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New Madeleine McCann search launched. Here's our latest "48 Hours" investigation on the case.

June 05, 2025 / 41:55

This episode covers the new developments in the case of Meline McCann, including the identification of Christian Brookner as a suspect. The discussion highlights the timeline of Meline's disappearance, the investigation's challenges, and the emotional toll on her family.

The episode begins with the recent news that German authorities have identified Christian Brookner, a convicted sex offender, as a suspect in Meline McCann's disappearance from a resort in Portugal in 2007. Brookner's history of child abuse and his proximity to the crime scene are discussed.

Key figures such as prosecutor Hans Christian Valters and former UK Child Exploitation head Jim Gamble share their insights on the investigation. Valters reveals that Brookner's phone was tracked near the crime scene on the night of Meline's disappearance, raising new questions about the case.

The episode also recounts the McCann family's ongoing search for answers and their emotional struggles over the years. Jane Hill, a BBC news anchor, reflects on the media coverage and public reaction to the case.

As the investigation continues, the episode emphasizes the hope that remains for Meline's family and the need for more evidence to bring closure to this long-standing mystery.

TLDR

German authorities identify Christian Brookner as a suspect in Meline McCann's 2007 disappearance, reigniting hope for her family after 13 years.

Episode

41:55
00:00:00
[Music] We have breaking news in one of the world's most infamous missing person's
00:00:18
mysteries. A German prisoner has been identified as a new suspect in the disappearance of Meline Macccan from a
00:00:25
holiday resort in Portugal 13 years ago. It is every parent's greatest fear. Please, please do not hurt her. Please
00:00:35
don't scare her. Please tell us where to find her. 3-year-old Maline McCann taken from her
00:00:43
bed with no clue left behind. We don't know where she is. We don't know who's taken her. We don't know why.
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A massive search. A global media storm and an international investigation. Days turned into months
00:01:06
turned into years with no answers. That hope is still there. There's still hope that we can find Madlin. It's a
00:01:16
mystery that has been compared to a jigsaw puzzle with too many pieces missing until now.
00:01:24
The accused is a sex offender with several previous convictions who has already been convicted of sexual
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abuse of children. His name is Christian Brookner. He absolutely matches the profile of a person who could
00:01:43
potentially abduct and or kill a little girl like Meline McCann. Was he anywhere near the resort where
00:01:53
this crime took place? He lived in a house run about one mile away from where Meline was potentially
00:02:03
abducted. It's one part of the puzzle, you can say. But there are some pieces missing for this puzzle to complete
00:02:12
it. His cell phone was tracked at the crime scene, or at least next to the crime scene the night Maddie
00:02:24
disappeared. That call puts him in the area at the time the crime was committed. On his property in Germany,
00:02:36
they found USB drives with pictures and videos of child abuse. It's when you put
00:02:42
those things together that you get that clearer focus where the jigsaw becomes much much more
00:02:53
complete. For the first time in 13 years, I have to say I actually felt here is a credible suspect.
00:03:08
[Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] We would like to say a few words to the person who is with Meline.
00:03:58
Meline is a beautiful, bright, funny, and caring little girl. She is so special. We need our Meline, and Meline
00:04:09
needs us. Please give our little girl back. It's been more than a decade of waiting
00:04:18
for Kate and Jerry Mac. We will leave no stone unturned in the search for our daughter, Meline. years of searching
00:04:28
since their daughter disappeared on May 3rd, 2007. We have to be hopeful. It's what keeps
00:04:34
us going and keeps us focused. Now they finally may be closer to finding out what happened to
00:04:42
[Music] Meline. In June 2020 in Brown, Germany, prosecutor Hans Christian Valters held a
00:04:51
press conference and made a stunning announcement. German police had a suspect, 43-year-old Christian Brookner.
00:05:00
He also had devastating news. He declared that Maline McCann was likely dead. It's been said that German
00:05:11
prosecutors are always very tight-lipped. You must have some strong evidence that allowed you to make that
00:05:19
statement to the public. We have strong evidence that Christian B killed Mie McCann. But you don't have a body.
00:05:27
Correct. There's no body. No, we have we have no forensic evidence. Then how can
00:05:31
you be so certain? We have other evidence. Just as German law does not allow Valters to use Brookner's full
00:05:38
name. He also cannot say what that evidence is. I heard the news that the Germans had a credible suspect and my
00:05:47
first thing was here we go again. Jim Gamble was head of the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection
00:05:54
Center and involved in the early investigation. Madlin's case was complex. Over the years, he has seen
00:06:01
countless leads end up as dead ends, but this time he believes the Germans may be
00:06:08
on the right track. Everyone, including myself, who's touched this case is more hopeful with the German case than than
00:06:15
we've been in 13 years. [Music] Back in May of 2007, British doctors Jerry and Kate McCann were on vacation
00:06:28
with their family in Pria Deluge, a resort town in the Alolgarve region of Portugal.
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The coastline's beautiful, the sunshine's beautiful. Jane Hill is a BBC news anchor who covered Meline's story.
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It was just a regular, relaxed week in the sun. The five members of the Macan family, including Meline and her younger
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twin brother and sister, stayed at the Ocean Club. They were joined by several other
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families. The Ocean Club Resort was seen as a place where families went. They'd gone there for generations. It was seen
00:07:04
to be familyfriendly and safe. We're having a great holiday. It was We had lots of fun. Especially fun for
00:07:12
Meline. She might look like Kate, but in terms of personality, she's much more of
00:07:16
a Macan. She's very extroverted and lively. She's very socialable. But their idyllic holiday would soon
00:07:25
come to an end. On May 3rd, at around 8:30 p.m., the Macans left their sleeping children
00:07:34
alone in their unlocked apartment and went to meet friends at the resort's Tapis Bar about 50 yards away.
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That was their routine behavior. They'd been doing it all week. And the the friends would take turns. So every 15
00:07:48
minutes or so, one of the adults from the group would would go back and just check on their sleeping children and and
00:07:54
check that everything was okay. At 1000 p.m. when it was Kate's turn, she found the twins sound asleep. But this bed,
00:08:02
Meline's bed, was empty. Kate said to me, "Jane, Meline's gone. Meline's gone." Jane Tanner was one of
00:08:11
the friends who was dining with the Macans. It's the least thing you'd ever think in a million years that you know a
00:08:18
child is going to be abducted in a safe family resort. When Tanner heard that Meline had
00:08:24
disappeared, she says she remembered that earlier in the evening as she walked near the ocean club, she passed a
00:08:31
man who had caught her attention. Well, as I was walking up the road, this man w
00:08:35
was walking across the top of the road um carrying a small child. The thing that I noticed the most was he was
00:08:42
holding her and I could see the bare her bare feet um in the bottom of the pajamas. Tanner told the Portuguese
00:08:49
police what she had witnessed that night, but investigators didn't appear to take immediate action. There was
00:08:56
quite a less aair attitude. She's wandered off somewhere. She's probably got lost. We'll find her. she'll come
00:09:02
back. And that was one of the criticisms that that that the police activity didn't really get going until the next
00:09:07
day. Police in Portugal are investigating claims that a three-year-old British girl has been
00:09:13
abducted. By that time, Meline's disappearance was making headlines across the world. I'm Jane Hill live in
00:09:21
the Algav where there is still no sign of My editor took me off air the day after she disappeared and said, "Get on
00:09:28
a plane to Portugal." Hill was one of the first British journalists at the scene. Why did this
00:09:35
capture people's attention? So, it is every parent's nightmare, isn't it? In some ways, Meline was more than a
00:09:43
daughter to the Macans. She was their miracle. Unable to conceive, the couple endured a series of grueling in vitro
00:09:52
fertilization procedures until Kate finally became pregnant with Meline. What was it like for Jerry and Kate when
00:09:59
Meline was born? Um, well, they were walking on air, quite frankly. Family friend John Corner spoke to 48 Hours
00:10:08
back in 2007. The bond between Kate and Meline was uh is something amazing really.
00:10:18
Please, if you have Meline, let her come home to her mommy, daddy, brother, and sister.
00:10:30
Within days, Meline's face fueled one of the largest international searches for a
00:10:36
missing child in history. Meline's face became so familiar. She became ubiquitous.
00:10:44
[Applause] It was heartbreaking because photographs were released that the family had taken
00:10:51
on that holiday. It's obviously extremely difficult. Every day me and my team were there, we
00:11:01
just watched the press pack grow and grow and grow. As the cameras followed the macans everywhere, it seemed Kate
00:11:09
was never without Meline's pink stuffed animal. Well, it's something that Meline
00:11:14
has with her every night and if she's upset or not well, then she has cuddle cat. And so it provided me with a little
00:11:21
bit of comfort, something of Madlin close to me. [Music] [Applause] Days passed and the Macans grew
00:11:29
frustrated as the Portuguese police conducted their investigation and shared very
00:11:36
little. Portuguese police are not allowed to reveal any details of an ongoing investigation, not just to
00:11:43
people like me, to the family involved. And what happens when you have no information? You get rumor, gossip,
00:11:55
speculation. There was no proof of anything. That's the trouble. [Music] It's almost a week since Meline was
00:12:21
abducted from her holiday apartment. The expat community in the Algar were the first to join the search for Meline.
00:12:29
And 6 days on, they still feel compelled to carry on the hunt. I cried yesterday.
00:12:35
I've I'm crying now. I'm just very upset about it. There were rumors circulated all the
00:12:43
time. I can't tell you what a rumor mill it was. And you would think, where is this coming from?
00:12:50
A week after Meline's disappearance, suspicion fell on a man who lived just down the street from where Meline had
00:12:57
vanished. Why you just talking to one journalist? Tell me, who is Robert Morat? Robert Morat is a British expat
00:13:06
who lives in Emprea Deloo. So he had local knowledge and he spoke Portuguese and engaged with a number of reporters
00:13:13
and others in proximity to the investigation and offered himself up to provide help by way of translation or
00:13:20
advice. Police quickly named Morat a suspect. Witnesses say Morat showed up at the Ocean Club after Meline
00:13:28
disappeared and claimed he was acting suspiciously. Morat's mother said that wasn't possible. They couldn't have seen
00:13:36
him. He was at home all night. Then the public began to turn on the Macams for leaving their daughter alone.
00:13:48
Did it go from we feel so sorry for you to how could you have done that? There were people saying that. I recorded an
00:13:59
interview with a man from the Algav tourist board. He said, "I mean, you keep an eye on your suitcase. Why would
00:14:05
you not keep an eye on your child? It's a question Jane Hill had to raise when she became the first reporter to
00:14:13
interview Kate and Jerry McCann. A lot of people in the last 3 weeks have said, "I can't imagine doing such a thing. I
00:14:20
wouldn't be able to leave three children in that situation." How do you deal with
00:14:26
those sort of comments? I think, you know, no one will ever feel more guilty than us. If you thought for a minute
00:14:32
that someone could abduct your child, of course you would never have left them. Portuguese investigators also began
00:14:40
eyeing the Macs. 3 months after Meline vanished, specially trained sniffer dogs were
00:14:47
flown in to scour the family's vacation rental. Traces of blood were detected inside the apartment and in the trunk of
00:14:57
the Macan's rental car. Partial samples of the blood were recovered and sent to a British lab for
00:15:04
DNA testing. But the results indicated that the blood found in the apartment did not belong to
00:15:12
Meline. And the results from the DNA in the rental car were inconclusive. Well, I've seen the letter
00:15:20
from the forensic science lab. The forensic test didn't say this DNA is Maline Macccan's because actually the
00:15:27
full analysis of that says that up to half the forensic scientists in the lab would have had similar DNA
00:15:34
characteristics. It was not a complete DNA sample. What's more, the car wasn't actually retained by the Macans until
00:15:42
weeks after Meline had gone missing. And if you are to believe that Meline was in
00:15:46
the boot of the car, they must have either killed her and or hidden her sometime earlier, recovered her body
00:15:53
whilst the media were surveilling them, hidden it in the car, then moved it to a
00:15:59
place where they could dispose of it where no one could see that h happened and then bring the car back. That just
00:16:07
doesn't add up. The forensics don't add up. And yet 4 months after Meline vanished,
00:16:14
today Kate Macccan has returned to Porto Mau to be questioned by the Portuguese police. Portuguese police declare the
00:16:21
Macans are guidos suspects in their own daughter's disappearance, the enormous media
00:16:29
coverage in this. Do you believe in some ways that pressured Portuguese authorities to say we have our real
00:16:37
suspects? It is Kate and it is Jerry. Well, I can't speak to that. You'd have to talk to the senior investigating
00:16:44
officer from the Portuguese police. But in my opinion, do I think that that type
00:16:48
of pressure would focus the attention of the senior investigating officer? Of course. 48 hours reached out to the
00:16:55
Portuguese police for comment, but they did not reply. The Macan should have been suspects day
00:17:02
one, minute one, R1. And I don't believe for one second the Macan's committed this crime. But
00:17:08
what I'm saying is your attention should be first of all to look at the parents and actually to rule them in or rule
00:17:14
them out. Not to wait until you're months down the line where you have exhausted all of your other ideas um to
00:17:22
then say well actually it must be the parents cuz that's not fair on anyone. Surprisingly, almost immediately after
00:17:31
being declared suspects, the Macans were allowed to fly to the UK, returning home
00:17:36
for the first time without their daughter. We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter,
00:17:48
Meline. Kate McCann told her family that Portuguese investigators had pressured her to sign a confession in which she
00:17:57
was to admit that Meline had died accidentally and that Madeline's disappearance had been staged. Kate
00:18:05
refused. 48 hours spoke to Kate's mother in 2007. Kate said, "Why why would I sign that confession? You know, if an
00:18:14
accident had happened, Meline had fallen. Kate and Cherry wouldn't have hidden us.
00:18:20
[Applause] When the Macans were named as suspects in Portugal, were they seen as suspects
00:18:29
in the UK as well? I'm sure there were people in the UK who did think that they had had some involvement and that was
00:18:37
reflected particularly in the British tabloid press. Some British newspapers began running
00:18:44
unsubstantiated, sensational storylines. And what happened is the war of the tabloids began to take place.
00:18:52
The onslaught of wild accusations continued for months effectively portraying the Macans as
00:19:00
killers. And then you get the armchair detectives and with social media you've got the geeks, freaks, and morons. But
00:19:08
when you've got this world of bile being created online, then people continually
00:19:13
feed it. It wasn't until the following summer in July 2008 that Portuguese investigators
00:19:21
cleared the Macans. By then, Jerry and Kate had spent nearly a year under a cloud of suspicion.
00:19:30
It's hard to describe how utterly desparing it was to be named Arguido and subsequently portrayed in
00:19:37
the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction. The police also cleared Robert Morat.
00:19:46
But what had happened to little Meline? The Macs remained singularly focused on finding out. I think there's a really
00:19:53
good chance she's still alive. Um, I guess I feel she's out there. [Music] More than 2 years had passed since
00:20:24
Maline McCann's mysterious disappearance, and Portuguese investigators were no closer to knowing
00:20:31
what happened to her. As head of the UK's Child Exploitation and online protection center, Jim Gamble knew he
00:20:39
had to take action. Meline disappeared on the 3rd of May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Portugal. We produced
00:20:47
a viral video called a minute for Maline Macan. If you know who is involved and you're keeping this secret, a video that
00:20:55
said it's never too late to do the right thing and if you know something, go to your local police. I understand that the
00:21:02
video was in seven different languages. Is that right? Yes, it was in Chinese, in Arabic, in
00:21:10
Spanish. I mean, it was downloaded in every part of the world. And as the views ticked up, so too did the number
00:21:19
of potential leads. Give me a sense of the number of sightings that were pouring in from all over the world
00:21:26
during these years. There's been a a number of sightings of Maline Macan, you know,
00:21:33
Australia, in parts of Africa, across Spain, Portugal, and beyond. All turned out to be nothing. The trail went cold.
00:21:43
But things were about to heat up. In 2010, Gamble was asked by the British government to officially review the
00:21:51
case. When Portuguese police began this investigation, you believe they made some fundamental errors? I do think they
00:21:58
made some critical errors. Gamble says Portuguese investigators failed to take a close look at everyone staying near
00:22:07
the Ocean Club at the time. It was clear that, you know, the searches were ad hoc. The fact is that all of the details
00:22:15
of all of the people who'd stayed in that apartment block or been in proximity to the town hadn't been
00:22:20
captured. Gamble also found that cell phone data around the Ocean Club the day Meline went missing hadn't been properly
00:22:29
analyzed. The telephone companies captured all of that information in 2007. Yet, there was absolutely no
00:22:37
evidence that any of that cell size data had been investigated. In June 2010, Gamble finished his case
00:22:48
review and submitted recommendations to the British government. But for almost a
00:22:53
year, nothing happened until Jerry McCann wrote an open letter on the front page of a popular tabloid to the prime
00:23:02
minister. And in a day, Operation Graange was commissioned. Operation Graange became one of the
00:23:11
largest and most expensive investigations in British history. The full weight of Scotland Yard was now
00:23:19
brought in to assist the Portuguese investigation. There was a sense in the UK that this was almost a fresh start.
00:23:26
Let's regroup. Let's see what wasn't looked at. Let's go through witness statements. let's see whether we can
00:23:32
make fresh appeals for information and really revitalize this. That meant taking another look at every
00:23:42
possible scenario of what might have happened that night. Could this be that the child simply walked away? Could it
00:23:48
be an abduction? Could it be a burglary that's gone wrong? Could someone have broken into the room? Might they have
00:23:54
been disturbed by Meline? And could they have responded, you know, out of fear, out of anger? and nervousness and taken
00:24:02
her away. There was one dark scenario that weighed most heavily. The possibility that
00:24:11
Meline had been kidnapped by a sex offender. Obviously, that was our biggest fear. But just the thought of
00:24:18
someone so lovely and beautiful, our child being subjected to something like that
00:24:23
was it was enough to destroy us. Operation Graange solved one early mystery. The identity of the man seen in
00:24:34
this police sketch whom that family friend had reported seeing. Scotland Yard determined it was just a man on
00:24:42
vacation with his child. Age progression technology was also used at the time to further the
00:24:50
investigation. I have on many occasions looked at images of children who have been found and the likeness sometimes is
00:24:59
remarkable. By 2016, the number of alleged Meline sightings had grown to more than
00:25:07
8,600, spanning more than 100 countries. Scotland Yard investigated every credible lead, but none led anywhere.
00:25:17
How could it be that years later there was still no trace of this little girl? How was that possible?
00:25:26
Nothing. What we're waiting for over these years as all these bits start to fall into place. The cell site data,
00:25:33
information about suspects, other sex offenders in the area. We're waiting for that last piece
00:25:39
to fall into place. Then in June 2020, from a small German city, some startling news. German police
00:25:49
revealing that a convicted sex offender currently serving a jail sentence is now
00:25:54
the prime suspect. After years of dead ends, finally a promising suspect. This 43-year-old
00:26:03
German man, a look into his past would reveal a monster. [Music] [Music] on the anniversaries and our
00:26:31
birthday. They are the by far the hardest days by far. In 2017, Jerry and Kate McCann marked a grim
00:26:42
anniversary. It had been 10 years since their daughter disappeared. Whatever it takes, for as long as it
00:26:49
takes, but there's still hope that we can find Madlin. So, certainly from my point of view, you know, somebody knows
00:26:55
what's happened. Little did the Macans know, more than 500 miles away in Brownfik, Germany,
00:27:05
police had received a gamechanging new tip. German prosecutor Hans Christian Valters. In 2017, a person contacted the
00:27:15
German police and gave us the name of Christian B. According to news reports, Buckner, who
00:27:23
German authorities refer to as Christian B, allegedly made a drunken confession to a friend that he knew what had
00:27:30
happened to Meline. Germany's highest police agency conducted an investigation. And what
00:27:37
they uncovered was that Brookner had a long and disturbing background of crime spanning three decades. Who is Christian
00:27:46
B? Christian B is a criminal who committed a lot of financially motivated crimes like burglary or drug
00:27:52
trafficking. Mark Hoffman is a crime and intelligence analyst based in Germany who has studied Christian Brookner. He
00:28:00
also has a DACA site. Authorities say he had a history of targeting little girls.
00:28:08
He is a very likely psychopath with no empathy, no deep feelings who is interested in feeling some sense of
00:28:16
power over defenseless victims, especially young children. So he absolutely matches the
00:28:24
profile of a person who could potentially abduct and or kill a little girl like Meline McCann.
00:28:32
Official documents obtained by 48 Hours show that Brookner's life of crime began
00:28:38
when he was arrested for theft at the age of 15. Two years later in 1994, he sexually
00:28:45
abused a child in Germany. Brookner fled to Portugal to escape serving his sentence. He moved
00:28:52
from job to job. He moved from crime to crime until 1999 when he was extradited to Germany to serve his
00:29:03
sentence, but he would soon return to Portugal where Brookner lived out of a VW camper van before eventually moving
00:29:12
to this house. He lived in a house run about one mile away from the crime scene where Meline was abducted. While living
00:29:20
in Pria Deluj, investigators say Brookner had returned to a life of crime, often stealing from hotels and
00:29:28
holiday apartments. He was known for burglary in hotel resorts. And Maddie disappeared from a hotel resort.
00:29:39
So, it's possible that this crime maybe started as a hotel burglary and it ended
00:29:45
as the potential kidnapping and or killing of Mie McCann. Jim Gamble says that theory is certainly
00:29:55
possible. The hypothesis that it was a burglar who responded in an opportunistic way is one that that I've
00:30:03
always thought is credible. In fact, just one year before Meline disappeared, Brookner was arrested in
00:30:11
Portugal for theft. But it is unknown what the Portuguese police knew about his past sexual offense in Germany. 48
00:30:19
Hours reached out to them to find out, but they did not respond. But it is clear that Brookner
00:30:27
should have been looked at more closely by the Portuguese authorities from the beginning. German investigators now
00:30:33
believe they have discovered a key piece of evidence. On May 3rd, 2007, a call was made to Brookner's cell phone
00:30:42
approximately 1 hour before Meline disappeared. The cell phone information that you received, do you believe that
00:30:50
placed him around the resort area at the time that Mattie McCann disappeared? The
00:30:56
phone number placed Christian B to the ocean club. But we have to find out which person uses this phone at this
00:31:04
time. Normally it was used by Christian B, but we don't know which person used it on the 3rd of May in 2007. Gamble
00:31:16
says this lead could have been pursued at the time if Portuguese police had only analyzed the cell phone data. I
00:31:24
believe the information that now ties the present suspect's phone to the area would have been available at that time
00:31:32
if someone had looked for it. And German investigators also learned that immediately after Meline went missing,
00:31:39
Brookner did something suspicious. He put his car in someone else's name. He dregistered his car one day after the
00:31:48
disappearance. Shortly after that, he quietly slipped out of Portugal and returned to Germany
00:31:55
once again. Brookner eventually settled in Brownfag and briefly ran a small general store by a school and kept a low
00:32:05
profile. Pretty often these child molesters, this is like their dirty little secret. They don't talk about it
00:32:12
to anyone, but they talk about their crimes and fantasies quite openly to other child molesters.
00:32:20
As it turns out, Valters and his team learned Brookner was still operating in the darkest shadows of society. In 2013,
00:32:30
he posted in a pedophile chat room on Skype. This was a Skype chat where he openly discussed his fantasies of
00:32:39
torturing little children and using them and raping them for a couple of days. Although Brookner's post made no
00:32:49
mention of Maline McCann, the search of an abandoned factory once owned by Brookner would uncover photos and videos
00:32:57
that would raise more questions. [Music] As Valters and his team continued their
00:33:21
investigation into Christian Brookner's past, they learned that not long before that alleged drunken confession in a
00:33:28
bar, his name had been linked to Maline McCann. hands. In 2013, German police had received their first tip that
00:33:36
Christian Brookner could be involved in her disappearance. There was a first hint to
00:33:43
our suspect in 2013, but the police contacted Christian B and there was nothing found to investigate any longer.
00:33:55
While it didn't pan out, just one year later, he was back on police radar. According to documents obtained by 48
00:34:02
Hours in 2014, 391 photo files and 68 video files of child pornography were confiscated
00:34:12
from Brookner's home while he was living in Brownfag. During this time, he was also
00:34:18
charged with sexually abusing a 5-year-old. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison for committing both
00:34:26
offenses. But before serving his sentence, he fled once again to Portugal. If I look at his life and
00:34:33
criminal record, it seems a little bit like he was always fleeing and trying to escape law enforcement. So whenever he
00:34:42
committed a crime, whenever he was investigated in in connection with some crimes, he left the country. Brookner
00:34:50
would later be extradited to Germany once again to serve his sentence. [Music] And then if there is a house of horrors
00:35:03
in this tragic mystery, it may be this one. A deserted factory deep in the woods of Saxony Onalt, Germany that
00:35:11
Christian Brookner once owned. In 2016, investigators conducted multiple searches of this property. 48
00:35:21
Hours has learned these searches were part of a broader investigation into child pornography. And what they found
00:35:28
was troubling. Law enforcement confirmed that they found at least three girls swimsuits in
00:35:37
his camper van. So, of course, you need to ask the question, who do these swimsuits belong to?
00:35:45
Investigators have not revealed if they know the answer. But that's not all they
00:35:50
found. On this property, they found USB drives containing pictures and videos, including videos and pictures of child
00:35:59
abuse and also videos which he produced himself. And these USB drives were in a plastic bag buried under his dead dog in
00:36:10
the ground. It seems that Brookner had a long fascination with recording his crimes. In 2018, a witness came forward
00:36:18
saying they had seen a videotape from 2005 of Brookner raping a 72year-old American woman at her home in Portugal.
00:36:28
Up until then, the attacker's identity had not been known. This was not just rape. This was the most brutal form of
00:36:38
rape I ever heard of. That assault had taken place close to the Ocean Club and two years before
00:36:46
Maline McCann disappeared. Brookner was charged and convicted for these crimes in
00:36:53
2019. His DNA matched DNA found at the scene. He's definitely a bad guy. He's definitely a psychopath and he's
00:37:01
definitely a full-time criminal. But the question is, is he really guilty in the
00:37:05
Medie McCann case? Valters will not reveal details about his current investigation into Christian
00:37:14
Brookner, but he is adamant about one thing. We are sure that Christian B murdered Maline McCann because of the
00:37:22
evidence we have. And may I speculate that that evidence may include photographs or video of Mattie Macan?
00:37:29
You may speculate, but I'm not allowed to tell you if you are right or if you are wrong.
00:37:39
But despite the evidence he says he has, Valters admits he needs more of it in order to charge Brookner. And in
00:37:48
Germany, we charge someone only if we are sure that he will be sentenced by the court. If there are doubts, uh, we
00:37:57
don't charge him. Volter says one piece of evidence they need is to find the person who made that call to Brookner's
00:38:04
cell phone approximately 1 hour before Meline disappeared on May 3rd, 2007. This might be the only person who could
00:38:13
confirm that indeed Christian B was holding his cell phone in his hand that night. And this would be a proof that
00:38:22
not just his cell phone was at the crime scene, but that he was at the crime scene.
00:38:30
Although investigators made an appeal to the public, they have been unable to identify the mystery caller. The phone
00:38:39
which was used for the call to Christian B was a prepaid phone. So we are not able to to find this person in an easy
00:38:48
way. The Macccans have not commented on Christian Brookner, but they posted this
00:38:57
on their website. We will never give up hope of finding Meline alive, but whatever the outcome may be, we need to
00:39:05
know as we need to find peace. [Music] Meanwhile, Brookner has remained silent behind prison walls where he is serving
00:39:16
a 7-year sentence for raping that 72year-old American woman. Right. Brookner's lawyer spoke to 9 News
00:39:24
Australia. He is innocent until proven guilty. Bolters admits that without a body or
00:39:33
forensic evidence, this case will be hard to solve. But he is not backing down. And do you believe there are
00:39:40
people out there, whether it be in Portugal or in Germany, who have information about this case that is
00:39:48
important? We think that there are people who can help us and we hope that these people will contact us or the
00:39:56
police. I have spent many years hoping that there will be a resolution. BBC News
00:40:06
anchor Jane Hill, who covered Meline's story from the start, hopes this new investigation will finally provide
00:40:13
answers, as painful as they may be for the Macs. I hope that there can be closure in some
00:40:22
way for a family that has spent 13 and 1/2 years not knowing what happened to their little
00:40:30
girl, not knowing what they can say to her younger brother and sister about where she's gone.
00:40:38
[Music] Meline is a beautiful, bright, funny, and caring little girl. She is so special. We beg you to let Madeline come
00:40:57
home. [Music] 48 hours to miss it would be a crime. Were you at all prepared for what
00:41:19
happened in this case? [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 80
    Most emotional
  • 80
    Most intense
  • 80
    Biggest twist

Episode Highlights

  • The Media Storm
    The disappearance of Meline McCann captured global attention, leading to an unprecedented media frenzy.
    “It is every parent's greatest fear.”
    @ 00m 29s
    June 05, 2025
  • New Suspect in Maddie Case
    A German prisoner, Christian Brookner, has been identified as a suspect in the disappearance of Meline McCann.
    “For the first time in 13 years, I have to say I actually felt here is a credible suspect.”
    @ 02m 55s
    June 05, 2025
  • A Mother's Heartfelt Plea
    Kate McCann expresses her longing for her daughter, Meline, during a press conference.
    “Please give our little girl back.”
    @ 04m 09s
    June 05, 2025
  • The Prime Suspect Emerges
    In June 2020, German police identified a convicted sex offender as the prime suspect in the McCann case.
    “After years of dead ends, finally a promising suspect.”
    @ 25m 57s
    June 05, 2025
  • A Disturbing Background
    Christian Brookner, the suspect, has a long history of crime and targeting young girls.
    “He is a very likely psychopath with no empathy.”
    @ 28m 08s
    June 05, 2025
  • Key Evidence Discovered
    Investigators found a call to Brookner's cell phone just before Madeline's disappearance, linking him to the crime scene.
    “This lead could have been pursued at the time if only the data was analyzed.”
    @ 31m 24s
    June 05, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • It's been more than a decade of waiting for Kate and Jerry Mac.
    New Madeleine McCann search launched. Here's our latest "48 Hours" investigation on the case.
  • We have played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter, Meline.
    New Madeleine McCann search launched. Here's our latest "48 Hours" investigation on the case.
  • Whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, but there's still hope.
    New Madeleine McCann search launched. Here's our latest "48 Hours" investigation on the case.
  • We will never give up hope of finding Madeline alive.
    New Madeleine McCann search launched. Here's our latest "48 Hours" investigation on the case.

Key Moments

  • Media Frenzy00:29
  • Desperate Plea00:32
  • Hopeful Parents01:13
  • New Suspect02:55
  • Hope for Madeline26:49
  • Criminal History28:08
  • Key Evidence31:24
  • Family's Pain40:18

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown