Madeleine McCann: Owner of phone number that called German paedophile on night of disappearance is named

The name of the owner of the phone used to call the German paedophile suspected of killing Madeleine McCann shortly before she disappeared was apparently revealed today — amid hopes it could lead to a “crucial witness”.

The Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias said the phone from which Christian Brückner was called just over an hour before she vanished from her family’s Praia da Luz holiday apartment was registered to a man named Diogo Silva.

The phone number is one of two released by Scotland Yard this week in an attempt to uncover information about Madeleine’s fate.

Detectives — who have since received hundreds of calls — said that the person who used it to call the suspect, later named by the media as Brückner, was a “key witness” and that any information could be “critical” in establishing what happened.

It was unclear today whether Mr Silva made the call or whether the phone was either used by another person on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance or registered falsely under his name in a bid to avoid detection.

Jornal de Noticias said the number Brückner was called from (+351) 916 510 683 was registered to a man called Diogo Silva, which is a common name in Portugal.

It also said the same contact was used to register a WhatsApp account which was now “de-activated” and offered no address information.

The caller is not believed to have been in the Praia da Luz area, although police have established that Brückner was in the resort when Madeleine disappeared and using the other mobile number — (+351) 912 730 680 — that officers made public.

The call made by the number registered to Mr Silva to the suspected killer lasted from 7.32pm to 8.02pm on May 3, 2007. Madeleine, then three, disappeared between 9.10pm and 10pm the same evening.

The new development came as police in Germany, Britain and Portugal continued to search for further evidence to either charge Brückner or rule him out of their inquiries despite his long history of sexual offending and targeting of girls.

German police have said they believe that Madeleine is dead and that Brückner, who they have not officially identified, is the likely killer.

Brückner, now 43, a drifter who burgled hotels and dealt drugs while living in the Algarve for 12 years, is already in prison after being convicted last year of raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz less than two years before Madeleine vanished and for an earlier child abuse offence.

Reports in Germany claimed, however, that detectives are in a race against time to bring charges because of the possibility that he could be released from prison on parole because of a pending appeal over the rape conviction and the time he has spent in jail for the other offence.

They also said that they believe others are aware of details of the crime and the possible location of Madeleine’s body but they need further information.

Brückner spent several years living at a ramshackle farmhouse on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. He is thought to have left around 2005 and used his camper van as a home. He has also been linked to a property further inland called Escola Velha, Old School in English, where he used to help its owner with odd-jobs and dog-sitting.

A former neighbour said: “He moved in in the mid-Nineties with a girlfriend who left around a year and a half later.

“They seemed to have a tempestuous relationship. I would hear them arguing. I knew very little about his life but he seemed to me to be a choleric man.”

Another added: “He had a fall-out with another German he sub-let the place to for around six months. He treated him very badly.”

Scotland Yard, which is appealing for information about the VW camper van and a Jaguar car used by Brückner, has said the tip-off that led them to focus on the German came following a 2017 appeal.

It is claimed that Brückner saw footage of the appeal while in a bar and admitted to a friend he was drinking with that he had “snatched” Madeleine.

Police have received hundreds of contacts from the public following the launch of a new appeal for information on the disappearance.

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