New Madeleine McCann search under way
Portuguese and German authorities have started a new search into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal nearly two decades ago.
Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from an apartment complex in the town Praia da Luz in Algarve during a family holiday on 3 May 2007. Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world.
On Monday, Portuguese police confirmed they were carrying out the search on warrants issued by German prosecutors.
Portuguese police say the search - which covers the municipality of Lagos near Praia da Luz - is due to continue until Friday.
Four vehicles carrying German police have arrived on the search site, the roads to which have been closed off.
German investigators have taken the lead in the case since they identified Christian Brückner as their prime suspect in 2020.
The 48-year-old is currently serving a sentence in Germany for a separate crime - the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He is due to be released later this year.
German authorities suspect him of murder but have not found enough evidence to bring charges, while Brückner repeatedly denies any involvement.
Portuguese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they would hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German authorities.
The team of German and Portuguese investigators have been given permission to search 21 plots of land between the Ocean Club resort Madeleine disappeared from and where Brückner had been staying at the time.
German authorities told the BBC on Monday that "criminal proceedings are currently under way in Portugal" with the support of Portuguese police.
The previous search was two years ago, focussed around a reservoir where Madeleine was last seen.
Brückner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
The night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor apartment.
Her mother, Kate, discovered her was missing at around 22:00.
A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against him.
Madeleine's parents last month marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".
The Metropolitan Police - which this week said it was "aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal" - continues its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.
The case, known as Operation Grange, has been going since 2011.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Washington attorney general goes before 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on birthright citizenship
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown was back in a Seattle courtroom Wednesday on birthright citizenship. Arguments were heard before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue was a nationwide preliminary injunction issued in February blocking President Donald Trump's executive order, which sought to change birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th Amendment. The debate was whether to make the preliminary injunction permanent or overturn a lower court's ruling. The executive order would disqualify those born in this country to illegal immigrants from becoming birthright citizens. WA AG says Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional In court, Washington's Office of the Attorney General argued the executive order is clearly unconstitutional and the preliminary injunction should be made permanent. 'We're talking about overturning the fundamental understanding of what it means to be an American in this country, and what it has meant since the 14th Amendment,' Brown said. Department of Justice lawyers argued birthright citizenship doesn't apply to undocumented immigrants' children born here, or those in the country on work or student visas. 'We're seeing some radical ideas take root at the highest level of government. And so it is more important than ever the attorneys general are standing united to fight against the unlawfulness of this president,' Brown said There is no word on when a decision will be handed down. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule on procedural questions, and that could affect the timing. Follow James Lynch on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.
Bloomberg
29 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Euro Elevation Doesn't Depend on the Dollar's Demise
President Donald Trump's mission to radically restructure the world economy is catnip to dollar doomsters, but raises few doubts for staunch believers in the currency's primacy in global finance. All conversations about threats to the greenback's role as the world's reserve currency tend toward either imagining a collapse of American financial dominance, or stubborn shouts of TINA — There Is No Alternative. Far more likely is a slow grinding evolution into a world where different countries and currencies hold spheres of influence, a shift from the recent unipolar era. There are alternative monies in this world and the best of them is the euro. For Europe to enjoy some of the privileges that belonged to the US alone for decades, the euro doesn't need to become the preeminent global currency. Nor must the dollar suffer a fall from grace as deep as sterling did over the first half of the 20th century as the British Empire unraveled.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Judge Deals Another Embarrassing Blow to Trump on Harvard
A federal judge has dealt yet another humiliating defeat to the Trump administration in its war on Harvard University. District Judge Allison Burroughs, who was appointed by Barack Obama in 2014, temporarily blocked the Trump administration's attempt to prevent the country's oldest university from enrolling international students. 'I want to maintain the status quo,' Burroughs said in a hearing on Thursday, according to The New York Times. 'People are terrified.' Revoking the school's ability to enroll foreign students was the latest escalation in the battle. Trump has frozen more than $3 billion in funding for the school and has threatened to rescind its tax-exempt status unless it acquiesces to a lengthy list of demands. Burrough's decision arrived as 9,000 graduates of the university gathered in Harvard Yard to receive their diplomas. The Times reported that 'sporadic cheers' rang out as the students heard about the judge's ruling. A spokesperson for the university celebrated the decision in a statement to the Daily Beast. 'Harvard will continue to take steps to protect the rights of our international students and scholars, members of our community who are vital to the University's academic mission and community—and whose presence here benefits our country immeasurably,' the spokesperson said. The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast's request for comment on the decision. Harvard—one of the country's most selective and prestigious universities—has been in the president's crosshairs since he returned to office. Trump has accused the school of having a liberal bias and failing to adequately combat antisemitism on campus. He has also argued that more of its spots should go to American students. There are about 7,000 international students at Harvard, about a quarter of its enrollment. On Wednesday, Trump declared that the university was 'getting their a-- kicked' in the legal fight. 'Harvard's got to behave themselves,' he said. 'Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper.' Since returning to office, Trump has faced a string of legal defeats—related to his attacks on Harvard, but also on its push to end birthright citizenship and its mass deportation effort.
