MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has returned to his home town, fuelling fears he will retrieve evidence from his remote lair and flee.

The paedo has been seen in Braunschweig close to an abandoned box factory he once used as his hideaway.

Christian Brueckner has returned to his home town, fuelling fears he will retrieve evidence from his remote lair and fleeCredit: Dan Charity
 

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Brueckner has been seen in Braunschweig close to an abandoned box factory he once used as his hideawayCredit: Dan Charity
 

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Brueckner was named in 2020 as the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine, three, in Portugal in 2007Credit: AFP
It is where Brueckner, 49, buried a sickening stash of photos and ­videos of sexual abuse.

It has raised suspicions he has yet more secrets hidden there — and wants to recover them before leaving Germany for good.

A source said police had struggled to keep track of Brueckner since he was freed from jail last year after serving a seven-year sentence for rape.

They added: “There have been all kinds of suggestions that more secrets are buried at his box factory.

“The nightmare scenario is he gets to whatever is there and disappears with it. That could end any hopes of seeing a McCann case in court.”

Brueckner was named in 2020 as the suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine, three, in Portugal 13 years before.

German cops have since tried to build a case against him but since his release he has kept on the move, camping in woods to stay under the radar.

Fears over what is hidden at the old factory, which he bought at auction for £31,500, were raised over claims he once asked a cellmate to burn it down.

Brueckner, 49, buried a sickening stash of photos and ­videos of sexual abuse at his hideawayCredit: Dan Charity
 

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A source said police had struggled to keep track of Brueckner since he was freed from jail last yearCredit: Dan Charity
 

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Brueckner’s former home in a Northern German woodlandCredit: ITV News