German police have begun the latest search for Madeleine McCann, 18 years after the British toddler disappeared.
Teams armed with shovels are currently sweeping the area between Praia da Luz – where Madeleine went missing in 2007 – and the holiday home where chief suspect Christian Brueckner used to live.
The search commenced this morning when German detectives held a briefing with Portuguese authorities lasting around 15 minutes. Then search teams seen holding shovels and hard hats could be seen headed inland away from the tents, the Mirror reports.
Police have not revealed what new evidence or development has sparked this search, with a source telling the Sun: “German cops know it is now or never.” Here’s everything we know about the new search for Madeleine, who would now be 22-years-old.
German teams have this morning been seen removing rubble and vegetation from outside an abandoned farmhouse on the grassy land in Praia da Luz.
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According to local outlet Correio de Manha, authorities are also set to investigate two wells in the surrounding area, with water removed to see if there is “anything of interest”.
The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz(Image: Phil Harris)
The last time an official search for Madeleine was conducted was back in 2023, at the Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, Portugal. The area is around 50km from Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing.
The search is expected to last around three days unless anything relevant is found by authorities, with cops also investigating the area near to The Ocean Club in Praia Da Luz, where the McCann family was staying in 2007.
New tools
Portuguese cops scanning the area near Praia da Luz will be armed with groundbreaking radar technology which will allow them to scan depths of up to 15 feet. It’s been dubbed a “new weapon” that changes the way searches are conducted.
Investigators will now be able to focus in and only explore areas when the radar signals something, instead of digging blindly.
The search for Madeleine McCann has officially begun(Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
A ‘tip off’
An investigating source has told the Sun: “Following Brueckner’s trial last year someone contacted them with theories on where anyone who took Madeleine might’ve dumped her.
“They told cops about trenches that were dug in Praia at the time Madeleine disappeared, and the house where Brueckner had lived on the edge of the village.
The search is expected to last around three days, unless anything of significance is discovered (Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
“Of course, all of these places have been searched over and over again, but now they have a new weapon in their ground-scanning radar. It means they don’t need to dig for the sake of it. But as soon as they spot anything of interest they are ready to excavate and check it.”
Principal suspect Christian Brueckner
Brueckner was first linked to McCann’s disappearance in 2020 and is nearing the end of a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005. He could be released from German prison as early as September this year.
Principal suspect Christian Brueckner (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
Although Brueckner, 47, is still being investigated, he has never been charged and denies all involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance. When police investigated a factory owned by Brueckner, disturbing findings were made, including children’s clothes and a suitcase full of images of young girls, reports Metro.
He is known to have frequented the Algarve region surrounding Praia de Luz, where the toddler went missing.
