Madeleine McCann disappearance could be solved in MONTHS after ‘very interesting tips’, claim German investigators
MADELEINE McCann's disappearance could be solved in "months" after "very interesting tips", German investigators have said.
Convicted paedophile and rapist Christian B, 44, was last year named by cops as the main suspect in the disappearance of the three-year-old.
Madeleine vanished during a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
German prosecutors have claimed to have evidence Madeleine is dead, but her parents Kate and Gerry have said they "will never give up hope of finding her alive".
Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the probe, said the case could be solved in months.
His team is “pleased” with how the investigation has progressed over the past year and that they had received “very interesting tips”, the
Schneider, 50, said: "I do not give out such information lightly and without constantly questioning myself because I am very well aware of the responsibility of what I do."
He added: "I am happy that the BKA seem to be taking me seriously.
"Often you have a reputation as a freak or someone just trying to squeeze money out of someone, and this is quite hurtful. I never take money."
He said he looks at a photo of a missing person and asks himself "upwards towards God whether this living being is alive or dead".
He then runs his fingers and eyes over an atlas, Google Maps and Google Earth "until they stop on a spot".
Using this technique last month he helped police locate a missing woman, who was found hanging from a tree, within 36 hours.
Schneider was also able to pinpoint exactly where murdered couple Peter Neumair, 63, and Laura Perselli, 68, would be found after they vanished from their home in Bolzano, Italy, in January.
WHEN DID MADELEINE MCCANN GO MISSING?
MADELEINE McCann vanished from her family's Portuguese holiday flat 14 years ago, triggering a global search which has so far failed to find the missing child.
Despite a £12million police probe, Madeleine's whereabouts - or whether she's dead or alive - still remains a mystery.
Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007, when her family, from Leicestershire, were holidaying in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, Portugal.
Parents Gerry and Kate left their three children – including toddler twins Sean and Amelie – sleeping in their apartment while they dined at a tapas bar - 120 metres away.
When Kate returned to check on the kids at around 10pm that evening, she discovered that Madeleine was not in her bed and was missing.
In September of that year, Gerry and Kate, both doctors, were sensationally named as "arguidos" by Portuguese police.
The following summer the McCanns were cleared by investigators in Portugal who declared they had exhausted all avenues in the case.
In June 2020, Christian B was revealed as the new prime suspect.
Christian B , a prolific burglar, who also has previous convictions for sex crimes against young girls, was named as the prime suspect last year.
Mr Wolters said authorities had been looking for information on him for a long time and "had already built up a fact file on him before we asked the public to help us".
"By that time Christian B had been under investigation already for three years. We did not take the decision to go public lightly," Mr Wolters said, reports Sky.
"Since then we have found a lot more pieces of the puzzle, but I cannot reveal what they are.
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"We are making progress and have the same number of investigators working on the case, but we don't yet have enough to charge the suspect.
"There is no time limit to our investigation, but we won't keep it going forever."