Police conclude searches in Portugal in Madeleine McCann investigation

The Guardian

05-06-2025

Searches for Madeleine McCann in Portugal on land a mile from where the British toddler was last seen in 2007 have concluded.
German and Portuguese investigators embraced each other on Thursday afternoon after three days of scouring scrubland and abandoned farmhouses close to the resort of Praia da Luz.
Their efforts focused on a 120-acre stretch of land, using equipment such as chainsaws, drones, diggers and a ground-penetrating radar.
There have been no obvious signs of any major discovery from the operation, which comes 18 years after the three-year-old disappeared from Praia da Luz while her parents were out having dinner, leaving her sleeping in a nearby room with her toddler twin siblings.
CNN Portugal reported that animal bones and adult clothing had been found, while the Correio da Manhã newspaper said material collected from one of the many derelict houses had been sent off for analysis.
On Thursday, search teams of German and Portuguese police officers, as well as firefighters, used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth in the area. A digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures. Investigators have also deployed ground penetrating radar technology that can identify anomalies under the surface.
They began winding down the searches in Atalaia, near Lagos, on Thursday afternoon. At around 5pm the German and Portuguese teams were seen having a debrief before shaking hands and embracing. There was a round of applause before one officer was seen carrying a crate of German beerr.
After the beers were carried away, some officers struggled to grapple with the tents they were taking down because of the blustery conditions.
As they packed up, officers could be seen carrying equipment such as bins, boxes and folding tables away from their base area. Personnel also loaded vans, which were parked at the base area near to abandoned buildings, with some of the equipment used in the searches.
Earlier in the day, a group of 15 officers had taken part in a hillside briefing by a derelict farmhouse. Police were then seen carrying out fingertip searches of shrubbery outside the property.
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The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police, as they look for evidence that could implicate the prime suspect, Christian Brückner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. Brückner, who was living in a nearby cottage at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, has repeatedly denied any involvement.
He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan police said.