Nearly 20 years after three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal, an investigator who previously worked on the case has issued a renewed appeal for information, saying he has no intention of giving up the search.

Julian Peribañez, a private investigator hired by Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, has continued pursuing his own lines of inquiry into the little girl’s disappearance. In a recent interview, he shared his personal theory about what may have happened and urged people with information to come forward.

His comments come as the case faces another period of uncertainty. German authorities have long focused on convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, but he has never been charged in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance and continues to deny involvement.

A separate recent court decision in Germany has also changed how Brueckner is monitored following his release from prison.

Despite years of investigations across several countries, the central question remains unanswered: What happened to Madeleine McCann?

INVESTIGATOR REFUSES TO GIVE UP THE SEARCH
Peribañez told the Olive Press that he does not know whether Madeleine is still alive.

He acknowledged that very few people can know what happened to her with certainty, but said he intends to continue searching for answers as long as there is hope.

The investigator believes Madeleine may have been taken by an Eastern European trafficking gang. This is his personal theory, however, and has not been established by police or supported by a publicly confirmed finding in the investigation.

He specifically appealed to people in Portugal’s Algarve region who may have encountered individuals or witnessed suspicious activity around the time Madeleine vanished.

His request was direct: anyone who believes they have relevant information should provide a name or a lead that investigators can examine.

Peribañez has spent years pursuing the case and says he remains committed to following potential leads, even after the passage of nearly two decades.

THE NIGHT MADELEINE DISAPPEARED
Madeleine McCann vanished on May 3, 2007, while her family was staying at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, a seaside town in Portugal’s Algarve region.

She was three years old.

Her parents had been dining with friends at a tapas restaurant approximately 55 metres from their ground-floor holiday apartment. Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep inside, while the adults took turns checking on the children during the evening.

At around 10 p.m., Kate McCann returned to the apartment and discovered that Madeleine was missing.

Her bed was empty, and the bedroom window was reportedly open.

An immediate search followed, involving resort staff, local residents and Portuguese police. The disappearance quickly developed into an international investigation that attracted worldwide media attention.

Despite extensive searches, interviews and thousands of investigative leads, Madeleine has never been found.

CHRISTIAN BRUECKNER REMAINS A CENTRAL FIGURE
German prosecutors identified Christian Brueckner as a prime suspect in the case in 2020.

Brueckner, a German national with a criminal history that includes serious sexual offences, had lived in Portugal’s Algarve region around the time Madeleine disappeared.

Investigators examined telephone records and other information that placed him in the wider area of Praia da Luz on the night she vanished.

German authorities have said they believe Madeleine is dead and suspect Brueckner was responsible. However, they have not publicly established what happened to her, and Brueckner has never been charged with an offence relating to her disappearance.

He strongly denies any involvement.

In a reported interview earlier in 2026, Brueckner acknowledged that he had been near the McCann family’s holiday apartment on the night Madeleine disappeared, claiming he had been in the area selling drugs. That statement does not establish that he entered the apartment or had any involvement in her disappearance.

The distinction remains important: being a suspect in an investigation is not the same as being charged or convicted.

COURT DECISION ENDS ROUND-THE-CLOCK POLICE SURVEILLANCE
Another significant development emerged at the end of October 2026, when a German court rejected a police appeal to continue round-the-clock surveillance of Brueckner.

He had been followed continuously by police officers after his release from prison in September 2025.

The court’s decision followed a new psychological and psychiatric assessment that reportedly classified his risk of reoffending as average rather than high. Judges also considered whether constant surveillance was interfering with his rehabilitation.

His lawyer, Philipp Marquort, told ITV News that Brueckner was very happy with the decision.

The end of continuous police observation does not mean that Brueckner is free from all monitoring. He is still required to wear an electronic ankle tag and comply with other supervision conditions.

The ruling also does not change his status in the Madeleine McCann investigation. He remains a suspect, has not been charged in connection with her disappearance and continues to deny involvement.

BRITISH POLICE CONTINUE OPERATION GRANGE
The Metropolitan Police launched Operation Grange in 2011 to review the circumstances surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance and pursue specific investigative leads.

The operation works with Portuguese and German authorities.

Over the years, investigators have examined thousands of pieces of information, conducted searches in Portugal and followed leads across several countries.

One of the most significant recent operations took place in June 2025, when Portuguese and German officers searched areas of the Algarve connected to Brueckner. The operation included searches of scrubland and abandoned locations, but it did not produce a publicly announced breakthrough that resolved the case.

The investigation remains open.

THE FAMILY’S SEARCH FOR ANSWERS CONTINUES
Kate and Gerry McCann have spent nearly two decades living with the uncertainty surrounding their daughter’s disappearance.

They have repeatedly appealed for information and maintained hope that answers may eventually emerge.

The case has generated countless theories, public speculation and renewed attention whenever a new investigative development appears. However, many claims circulating over the years have never been substantiated.

Peribañez’s latest comments represent another attempt to encourage people who may know something to speak up. His trafficking theory remains an individual investigative belief rather than an established conclusion.

For now, Madeleine’s disappearance remains unresolved. Brueckner has not been charged in the case, no confirmed account of what happened to the child has been established, and investigators continue to rely on information that could help reconstruct the events of May 3, 2007.

As the 20th anniversary approaches, one question continues to haunt the family and the public: Where is Madeleine McCann?