neuwegersleben was raided in connection with the little girl's disappearance.
Photos from the grim lair show tangled weeds creeping over rusted machinery and battered old caravans.
Officers raiding the home at the time discovered child abuse images on a USB stick and young girl's clothing - despite Christian B having no family.
But like Madeleine, police were unable to find any trace of missing Inga on the site of the old box factory.
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The indecent images were sent away for inspection but the case against Christian B went cold and no line of inquiry was pursued - despite the convicted paedo having no alibi on the day the little girl vanished.
Much like Madeleine's anguished family, her parents refuse to give up hope they will one day find her alive.
And in similar circumstances to the missing Brit, the case has now been thrust back into the spotlight after a bombshell breakthrough.
It comes after Christian B was linked to a fourth child disappearance - the murder of a missing 16-year-old girl whose body was discovered on a beach in 1996.
Carola Titze had reportedly been in contact with a German man days before she disappeared while on holiday in De Haan in 1996.
Tragically, her body was found badly mutilated in sand dunes just six days later.
Belgian authorities are investigating whether Christian B was involved in the teenager's killing.
German detectives investigating Christian B have also contacted the family of missing René Hasee to say they were looking into his 1996 abduction again.
Youngster René, from Elsdorf, Germany, vanished on June 21, 1996 while on holiday with his family in Aljezur - just 25 miles from Praia da Luz, in the Algarve.
Christian B was named as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance last week with prosecutors in Germany investigating him "on suspicion of murder".
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We are now able to show his picture in full in the UK after it was published in a German newspaper - as cops in both countries appeal for anyone who knows him to come forward.
German cops have sensationally revealed they believe Madeleine is dead and know how she was killed - but British police are still treating her disappearance as a missing person case.
Prosecutors in Germany say they have "evidence" the toddler was killed after she vanished in 2007 in Praia da Luz but not enough to charge suspect Christian B.
