Madeleine: New Prime Suspect

Police investigate jailed German, 43, who was living in campervan near where she vanished.

- John Twomey

A Convicted sex offender living in a campervan has been identified as the prime suspect in the 13-year hunt for missing Madeleine McCann.

Scotland Yard last night revealed that the 43-year-old German is known to have been in the Portuguese holiday resort where the three-year-old was snatched in May 2007.

Detectives have discovered that the blond-haired man, currently in prison in his home country, had a 30-minute mobile phone conversation with a mystery caller about an hour before the little girl was last seen.

Extensive police inquiries have also revealed how the man re-registered his dark-coloured Jaguar car in someone else’s name just 24 hours after Madeleine vanished.

The massive breakthrough in the Yard investigation was announced last night as police in three countries appealed for information which could finally solve the mystery.

Detectives in Britain, Germany and Portugal declined to name the man as they urged anyone who recognised his dirty white and yellow campervan and Jaguar from 2007 to get in touch.

The possibility has now emerged that Madeleine was snatched from her bed and bundled into the back of either the campervan or the Jaguar and driven away. Both vehicles have been seized and have been subjected to detailed forensic examination. It is not known if anything of value has been gleaned from the search.

It is not yet clear when the suspect left the Algarve. No trace of Madeleine has been found.

The suspect is a convicted child sex attacker currently serving a long jail sentence for “other matters” the German BKA police force said last night.