What happened to Madeleine McCann? Timeline of events and developments in the 16 years since her abduction
16 February 2024, 11:20 | Updated: 16 February 2024, 11:23
What happened to Madeleine McCann and when did she go missing? Here’s a full rundown of the three-year-old’s disappearance and developments since.
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Madeleine McCann went missing during a holiday with family in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2007.
Nearly 17 years on, Madeleine’s parents have remained unrelenting in their efforts to find their daughter as search operations have continued in the years since.
On Friday, a trial into the prime suspect in her abduction Christian Brueckner commenced in Germany over unrelated accusations of sexual assault and rape.
He has never been charged with Madeleine’s disappearance and has denied any involvement.
As conversations about the abducted three-year-old are reignited amid his trial over separate accusations, here’s the timeline of events around her disappearance.
The year of Madeleine's disappearance - 2007
May 2007
On May 3 while on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, as well as her brother and sister Amelie and Sean, Madeleine is reported as missing.
In the lead-up to her disappearance on this day, Madeleine’s parents dine out with a group of friends at a restaurant about 110 yards away from their holiday apartment.
Madeleine and her two younger siblings stay in the apartment while their parents dine out.
Her parents and their friends devise a rota to check in on all their children over the course of the evening. On Kate McCann’s turn, she discovers her daughter Madeleine has vanished.
Police are called while staff and guests at the complex join search efforts to locate the missing three-year-old.
Search efforts ramp up in the following days, as border and airport staff are put on alert while hundreds of volunteers join the search operation.
On May 12, the McCanns issue a statement saying that they "cannot describe the anguish and despair" they are feeling.
On May 26, police issue a description of a man from the night of Madeleine's disappearance who was spotted possibly carrying a child.
June 2007
A Portuguese police chief officer admits that some important forensic clues may have been destroyed in the search for Madeleine McCann as the crime scene was not protected properly in the first few hours.
September 2007
Over 100 days since she went missing, the Portuguese police interview Kate McCann as a witness and then the couple were named as suspects or “arguidos”. Days later they return to the UK with prosecutors saying there was no evidence to justify keep questioning them.
November 2007
Madeleine’s father Gerry McCann releases a video detailing how he believed his family was watched by a "predator" in the days before Madeleine's disappearance.
2008
January - The McCanns release a sketch of a suspect described as a “creepy man”, who was spotted at the resort by a British holidaymaker.
May - On the first anniversary since Madeleine went missing, Kate make a public statement urging people to "pray like mad" for her little girl.
July - Portuguese police say they have submitted their final report on the case which is then shelved and the suspect status of her parents is officially lifted.
2009
November - New images are released showing what Madeleine might look like now.
2010
March - Madeleine’s parents criticise the release of previously unseen Portuguese police files to the British press, which include possible sightings of their daughter.
April - The McCanns say they are getting incredibly "frustrated" at the lack of looking for their daughter.
November - Kate and Gerry McCann sign a book deal to write about Madeleine’s disappearance.
2011
May - The book on Madeleine’s disappearance is published.
Prime Minister David Cameron brings new attention to the missing child case as he asks the Metropolitan Police to help ignite a two-year review.
2012
April - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the detective leading the UK review of Madeleine's disappearance, says they hope to bring “closure” to Madeleine’s case.
New images are released of what they believe Madeleine might look like aged nine.
The Portuguese authorities say they are not reopening the investigation.
2013
May - Detectives reviewing the case in the UK say they have identified “a number of persons of interest”.
July - Based on the new discoveries, a formal investigation is opened.
October - Scotland Yard announces that 41 potential suspects have been identified. A BBC Crimewatch appeal reveals e-fit images of a man who was seen carrying a three-year-old on the night Madeleine went missing.
Portugal police reopen their investigation due to “new lines of inquiry” and will run alongside Scotland Yard’s investigation.
2014
January - British detectives fly to Portugal to continue their new line of investigation.
June - Extensive searches are carried out in Praia da Luz including scrubland around the complex where she went missing. No evidence emerges.
July - Four suspects are quizzed by the police but there are no new developments.
2015
September - The UK government confirms around £10million has been spent on the new line of investigations in the case.
October - The official Twitter account is closed down after a continued flurry of abuse. Later this month the amount of police officers dedicated to the case is reduced to just four.
2017
March - The Home Office gives another grant of £85,000 to continue looking for Madeleine McCann for a further six months. This takes the cost to over £11million.
April - Four official suspects are ruled out of the investigation but officers say they are still pursuing a “significant line of inquiry”.
The same month, the McCanns gear up for the 10th anniversary since their daughter went missing, writing on their site “it's likely to be stressful and painful and more so given the rehashing of old 'stories', misinformation, half-truths and downright lies”.
2019
March - An eight-part Netflix series surrounding Madeleine's disappearance is released. Parents Kate and Gerry had no part in the production and were concerned it would harm police investigations.
June - The Home Office says it will continue to fund the investigation until at least March 2020.
2020
June- Christian Brueckner, a German prisoner, emerges as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Madeleine’s parents say it’s “the most significant development in 13 years".
German prosecutors say they believe Madeleine is dead and treat her disappearance as murder.
It also emerges the prime suspect allegedly confessed to his part in Madeleine's disappearance to a man in a bar.
He is already serving a seven-year sentence in prison for raping a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve in 2005.
2022
April - Christian Brueckner, aged 45 at the time, is officially declared a suspect by Portuguese prosecutors, although they do not name him.
2023
May - On the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance the McCanns hold a vigil and say she is "still very much missed".
New developments in the case also emerge as police begin searching a manmade reservoir in the Algarve - which they believe Brueckner frequented - hoping to find clues to what happened to Madeleine.
2024
February - Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is seen for the first time in public since 2020 when he was spotted being put into an ambulance to receive treatment after being attacked in prison.
He goes to trial at a German court accused of three rapes and two counts of sexual abuse dating between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal - all unrelated to Madeleine’s case.
He has never been charged with Madeleine’s disappearance and has denied any involvement.
His trial, which started on February 16, is adjourned until Feb 23 so that a replacement lay judge can be found.
