German authorities have ended round-the-clock police monitoring of the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, raising concerns he could disappear forever.
Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner has been under constant observation by German police since leaving prison last September, but a court has now ruled the surveillance is no longer necessary.
The monitoring was put in place both to protect the wider public and to shield Brueckner from any potential vigilante attacks.
Although the physical surveillance is being removed, he will continue wearing an electronic ankle tag.
However, prosecutors investigating Madeleine's disappearance have said the tracking device has experienced multiple technical failures in the past.
The tag will also stop working the moment Brueckner crosses the German border.
Fears are mounting that this could enable the suspect to vanish - just days after German police handed over crucial files to Scotland Yard regarding the 49-year-old sex offender.
One source told The Sun: "The fear has always been that as soon as Brueckner got the opportunity he would disappear.
"He might have been let out of jail but he still hasn't had that because he has been monitored by police all day every day.
"Once that surveillance stops who knows what will happen."
The source also warned: "He has a history of leaving the country when he faces suspicion so there is a very real danger he will disappear before the McCann case can ever get to court."
Police have lodged an appeal against the court ruling, meaning officers will continue watching Brueckner until judges reach a final verdict.
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Brueckner had been expected to return to custody after allegedly verbally abusing a prison guard in 2023, but charges against him were later dropped.
Madeleine was just three years old when she disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
German investigators publicly identified Brueckner as their prime suspect in her abduction and suspected murder in 2020.
Mobile phone records place Brueckner's device near the Ocean Club around the time Madeleine went missing.
A Channel 4 documentary broadcast in May revealed police hold images contributing to their belief the child is deceased.
Detectives also have disturbing written fantasies in which Brueckner imagines abducting and abusing young girls, including one scenario set outside a nursery.
In online exchanges with another paedophile, he expressed his desire to "take something small and use it for days".
Despite substantial circumstantial evidence, prosecutors have hesitated to bring charges, fearing insufficient forensic proof would undermine any trial.
Brueckner has declined to answer investigators' questions but has maintained his innocence through written correspondence.
His legal team continues to assert he is not guilty of any wrongdoing.
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