German cops break silence on ‘very constructive' Madeleine McCann search as ‘clothes and bones are sent for analysis'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
THE latest searches in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann concluded as planned, German prosecutors have said.
Head prosecutor in Braunschweig, Hans Christian Wolters, said the co-operation between the Portuguese and German authorities during the operation was "very constructive".
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
3
Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz in Portugal
Credit: Collect
3
Officials recently went on a renewed search for DNA evidence in Portugal
Credit: Dan Charity
3
Christian Brueckner is believed to be the lead suspect in the girl's disappearance
Credit: Getty
It comes after it was revealed that eagle-eyed police did find tiny fragments, which they are speculating could have links to Maddie after prime suspect Christian Brueckner, 38, wild camped at the site.
The samples have now been sent to Germany for testing amid hopes they could finally reveal the forensic link cops are missing on the case.
Watch The Sun's exclusive documentary on the Maddie case here
Cops are understood to have found clothes and animal bones during the extensive search through an area known as Brueckner's "rat run".
Without evidence pinning it to the convicted German rapist, prosecutors risk not being able to get the arrest warrant they need to keep Brueckner behind bars.
The claims were made in the Berlin Morning Post.
A source said: 'Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory.
'As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things.
'The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance but that is clearly their hope.'
The search took place around an area of scrubland which is located close to where the British toddler was staying with her parents back in 2007.
Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner gloats cops 'will NEVER pin case on me without a body' in sickening letter
The little girl was aged just three when she vanished and has never been found since despite extensive searches.
German and Portuguese police used JCB-type machines and ground-penetrating radar but found "nothing of consequence".
It was reported that animal bones and adult clothing were the only things unearthed - but no traces could be linked to Maddie.
This quickly dashed hopes of pinning Brueckner with fresh DNA evidence until the latest developments today.
It comes as The Sun uncovered new Maddie evidence in a bombshell documentary.
The world exclusive doc lifts the lid on gripping new information and reveals why Brueckner is the prime suspect.
Our compelling investigation unveils the horrors found at his abandoned factory lair - and his obsession with small children.
Madeleine McCann: Inside the Secret Evidence is now available to watch online for free on our YouTube page.
The dossier of overwhelming circumstantial evidence includes exclusive images of kids' swimming costumes, a toddler bike and toys found at his property.
We also reveal how cops found a mask, guns and child kidnap stories where Brueckner describes using kidnap chemical ether to take a mum and tot outside a preschool.
Our documentary on the police files represents the biggest leap forwards in understanding of the case since German police revealed Brueckner as a suspect in 2020.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
17 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Harvey Weinstein rape charge ends in mistrial after juror was ‘threatened' and refused to return to deliberation room
Weinstein and his team had urged for the trial to be halted after a juror alerted the judge about an issue in the deliberation room COURT CHAOS Harvey Weinstein rape charge ends in mistrial after juror was 'threatened' and refused to return to deliberation room Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE judge has declared a mistrial on the final charge in Harvey Weinstein's retrial. The shocking ruling comes a day after a 12-person jury convicted the disgraced movie producer, 73, of one of the two criminal sexual assault counts he was facing and acquitted him of the other. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Harvey Weinstein pictured in Manhattan Criminal Court during his rape and sexual assault retrial on Wednesday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Jurors were expected to reconvene on Thursday to continue deliberating the rape charge, which they were deadlocked on. Actress Jessica Mann accused Weinstein of raping her in 2013, at the time when she was trying to build her career as a actress. However, the jury foreperson refused to return to the jury room, saying he faced threats from other jurors. On Wednesday, the jury reached a guilty verdict on a single count of criminal sexual act in connection to actress Mimi Haley's allegations against Weinstein. An emotional Haley testified that the "unthinkable" happened when Weinstein sexually assaulted her in July 2006. But jurors acquitted Weinstein of engaging in a criminal sex act with model Kaja Sokola, who accused the disgraced Miramax founder of forcing oral sex on her in 2006 when she was just 16 years old. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
NBC News
21 minutes ago
- NBC News
Northern Ireland town is engulfed in racist riots for a third day
LONDON — Dozens of mostly young men torched homes and smashed in windows in a Northern Irish town late Wednesday, in a third night of what officials described as coordinated 'racist thuggery' against the community's ethnic minorities. Some residents of Ballymena, about 25 miles northwest of Belfast with a population of 30,000, responded to the anti-foreigner vigilantism by sticking the Union Jack or signs in their windows reading 'British household' and 'locals live here,' in an apparent attempt to be spared by the rioters. NBC News' British partner Sky News has seen residents from ethnic minorities packing up suitcases and leaving their homes, while others have spoken of their terror that the mob violence will continue. The violence first flared Monday during a vigil for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault two days before. Two teenage boys, both 14, were charged with attempted rape and appeared in court Monday, communicating through a Romanian translator. The boys' identities have not been released because of their age. Masked rioters broke away from the otherwise peaceful vigil, building barricades and throwing bricks, Molotov cocktails and fireworks at houses and police. Riot police responded with rubber bullets and a water cannon. More than 40 officers have been injured over the three nights, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, known as the PSNI, said. The violence also spread to other towns in Northern Ireland, such as Coleraine, where a bus station was attacked, access to the train station was blocked and rioters pushed trash cans onto the rails and set them alight Wednesday night, police said. In Larne, some people whose homes were destroyed were given shelter at a leisure center — until that was targeted and set on fire, too. In total, 10 people, all men in their teens, 20s and 30s, have been arrested. Three of them, aged 18, 17 and 15, have been charged and are set to appear in court Thursday. 'This violence was clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police,' Ryan Henderson, PSNI assistant chief constable, said Tuesday at a news conference. 'It was racist thuggery pure and simple and any attempt to justify and explain it as something else is misplaced.' A Bulgarian national who lives in Ballymena and asked that her identity be protected told Sky News, 'It's terrifying, honestly, I'm scared to get out of the house,' She said she had been in Northern Ireland 'for a while — I've pursued an education here,' she said. 'I've done multiple things for the community and it's just absolutely heartbreaking that it's not the same Ballymena that I had when I first came here.' "It is important," said Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think tank that focuses on immigration, identity and integration, "to draw the clearest red line between the legitimate debate about immigration policy, including numbers, the pace of change and the quality of integration, and hateful abuse and threats." 'Governments need to manage asylum much better nationally and locally,' he said, 'but must challenge more forcefully those stoking hatred and socializing violence against migrants, and the platforms that let hatred run riot without impediment.' Northern Ireland is no stranger to unrest, but usually between 'unionists' — mostly Protestants who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom — and 'republicans' — mostly Catholics who want it to become part of the Irish Republic. Though this conflict, called 'the Troubles,' officially ended with a peace deal in 1998, sporadic clashes still break out between these often segregated communities and police. This week's unrest in Ballymena follows a different trend, however. Anti-foreigner sentiment has in recent years surged across the U.K. and indeed Europe and the West. As prices for food, fuel and housing rise due to inflation, and public services become squeezed, some politicians mainly on the populist hard-right have sought to blame mass immigration for putting undue stress on the system. Pro-immigration progressives argue that immigrants provide an essential net benefit to society, both bringing high-level skills and filling less glamorous but necessary jobs. Last summer, anti-immigrant violence flared across the U.K. after three young girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the town of Southport in northwest England.
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Families of dead Air India Flight 171 passengers to be offered £86,000
As British passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh tells the story of his miraculous survival amid the Air India Flight 171, it has emerged that families who lost loved ones in the crash will be offered £86,000 Families who have lost loved ones in the Air India Flight 171 catastrophe will be offered £86,000, as pledged by Air India owners the Tata Group. Taking to the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed financial compensation would be given, while the medical expenses of those injured in the disaster would also be taken care of. Mr Chandrasekaran wrote: "We are deeply anguished by the tragic event involving Air India Flight 171. "No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured. "Tata Group will provide ₹1 crore [£86,000] to the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy. We will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support." The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which had been bound for London's Gatwick Airport, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members when it crashed minutes after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Right before losing signal, the aircraft sent a "mayday" message to colleagues on the ground, alerting them to an emergency situation. The Dreamliner crashed directly into a dining room at B J Medical College, in a residential area of Ahmedabad, western India, while medical students were sitting down for their lunch. More than 200 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, and police initially warned that they did not expect to find survivors from the plane. However, in a turn of events deemed miraculous by some, it's believed Air India passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh managed to escape the horror ordeal, surviving with "impact injuries" on his chest, eyes and feet. The 40-year-old British man claims to have been sitting in seat 11A of the aircraft when at take-off, and has recalled hearing "a loud noise" before tragedy struck. He still has hold of his boarding pass. Vishwash, who has lived in London for 20 years, remembered: "It all happened so quickly." He'd been in India for a few days to visit family and had been returning to the UK with his 45-year-old brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh. Speaking from the general ward of the Civil Hospital, Asarwa, in Ahmedabad, Vishwash told the Hindustan Times: "When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital." Explaining that his brother had been seated in a different row, he added: "We visited Diu. He was travelling with me and I can't find him anymore. Please help me find him," he said. UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation into the Ahmedabad plane crash. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: "The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has formally offered its assistance to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, India. "In addition, the UK AAIB will have expert status in the Indian safety investigation. This is in accordance with ICAO Annexe 13 because UK citizens were on board the aircraft. "We are deploying a multidisciplinary investigation team to India to support the Indian-led investigation. Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragic accident." It was previously reported that Gatwick Airport is setting up a reception centre for those whose loved ones were on board the doomed flight. Those with concerns about friends or family, as well as those who require assistance in India following today's crash, have been urged to get in touch with the Foreign Office. According to a full statement on the website: "We are aware of a plane crash in Ahmedabad. The UK is working with local authorities in India to urgently establish the facts and provide support to those involved. "If you need help from the British government, or have concerns for friends or family, call: +91 (11) 2419 2100 (in India) or +44 (0) 20 7008 5000 (in the UK)."
