The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case wrote a disturbing "story" after the toddler went missing.
On May 7, Channel 4 in the UK aired Madeleine McCann: The Unseen Evidence, a gripping new documentary that follows The Sun’s deep-dive into the 2007 case of the missing toddler.
Within minutes, viewers were shown disturbing images recovered from USB sticks and hard drives reportedly belonging to prime suspect Christian Brueckner — material that had never before been seen by the public.
As revealed in the documentary, one story found on a USB stick during a police raid imagines a gruesome abduction of a woman and her daughter using chemicals. It reads: "As she came to the car, holding her daughter's hand and opened the rear door, I was already behind them both with a cloth soaked in ether in my hands.
"I forced it into the woman's face. At first, she resisted violently, but I held her firmly. The little girl sat in the car and watched me with big, frightened eyes.
"When this was all done and the two bodies were hidden in the darkness, I picked up my delivery truck, loaded up my prey and drove away."
The documentary warns that “other parts of these stories are too upsetting to broadcast.”
These stories aren’t the only red flags. A 2016 incident at an abandoned factory in Neuwegersleben — owned by Brueckner — marked a turning point.
A dog stumbled across what appeared to be a grave. Beneath the buried remains of Brueckner’s pet, investigators found a wallet, six USB sticks, and two memory cards. That discovery triggered a massive search involving 100 officers.
What they found would deeply disturb even seasoned detectives:
- Children’s clothes
- Over 75 children's swimming costumes
- Toys
- Unlicensed firearms
- Ammunition
- Chemicals
- Photos of girls as young as four
Even more damning was a metal suitcase filled with child images, a list of phone numbers, an address book, and a laptop hard drive hiding graphic stories.
In them, Brueckner describes drugging and kidnapping a mother and daughter outside a pre-school, abusing a four-year-old blonde girl, and sharing his fantasies with other pedophiles via Skype.
He reportedly said he wanted to “capture something small and use it for days.”
Photos on the recovered hard drive show Brueckner at Arade Dam, a location of intense interest for investigators — especially after a 2023 search.
In one image, he is naked and wearing a mask, eerily similar to those found among his possessions. A satnav confirmed he repeatedly visited the area after Madeleine vanished.
Police also found a car matching Brueckner’s.
Inside were bottles of unknown substances.
Investigators destroyed the bottles without testing, but as authorities later noted: “In his stories found on the hard drive, Brueckner fantasised about using ether to kidnap victims.”
Adding to the timeline is a 2008 insurance document placing Brueckner at a Spanish festival in Orgiva — just months after Madeleine disappeared.
Witness Helge B claimed Brueckner admitted to abducting Madeleine, allegedly telling him she “didn’t scream.” Though the credibility of the witness has been debated, the insurance paperwork proves Brueckner was there.
Brueckner’s record only deepens suspicions. In 2016, he was convicted of abusing a five-year-old girl.
In 2019, he was sentenced for the 2005 r*pe of an American woman in Praia da Luz — the same resort town where Madeleine was last seen. And in 2020, German prosecutors named him the prime suspect in her disappearance.
He is currently behind bars but was acquitted of some related claims last year and could walk free as early as September 2025 — unless prosecutors can finally tie him directly to Madeleine’s abduction.
He maintains his innocence and denies any involvement.