Madeleine McCann cops to scour roadwork trenches near villa & Brueckner's ‘rat run' of paths using radar in new search

The Sun

2 days ago

POLICE will tomorrow start a fresh dig for Madeleine McCann's body.
Radar will scan 15ft down in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where she vanished from a holiday flat in 2007 aged three.
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German cops face a race to charge suspect Christian Brueckner.
A source said: 'It's now or never.'
The new search for ­Madeleine will focus on extensive groundworks that took place at the time she vanished.
A police theory is the three-year-old or her pyjamas might have been dumped in trenches near the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz where her family were staying in May 2007.
At least 30 agents from Germany's FBI — the BKA — acting on a tip-off arrived in the Portuguese resort on Monday.
They are equipped with ground-penetrating radar that can scan 15ft below the surface.
The search area will include a cottage half a mile away used by the main suspect, German-national Brueckner, 48, and nearby scrubland.
The area was a rat run for prolific thief Brueckner and leads to the property where he raped a US woman in 2005 — for which he is currently in a German jail.
Police were closing dirt roads and putting up tents in Atalaia, next to Praia, this afternoon.
The search comes weeks after a Sun and Channel 4 investigation revealed new clues linking Brueckner to the Madeleine case.
Chilling moment Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner SMIRKS as he's asked 'did you kill Maddie-'
He is due for release in September, has never been charged over the toddler, and denies involvement.
Investigators need forensic evidence to charge him.
An investigation source said: 'German cops know it is now or never so they need to push ahead with every credible tip they have.
'Following Brueckner's trial last year someone contacted them with theories on where anyone who took Madeleine might have dumped her, or her clothes.
'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.
'Of course, all 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.
'With time running out they are praying they get a breakthrough.'
British cops are said to have no involvement in the searches.
It is the first official police action in Portugal since the Arades Dam, around 30 miles from Praia, was scoured in 2023.
Unconfirmed reports suggested a tipster had sent images to German detectives of the Praia sites where they believe Madeleine could be buried — or items, such as pyjamas, could have been dumped.
The source added: 'Brueckner is still the only suspect and he still maintains silence with German cops. But they have been studying him closely and looking at the way he behaves.
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'They think his pattern of behaviour is to return to familiar places after he has committed a crime.
'That's why they want to search his cottage — even though he didn't live there in 2007 when Madeleine vanished.'
A well-placed Portuguese source said: 'These will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine's body.'
Police have previously placed Brueckner's phone in the area on the night she vanished.
A 30-minute call was connected to the device, suggesting he was likely there.
The other party to the call has never been detected and Brueckner refuses to answer police questions about it.
The latest tip-off has been with German cops since last year when he was cleared in a separate rape case.
However, the search request has been delayed by red tape.
Brueckner lived at the cottage around 2005-06.
While he did not live there in May 2007, a Sun investigation revealed a satnav showing he often visited and took bizarre intimate selfies at the site.
During the 2023 dam searches, soil samples were taken but no Madeleine clues were found.
An earlier June 2014 operation saw British police dig in Praia da Luz and use sniffer dogs trained to find bodies plus ground-penetrating radar.
In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and fire-fighters searched three wells for Madeleine, whose parents Gerry and Kate are from Rothley, Leics.
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Brueckner is set for release from jail on September 17, with time running out for new appeals and arrest warrants to be granted.
Last October, in an unrelated trial, he was cleared of rape and sexual abuse in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
Our recent TV investigation shed new light on his disturbing obsession with children and his potential involvement in the Madeleine case.
Among police findings was a hard drive of images reportedly thought to uphold investigators' long-held belief that she was killed.
Portugal's Policia Judiciaria confirmed it was complying with a search warrant issued by the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office in Germany.
It added: 'This is conducting preliminary proceedings against a German citizen suspected of the murder of British citizen Madeleine Beth McCann, who disappeared from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.
'All the evidence seized by the PJ will, with the prior authorisation of the national Public Prosecutor's Office, be handed over to the agents of the German Federal Criminal Police Service.'
German officials did not comment.
The Met Police said: 'We are aware of the searches in Portugal and will support our international colleagues where necessary.'
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Here's a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
September 17, 2025
Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken.
Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case