Christian Brueckner, the convicted rapist identified by German prosecutors as the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, was released from prison in northern Germany on Wednesday after serving his sentence in an unrelated rape case.

Shortly after 9 a.m. local time, Brueckner was driven out of the Sehnde prison in a black Audi, accompanied by his lawyer and a police escort. Police confirmed that he had left the facility but said they did not know where he was going.

Brueckner, 48, just completed a seven-year prison sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal. Upon his release, he was fitted with an electronic ankle tag, a condition imposed to enable authorities to monitor his movements. His lawyers have decli

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