Germany: Madeleine McCann assumed by German prosecutors to be dead

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German prosecutors announced they are investigating a 43-year-old man from Germany in connection with the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann in 2007, at a press conference in Braunschweig on Thursday.

Investigators assume the girl is dead.

Braunschweig prosecutor Christian Wolters said that the suspect "is a sex offender" with "multiple convictions," including "sexual abuse of children, among other things."

"The accused is currently serving a longer sentence" for another crime.

Prosecutors believe the suspect funded his life by "committing crimes, including burglary theft in hotel complexes and vacation homes, and drug trafficking."

Madeleine McCann went missing as her parents ate dinner at the nearby tapas restaurant on May 3, 2007, from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal. Her twin siblings, who were in the room sleeping with her, were left in the room she was kidnapped from.

The disappearance sparked a manhunt that has spanned several years, costing a reported €12 million ($13 million; £11 million) for the investigation and has dominated British news.

*SOUNDBITES*

SOT, Christian Wolters, Braunschweig prosecutor (German): "In connection with the disappearance of the then 3-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann on May 3, 2007 from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in Portugal, the public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig is investigating a 43-year-old German citizen on suspicion of murder. From that it can be drawn that we thus we assume that the girl is dead."

SOT, Christian Wolters, Braunschweig prosecutor (German): "The accused is a sex offender who has had multiple convictions and has been convicted of sexual abuse of children, among other things. The accused is currently serving a longer sentence for other matters. The accused lived regularly in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, including for a few years in a house between Lagos and Praia da Luz."

SOT, Christian Wolters, Braunschweig prosecutor (German): "Further evidence suggests that he also made his living by committing crimes, including burglary theft in hotel complexes and vacation homes, and drug trafficking. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office is involved in the investigation because the suspect had his last residence in the district before his stay abroad. As part of the investigation, which is being carried out on behalf of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in close co-operation with the British Metropolitan Police and the Policia Judiciaria, of Portugal."

Video ID: 20200604-029

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