German police have uncovered a hard drive in a “hideout” linked to the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, containing “sick images” that underscore Christian Brueckner’s “obsession with young children,” as reported by The Sun on Tuesday.
The British newspaper states that the “disturbing” find leaves no doubt for German authorities. The inmate is believed to be involved in the British girl’s disappearance and her subsequent death.
Alongside the photographs—currently withheld by investigators—items such as children’s clothing, including 75 swimsuits, toys, bicycles, masks, chemicals, and weapons were discovered at the site.
Belgian police report that the decision to keep the images confidential is due to investigators’ “certainty that Maddie is dead.”
The Sun further reports that the evidence was found by chance in an abandoned factory purchased by the suspect for £20,000—approximately 23,000 euros—in 2008, a year after Madeleine vanished from Praia da Luz in the Algarve.
In 2016, a dog entered the building and uncovered a grave, which was determined to be the remains of Christian Brueckner’s dog. Beneath its skeleton, a bag was found containing six USB sticks and two memory cards with “highly disturbing material.”
Among other offenses, the suspect confessed to “drugging a mother and daughter” outside a daycare and abusing the four-year-old girl.
Authorities have also accessed “horrific Skype conversation logs” with other pedophiles, where one individual expressed a desire to “capture a small one and use it for days.”
In another folder, investigators found images of four- and five-year-old girls.
It should be noted that Brueckner has not been charged in connection with Madeleine McCann’s disappearance but remains under investigation, with German authorities suspecting him to be responsible for the girl’s disappearance.
Currently, the German is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for a rape committed in Portugal in 2005.
