A major new development has renewed scrutiny of the Madeleine McCann investigation after Christian Brueckner, the principal suspect identified by German authorities, publicly placed himself extremely close to the Praia da Luz resort on the night the three-year-old disappeared.

Brueckner said he was about 150 yards from the McCann family’s holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, claiming he was on a nearby beach selling marijuana he had brought into Portugal from Spain. It is the first time he has publicly given such a detailed account of his movements that night. He continues to deny any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Even more striking, Brueckner claimed Portuguese police stopped him three separate times as he attempted to leave the area after the alarm was raised over Madeleine’s disappearance. According to his account, officers did not search his van and allowed him to continue. That claim has not independently established any connection between him and Madeleine, but investigators may compare it with existing police records and witness evidence.

Authorities had already linked a cellphone associated with Brueckner to the Praia da Luz area around the time Madeleine vanished. German prosecutors have long said they believe he is responsible, but he has never been charged in the McCann case, and no publicly disclosed forensic evidence has yet established that he abducted or killed her.

His new account comes after years of searches in Portugal, including renewed examination of areas connected to him. Despite those efforts, investigators have not publicly announced the discovery of Madeleine’s remains or other conclusive physical evidence resolving the case.

The most important new question is therefore not whether investigators have suddenly “solved” the case — they have not — but why Brueckner waited nearly two decades to publicly acknowledge being so close to the resort and whether his account can be independently verified.