The prime suspect believed to be responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann owned a lock picking kit that could work its way through any security door, a witness has claimed. Madeleine vanished in 2007 from her family’s holiday home in Praia da Luz in the Algarve.
Convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner from Germany is the prime suspect in the case.
Brueckner, who is currently in prison for the rape of an elderly woman, bragged to a former friend that he had a toolkit that he used to “break into holiday resorts, hotels and holiday homes to steal from tourists”, according to The Sun on Sunday.
Helge Busching, who is in witness protection, said that the prime suspect “came through the door” of the McCanns’ Portuguese apartment, pouring cold water on the official theory that the kidnapper snuck in through a window.
German authorities are said to be “electrified” by the lock picking equipment theory and are also exploring the possibility that Brueckner used car paint solvent to sedate the innocent child.
The German national, who committed rape against a 72-year-old woman in the same resort that Madeleine went missing from, denies the abduction of the then-three-year-old.
Busching told The Sun on Sunday that he met Brueckner a year prior to Madeleine’s disappearance. The witness claimed he discovered the toolkit in Brueckner’s home after he and a friend, Manfred Seyfreth, decided to ransack the place.
He told the publication: “I knew from Christian that he uses tools to break into holiday resorts, hotels and holiday homes to steal from tourists.”
He added that he remembered seeing passports, cameras, suitcases and other tourist items in the property, noting that he “also found a lock pick set”.
The witness claimed he took the kit and later handed it over to German police. He said that the equipment could be employed “to pick any lock, including security locks”.
It is believed that the kit is produced by Dino, which claims its products “ensure easier access into the most restrictive European keyways fast”. It is understood to to hold 14 stainless steel picks that each correspond to a specific type of door.
Portuguese police have always believed that Madeleine’s kidnapper forced their way in through a window of the Praia da Luz property.
However, in direct contradiction to the belief of the authorities, Busching insisted: “Through the door. Easily. He can open any door.”
According to the publication sources close to the German investigation say they think the window theory is inaccurate.
The source said that “evidence is now very important” to investigators, referring to the lock pick kit.
He added: “It confirmed a suspicion that they’d had for a long time – that Christian Brueckner entered the apartment through the door.”
