TV FANS have flocked to Netflix to watch documentary series - The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann - following fresh news about the police case.

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 3) - a German prisoner was identified by detectives as a suspect in her disappearance.

The Metropolitan Police have not named the man, 43, who is described as white with short blond hair, possibly fair, and about 6ft tall with a slim build.

Who is the new suspect in the investigation?

The German national is known to have been in and around Praia da Luz on the Algarve coast at the time Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007 while on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie.

A half-hour phone call was made to his Portuguese mobile phone around an hour before Madeleine is believed to have gone missing.

The suspect, who is in prison in Germany for an unrelated matter, has been linked to an early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van – with a white upper body and yellow skirting, registered in Portugal – which was pictured in the Algarve in 2007.

Scotland Yard said he was driving the vehicle in the Praia da Luz area in the days before Madeleine’s disappearance and is believed to have been living in it for days or weeks before and after May 3.

He has also been linked to a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 with a German number plate seen in Praia da Luz and surrounding areas in 2006 and 2007.

The day after Madeleine went missing, the suspect got the car re-registered in Germany under someone else’s name, although it is believed the vehicle was still in Portugal.

Both vehicles have been seized by German police.

Latest update

This afternoon (Thursday), German prosecutors have said Madeleine McCann is 'assumed to be dead'.

In a news conference, Hans Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the Braunschweig Public Prosecutor’s Office, said: “In connection with the disappearance of the three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann on May 3, 2007 from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, the Braunschweig prosecution is investigating against a 43-year-old German on suspicion of murder.

“We are assuming that the girl is dead.

“With the suspect, we are talking about a sexual predator who has already been convicted of crimes against little girls and he’s already serving a long sentence.”

He said the suspect was regularly living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he worked jobs in the gastronomy business, but funded his lifestyle by committing crimes, including thefts in hotel complexes and apartments, as well as drug dealing.

He added: “The Braunschweig prosecution is now concerned because before going abroad he last had his residence in Braunschweig.”

What is Netflix's documentary about?

While Netflix launched the show on their streaming platform in March 2019, many have discovered it for the first time in wake of latest developments, with others choosing to re-watch it.

East Lothian Courier:

The youngster’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured above), have previously criticised the programme, saying it “could potentially hinder” the search for their daughter.

Netflix said the series had access to “never-before-heard testimonies from those at the heart of the story, including friends of the McCann family, investigators working the case and from those who became the subject of media speculation and rumour”.

It said: “The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann goes beyond the headlines and takes a unique look at the facts of the case as well as its impact on media standards around the world.”

Prior to its launch last year, Netflix released a trailer for the documentary, giving a glimpse at just over two minutes of footage from the series, including interviews and dramatic re-enactments, as well as archive footage.

Mr and Mrs McCann previously said in a statement: “The production company told us that they were making the documentary and asked us to participate.

“We did not see – and still do not see – how this programme will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, it could potentially hinder it.

“Consequently, o­­ur views and preferences are not reflected in the programme.”

Who launched Operation Grange?

Scotland Yard launched an investigation, Operation Grange, after a Portuguese inquiry failed to make any headway on Madeleine’s disappearance.

What to do if you have any information about Madeleine's disappearance

The Operation Grange incident room can be contacted via 0207 321 9251 or operation.grange@met.police.uk.