A former associate of Christian Brueckner has claimed that the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance admitted to abducting the three-year-old and said "she didn't scream".
Helge Busching, who previously befriended the convicted paedophile, revealed the confession occurred during a 2008 festival conversation in Spain when discussing why Portugal had increased police presence following McCann's 2007 disappearance.
According to Mr Busching, after he questioned how someone could remove a child from an apartment, Brueckner responded with the chilling statement about the lack of screaming.
The informant interpreted this as an admission that Brueckner had abducted Miss McCann, prompting him to leave the festival disturbed by the revelation.
Mr Busching said: "I said, ‘How did someone just take her from the apartment? Christian looked at me and said, ‘She didn’t scream’.
"I don’t remember his eyes or his face - but we both knew exactly what he had said. I had already seen what he was capable of, and I knew he was telling me he had taken her.
"I didn’t want to drink or have fun at the festival after that. It was on my mind. Then I discovered Christian had left the festival in the night, even though that had not been his plan.
"It was clear he left in a rush because he almost ran over someone’s tent with his camper van. To me, he realised what he had said to me, and he panicked and decided to run away."
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Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family holiday in Praia da Luz in 2007 | PAMr Busching has abandoned witness protection and fled Germany, constantly relocating to evade potential retribution from Brueckner, who faces imminent release from prison.
He said: "I'm afraid. Christian knows I'm the only one who can pin the Madeleine McCann case on him. He will want me out of the way. Brueckner knows what he told me. I didn’t want him to be there - I didn’t want to speak to him."
The informant, who provided crucial testimony that secured Brueckner's 2019 rape conviction, believes remaining in Germany poses too great a risk for his safety.
Despite maintaining contact with German federal officers through weekly calls and carrying a panic alarm connected to police, Mr Busching refuses to remain stationary, convinced Brueckner will seek vengeance for his imprisonment.
Christian Brueckner has long been the prime suspect in the abduction of Miss McCann
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Mr Busching initially contacted Scotland Yard weeks after the 2008 festival encounter, though the Metropolitan Police stated in court last year they possessed no documentation of this communication.
The recycling plant worker reconnected with authorities in 2017 after viewing tenth anniversary coverage of Miss McCann's disappearance in German media, triggering the formal investigation into Brueckner's connection to the case.
Mr Busching said: "It is one of the biggest regrets of my life that I did not contact the police again sooner. It means Brueckner was a free man - that he got away with so much."
His 2017 tip-off included information about video evidence showing Brueckner attacking an elderly woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Helge Busching had previously befriended the convicted paedophile
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Mr Busching expressed grave concerns about Brueckner's approaching freedom, warning authorities that the convicted rapist will commit further crimes against children or elderly victims.
He told the Sun: "He will offend again," attributing responsibility for future attacks to the court that cleared Brueckner last year.
The informant's safety fears have become so acute that he cannot commit to returning to Germany to provide testimony in any potential Miss McCann prosecution.
He added: "I don't know if it would even be safe for me to come back to Germany to give evidence in the McCann case. I have lost faith in the German legal system."