Mysterious phone call by Maddie suspect Christian B ‘made from outside resort where she was snatched’, German cops fear
GERMAN police believe a mysterious phonecall made by Christian B just before Madeleine McCann was snatched may have happened directly outside the Ocean Club. Prosecutors claim they have traced the phone used by their prime suspect and found it connected to the mast owned by the resort complex where the McCann’s were staying. Hans Christian […]
GERMAN police believe a mysterious phonecall made by Christian B just before Madeleine McCann was snatched may have happened directly outside the Ocean Club.
Prosecutors claim they have traced the phone used by their prime suspect and found it connected to the mast owned by the resort complex where the McCann’s were staying.
Hans Christian Wolters, the chief prosecutor in the case, said this has allowed them to place Christian B at the scene around the time Madeleine was taken.
The phone call has been a central part of the renewed police probe since the twice convicted paedophile was named as a key suspect earlier this month.
Police are probing the 30 minute call which occurred just one hour before Madeleine is believed to have been taken.
The content of the call is unclear, and police took the extraordinary step to release both of the phone numbers in the case.
Portugese media reported the number Christian B was called from (+351) 916 510 683 was registered to a man called Diogo Silva, which is a common name in Portugal.
Christian B is believed to have been using the number (+351) 912730680 – with the call starting at 7.32pm and ending at 8.02pm on May 3, 2007.
Around one hour after the call ended, Madeleine is believed to have been taken from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
She vanished some time between 9.10pm and 10pm.
Mr Wolters added even further significance to the call while speaking on Aussie TV show 60 Minutes.
He insisted this call has allowed them to place Christian B at the scene before Madeleine was snatched from her bed.
Mr Wolters said: “We know that the phone number which was used by our suspect on May 3, 2007, was connecting to the mast which belongs to the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz.”
TV host Liz Hayes then presses the prosecutor on if they can place Christian B at the scene.
He replies: “Yes, we think so.”
Det Chief Insp Mark Cranwell, from Operation Grange, has also emphasised the significance of the mysterious call.
First revealing details of the breakthrough earlier this month, he said the caller was a “key witness”
He said: “Any information in relation to these mobile numbers during the spring and summer of 2007 could be critical to this investigation.”
A picture of Christian B continues to emerge as German police insist they have “concrete evidence” he is the one who snatched and killed Madeleine.
Cops have however declined to reveal what evidence they have she is dead, with British police still treating her vanishing as a missing persons probe.
No charges have yet been filed against Christian B, who has a record of sex offences and is now being linked to other missing children.
Chief prosecutor in the case Hans Christian Wolters declined to confirm or deny if they have found any sign of Madeleine in 8,000 videos and pictures found on Christian B’s property.
The trove – which allegedly includes disturbing evidence of other crimes – was discovered buried along with a dead dog at a dilapidated factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany.
Christian B is currently serving time in jail after raping a 72-year-old woman in the resort town, and has already been linked to at least two other sex attacks on the Algarve.
Described as a “twisted loner”, the sex offender is understood to have been a kind of drifter around the resort.
He lived in squalid homes and out of his van, and made money through petty crime.
This includes reports he used to break into people’s holiday flats to steal, as well as being involved in drug dealing and stealing diesel from cars.
The suspect is known to have lived in the hills above Praia da Luz just 11 minutes drive away when Madeleine disappeared.
He also had a rundown and dilapidated shack only two miles away from the McCann’s holiday let – and is known to have owned a mobile home he boasted could carry “drugs and children”.
Christian B was first linked to the Madeleine case after he allegedly made a drunken boast he snatched her while in a bar on the tenth anniversary of the crime.
Madeleine is believed to have been snatched from the Ocean Club apartment where she was sleeping alongside her twin siblings Sean and Amelie on May 3, 2007.
Kate and Gerry were having dinner with pals just a one minute walk away when the tot vanished – with the mum discovering her daughter was missing just after 10pm.
The mum and dad – both doctors – have since poured their into efforts finding her and have never given up hope that Madeleine may be alive.
Madeleine would have turned 17 last month, and the family have described the identification of Christian B as “potentially very significant”.
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Experts have said Christian B matches the profile of a Jimmy Savile-style “paraphiliac”, who targets victims of all ages.
His ex-lawyer Serafim Vieira has described him as having “‘psychopathic traits” and admitted he could be responsible for Madeleine’s abduction.
It emerged today he fantasised about having a Josef Fritzl-style liar at the property where he lived in Brunswick, Germany.
However, a series of bungles in the police investigation have cast doubt over whether prosecutors can secure a conviction.