On the night of May 3rd, 2007, three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. What followed became the most famous missing child case in the world. From the frantic first searches and questionable police work, to the media circus that hounded her parents Kate and Gerry, every step deepened the mystery and divided public opinion. Were the McCann's victims of a terrible crime — or suspects in a dark cover-up?

This episode of The Veil takes you inside the investigation that spanned continents and decades. We unravel the flawed witness accounts, the cadaver dog alerts that ignited suspicion, the battles in court and the press, and the extraordinary scale of the global campaign to “Find Madeleine.” Finally, we confront the case’s most chilling turn: the emergence of German drifter Christian Brückner, a convicted rapist and pedophile, whose presence in Praia da Luz that night — and alleged confessions — put him at the center of prosecutors’ claims that Madeleine is no longer alive.

Sixteen years on, Madeleine’s fate remains unknown. But in the shadows of the Algarve, her absence still haunts — a story without closure, hidden behind the veil.

While some dramatic license is taken during the retelling of these stories, but you can be sure that these true crime stories are all based 100% on real events and facts.

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This podcast is researched, and written by the Brevity Studios team using AI tools, and is narrated in its entirety by - Ryan Wolf.

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