The three-year-old British girl mysteriously vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
Her parents were dining nearby on the complex with friends, taking turns to check on the sleeping children.
Madeleine’s case is one of the most high-profile missing people cases in the world and has captivated global attention.
Over the years, the missing girl’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have continued to maintain hope, having recently shared a statement on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance.
Now, there’s been a significant update in the case.
It’s been revealed by a German prosecutor that the case’s prime suspect, Christian B., will not be charged in the foreseeable future.
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told Sky News: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.”
He added that the suspect’s current imprisonment is expected to end in early September 2025.
The case centers around Christian B., a 47-year-old German drifter who is the primary suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
The prosecution’s case remains purely circumstantial, including an alleged confession to a friend about abducting Madeleine, existing convictions for s** crimes against children, his residence in the area at the time of disappearance, mobile phone proximity during her vanishing, and re-registration of a vehicle the day after she went missing.
Currently serving time for an unrelated r** conviction, he was recently acquitted of several other s**ual assault charges in a non-jury trial in Germany.
One of Christian. B’s defense lawyers, Philipp Marquort, has welcomed the prosecutor’s statement.