Mystery blond man resembling new Maddie McCann suspect Christian Brueckner 'scouted the family’s holiday apartment four times in the days before she vanished'
- Paedophile Christian Brueckner, 43, is new suspect in Madeleine McCann case
- Unidentified person of interest seen stalking McCann apartment four times
- Witnesses claim a 'blond man with pockmarked face' checked out the Praia da Luz resort property with a friend ahead of May 3, 2007 disappearance
- New photos of Brueckner show similarities to police e-fits released in 2013 appeal
- Brueckner is currently serving a jail sentence in Kiel, northern Germany
The new lead suspect in the Madeleine McCann case could have been spotted checking out the family's holiday apartment in the days leading up to her disappearance.
Photos of German paedophile Christian Brueckner released yesterday match the description of a suspicious man spotted by people four times in Praia da Luz around May 3, 2007, when Maddie was taken.
And e-fit pictures of two men - who may actually be the same person - released by police in a 2013 appeal also share similarities to the suspect.
Holidaymakers and locals in the Portguese resort town who gave evidence to investigators 13 years ago talked about a 'blond male with a pockmarked face' who stalked the McCann's apartment block, but lead never generated any results.
Photos of German paedophile Christian Brueckner released yesterday match the description of a suspicious man spotted by people four times in Praia da Luz around May 3, 2007, when Maddie was taken
Brueckner is known to have been carrying out burglaries in hotels and holiday apartments shortly before Maddie's disappearance, and German Police have suggested he could have silently crept in to the McCann's apartment and taken Maddie.
He is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence for a sex offence in a Kiel, northern Germany and has been convicted of two crimes involving 'sexual activity with girls'.
Details suggest a blond man was seen at least three times in the vicinity of the apartment, the first being on April 30, 2007 — two days after the family arrived in Praia da Luz at the Ocean Club.
A man matching the suspect's description was seen in sunglasses at 8am staring at the apartment.
E-fit pictures of two men - who may actually be the same person - released by police in a 2013 appeal also share similarities to the suspect
Then on May 2, a blond male was seen acting strangely at the complex's reception at midday, without any particular reason to be there.
Later the same day, a British witness saw what is believed to be the same man with a friend visiting the Habana seafront internet cafe, a five-minute walk from the apartment.
A source told The Sun: 'These sightings have been a mystery for years and have been the subject of numerous police appeals.
'With a suspect now in custody it seems like they may have finally been solved.'
A documentary about the disappearance released on Netflix last year revealed details about the pair in an interview with holidaymaker Jayne Jensen.
Ms Jensen was at the Ocean Club complex when her sister pointed out two men who appeared to be loitering, looking at the McCann's apartment on the day Maddie disappeared.
'She was walking just slightly in front of me and then she stopped and looked back at me and motioned with her head, Jayne said of her sister.
The men were seen by locals and holidaymakers four times in the lead up to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on May 3, 2007
'I caught up with my sister and said, "What was that about?" She said, "Well, two single blond men on their own", which made me chuckle. But they were wrongly placed.
'And that was that, until later that day when we had heard that Madeleine was taken, it was only then, piecing back — who were these guys?'
In 2013 Scotland Yard Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood appealed for information about the two men on Dutch TV's Opsporing Verzocht, similar to Britain's Crimewatch. He said: 'A man or two men were seen lurking around the apartments.
'We are really keen to understand firstly if they are linked.
'The first e-fit we are showing is of a man wearing sunglasses.
'He was seen on April 30 at about 8am in the morning in the rear passageway behind Madeleine's apartment looking in the direction of the apartment.
'Again on May 2 at about lunchtime by the main reception area.
'The second e-fit is of a man who was seen on the afternoon that Madeleine disappeared at around 4pm.
'He was coming from an empty apartment two down, 5C, and he walked off towards the main road.
'We're really keen to understand who that was.
'That links back to a sighting at 2.30pm where two men who were bare-chested wearing swimming trunks and with blond hair were seen by two witnesses.'
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