Madeleine McCann Found Dead?

A former chief suspect in the Madeleine McCann disappearance was an employee at the hotel where she vanished – but he died before detectives could question him.

Nearly a decade ago, reports said police had identified the 40-year-old as key in their investigations after tests on his mobile phone showed he was near the toddler’s apartment when she vanished.

But he died in a tractor accident in 2009 before the lead could be fully explored.

It comes after German pedophile Christian Brueckner was officially named as a suspect in Portugal for the very first time, his lawyers confirmed yesterday.

The 43-year-old being named as a suspect is linked to the upcoming 15th anniversary of the abduction.

In Portugal, there is a strict 15-year limit for bringing a murder charge.

Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, both 48, were named as potential suspects in September 2007, though this status was lifted the following July.

But suspicions at one stage were so strong against the mysterious, unnamed Ocean Club worker that Portugal’s Attorney General agreed to re-open the investigation in 2013.

It had been shelved more than five years preceding this date.