• Investigation Madeleine McCann: Thirteen Years of Police Tribulation
  • Christian Brueckner, the German rapist who allegedly murdered Madeleine McCann

Following the identification of the alleged perpetrator of the kidnapping and murder of Madeleine MacCan, the German police have reopened a similar case that occurred five years ago in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, on suspicion that the perpetrator is the same. This is Inga Gehricke , a five-year-old girl who disappeared on May 2, 2015 during a party at the rural facilities of the diakonia of Wilhelmshof.

The case of Inga, the girl who wanted to help prepare the barbecue and went looking for firewood never to return , is well known in Germany. It all happened in just ten minutes. Victoria and Jens-Uwe Gehricke , parents of Inga, alerted the police to the disappearance and the police immediately launched a search operation. Almost a thousand people joined the helicopters provided by the security forces. For three days, almost 3,500 hectares of forest were tracked, without finding any trace of the least.

Now that the 'Maddie case' has resumed a momentum that could be definitive - and there is confirmation that suspect Christian Brueckner already fantasized in 2013 about the kidnapping of a minor for his enjoyment in internet chats - the German police see similarities between the two victims.

The suspect, nearby

The two girls, both young and with similar physical characteristics, disappeared without a trace, and in both cases Brueckner was in the vicinity . When 'Maddie' disappeared in Praia da Luz, he resided a few kilometers away. In Inga's case, Brueckner was seen the day before 90 kilometers from where the girl went with her family to spend a picnic. Exactly, according to the Gehrickes' attorney, he was seen in a rest area on Highway 188 after a traffic accident. Police did not ignore Brueckner's presence in the area, but no evidence was found that directly linked the pedophile to the girl's disappearance.

In February 2016 - and always in the sights of investigators - the Police searched his home, located on the outskirts of the city of Neuwegerslen, also in Saxony-Anhalt. They found a USB stick with child pornographic material , but no image of the girl. Neither the nearly 2,000 clues that the authorities received provided clarity to the case. The investigation group 'Bosque', in which up to 40 investigators participated, closed four weeks later, at the end of the summer of 2016. The family denounced the Police to the tribals for abandoning the case and having conducted a deficient investigation, but the judge ruled against it.

The Gehrickes, who like 'Maddie's' parents never contemplated the girl's death , then launched a website (which still exists) in collaboration with the Missing Children Initiative. And now, finally, they see the case reopened.

In accordance with the criteria of The Trust Project

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