A convicted sex offender suspected of kidnapping Madeleine McCann reportedly tried to sell her to a homeless friend, an Expat says.
Former UK political campaigner Ken Ralphs reportedly said that Christian Brueckner, the German drifter suspected of abducting Madeleine, approached a mutual friend in an attempt to enlist assistance in finding a child for potential sale to a childless couple.
Ralphs revealed that Brueckner then extended the offer to the friend, identified as a man experiencing financial hardship, living in a tent along a wooded area on the Algarve coast.
“We were sitting around the fire one night after a meal, we had a few beers and during the early hours of the morning my friend began to cry,” Ralphs told Sky News.
“I asked him what the matter was and, eventually, he confessed to me he was getting involved with Christian to steal a child from Praia da Luz from a rich family.”
Brueckner exploited the man’s economic difficulties and tried to persuade him, Ralphs said, adding that Brueckner “knew the guy was vulnerable and wanted to travel abroad, but he couldn’t leave because he couldn’t afford the air tickets.”
“I said you can’t get involved in kidnapping a person for ransom, that’s ridiculous, then he explained, ‘no, it’s not like that.’ Christian had a customer, a buyer lined up, a German couple who couldn’t have children.”
Ralphs said he went to the police station in Workington, Cumbria, and gave the cops a “secret map” to the woods, in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.
When he returned to the Algarve, Ralphs said discovered that both his friend and Brueckner were gone and the friend’s tent had been intentionally burned. He reiterated his account to the Portuguese police, who reportedly assured him they would reach out if further information was needed.
The accusation comes on the heels of Brueckner’s charge of abducting another child from a beach in 2007 and sexually assaulting the victim.
Brueckner, who’s currently serving time in a German prison for a rape and drug trafficking charge, is scheduled for trial in the 2007 case next week.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Madeleine was vacationing with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when she vanished from her hotel room on May 3, 2007. Her parents had been dining a short distance away on the resort property while she slept in the room with her siblings.
Although considered a prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, Brueckner has not been charged in connection with her. He denies the accusations.
Court records indicate that Brueckner lived intermittently in Portugal from 1995 to 2007, where he accumulated a hefty criminal record that includes convictions for sexually abusing children.
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[Feature Photo: Madeleine McCann/Handout]
