The now lead suspect in the Madeleine McCann case was looked at in 2007 and had his van forensically tested, but ruled out of the investigation, a journalist who has covered the case extensively says.
English girl Madeleine McCann, aged three at the time, went missing from the hotel her family was staying at on holiday in Portugal.
Her disappearance sparked a huge and costly police hunt across much of Europe and sent shockwaves around the world.
Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have continued to say they're not giving up hope though. If she is alive, she'd be 17 today.
Yesterday it was revealed a 43-year-old German prisoner - named as Christian B - was a new suspect in the Scotland Yard's investigation .
Today the Guardian, citing Portuguese sources , reports the prisoner is Christian Bruckner.
Australian journalist Mark Saunokonoko, the creator of a posdcast on the Madeleine McCann case, told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning the convicted sex offender Bruckner was well-known to police, having been investigated in 2007 then disregarded as a lead in 2008.
Saunokonoko said former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral had told him the suspect was known to have been in Portugal at the time of Madeleine's disappearance and was living an apparently transient life.
"What Goncalo Amaral said was that they knew he was there, they investigated him over the 14 month investigation, that the Portuguese investigation lasted for before that was shut down, they disregarded him as a person of interest."
Yesterday, police released photos of a campervan Bruckner was travelling in at the time, as well as a Jaguar which the man transferred into someone else's name the day after Madeleine vanished.
"Goncalo Amaral said that vehicle had been taken to Germany, it had already been tested forensically but there was nothing in that van that would sort of say 'hey, this is the guy'," Saunokonoko said.
Questions around why Bruckner was brought in and why now are still yet to be answered, he added.
"We're yet to really see what the hard evidence is. The German's have said it's a murder investigation, the British police have said it's a missing persons investigation, so you know, let's wait and see."
It comes after a man in prison in Germany was identified as a prime suspect in her 2007 disappearance.
Bruckner's crimes have been detailed by German police though. They include rape of an elderly woman, as well as a history of child sex offenses.
"I'm not too sure how it's going to play out, I mean, he's been in prison for some time," Mr Saunokonoko said.
"He's in prison right now for the rape of a 72-year-old woman, apparently he's broken into a residential property, raped a 72-year-old American tourist, he's also had some history of sex offences against children - that's what the reports are saying.
"How this man gets a fair trial or how he is potentially arrested or charged given he is already in prison, why have they waited so long? Why is all this coming out now? I don't know."
SHARE ME