Madeleine McCann Disappearance: Police Running out of Time to Charge Suspect

It's been nearly 15 years since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The then 3-year-old vanished from her family's hotel room while on vacation in Portugal in May 2007. According to a recent discovery from reporters with Daily Mail, Portugal police must bring charges in the next month or face a "greatly reduced" chance of getting a conviction. They are currently investigating accused German national Christian Brueckner. The 45-year-old is currently serving time in prison in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz, the same hotel where McCann vanished from, two years before her disappearance. The reason police have to hurry and file charges is due to the statute of limitations.

Spencer Dohner, of MDM Legal in Faro, told The Sun that crimes punishable by 10 or more years of jail time are typically not prosecuted after 15 years have passed due to Portugal's statute of limitations. "If Madeleine is dead and was murdered the cut-off point for prosecution would be the 15th anniversary of her disappearance," he said. "If she were found alive and had been the victim of sex crimes as a minor, legal proceedings could take place until she was 23." If alive, Madeleine would be 18 years old today. 

Just last fall, Hans Christian Wolters, a German investigator, said investigators were "confident" Brueckner is the culprit and they had sufficient evidence to charge him over the 2007 disappearance. They were putting together the complete case. But Wolters disagrees. "It is circumstantial evidence – we have no scientific evidence," Wolters said. "When we still have questions, it would be nonsense to charge rather than wait for the answers that could strengthen our position." Additionally, Brueckner has an alibi that reportedly checks out. He was not at the resort in Praia da Luz the night Madeleine disappeared and was actually 30 minutes away from where everything happened.

Ahead of their daughter's birthday last year, Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann shared a heartfelt tribute online, via ABC. "Every May is tough – a reminder of years passed, of years together lost, or stolen. This year it is particularly poignant as we should be celebrating Madeleine's 18th birthday. Enough said," they wrote.