Armed police in Germany have been seen at a German allotment searching for a man who could hold vital information on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, who is said to have connections to paedophile and top suspect Christian Brueckner.
Firearm-wielding officers rallied at a small house on the Kennelblick allotment in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony last week, spending an hour outside the property owned by a man named as Ralph H.
The 56-year-old is alleged to have worked closely with Brueckner, who is being treated as a prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in Portugal in May 2007; the pair rented allotment homes back-to-back in the Kennelblick site.
He is said to have admitted to robbing homes with the paedophile – currently on trial over five sex crimes in Portugal – and police are said to want to speak to him so they can ask him questions about Maddie, who would now be 20 years old.
Informants within the BKA – the Bundeskriminalamt, Germany’s answer to the FBI – say they ‘urgently’ need to speak to him about his relationship with Brueckner.
It is understood Ralph H is not a suspect in her disappearance, but may have information which could help investigators.
Madeleine McCann on the day she went missing – May 3 2007. She has not been seen since and German prosecutors are convinced she was kidnapped and killed
Christian Brueckner appearing in court last month in Braunschweig, Germany – where he is standing trial on three charges of rape and two of sexual abuse in Portugal
The Kennelblick allotments in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany, where Ralph H is said to live and was one neighbours with Christian Brueckner
Christian Brueckner was named chief suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020
Brueckner has denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, while his lawyer has warned that ‘worldwide media fire’ risked muddying the waters of other criminal trials
One source told The Sun: ‘We must find him to ask him about missing Madeleine McCann. He’s not at home, he doesn’t answer the phone, he’s apparently disappeared.’
Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: ‘He’s a neighbour who could be interesting to talk to, but we can’t give out any details on operative matters.’
Contacted for comment by , Mr Wolters added: ‘We do not comment on possible witnesses or other details regarding the investigation into the Maddie case.’
The Sun reported up to 10 armed police officers in riot gear were seen lingering outside Ralph H’s home in the community garden.
Neighbours described the ‘quite frightening’ scenes of officers in helmets and bulletproof vests jumping over the fence of the home before calling out his name.
One said she was asked by the police if she knew where he might be – adding that he had not been seen for a week.
Another said Ralph and Brueckner allegedly grew and sold marijuana together and were involved in ‘various schemes’.
Ralph himself is reported to have said of Brueckner: ‘I know exactly the sort of crimes he got up to and what he did on the dark web.’
However, police were unable to breach the front door as they did not have a search warrant.
Fortress-like security measures are said to guard the house – with a combination of motion detectors and CCTV cameras used to keep it secure.
Brueckner, meanwhile, is currently behind bars after being convicted of raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005 just a few miles from where Madeleine would disappear two years later.
He is currently on trial in Braunschweig for three rapes and two sexual assaults alleged to have been carried in Portugal between 2000 to 2017. The case is due to resume tomorrow.
German police are convinced he kidnapped and killed Madeleine, and investigations have continued years after he disappearance – with the most recent high-profile searches taking place at the Arade Lake 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner himself has repeatedly denied any involvement in her disappearance and his lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, has hit out at the accusations – warning that they risk muddying the waters of Brueckner’s unconnected ongoing trial.
He said last month in court that the paedophile had been under ‘worldwide media fire’ since being named by German police as a key suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020 – with no charges yet brought against him.
Mr Fulscher added: ‘The greatest challenge for the court in these proceedings will be to free itself from these ulterior motives when investigating the procedural truth and assessing the evidence with regard to the accusations levelled.’
has contacted the BKA for further comment.