'Clothes and bone fragments found' in fresh search for Madeleine McCann

Extra.ie​

3 days ago

Clothes and fragments of bone have reportedly been found after investigators carried out a fresh search for Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine, who was three years old, disappeared while on holiday with her family in the Portuguese Algarve in 2007. An extensive search which involved both Portuguese and UK authorities followed and has continued on and off for the past 18 years.
Following a fresh search from investigators of a vast area in Lagos, Portugal, it has been hinted that fragments of clothing and bones may have been found, and are set for analysis this week. Clothes and fragments of bone have reportedly been found after investigators carried out a fresh search for Madeleine McCann.
It has been stressed that the clothing and bone fragments may have nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance, but Portuguese media have reported that the new discovery has brought a sliver of hope to the case.
'Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory,' the Mirror report. '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.' Search team equipment close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, where searches are being carried out by officers investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, in countryside a few miles from the resort where she was last seen in 2007. Pic: James Manning/PA Wire
Christian Brueckner, a German national who is currently imprisoned for raping a 72-year-old woman on Praia da Luz — where Madeleine was abducted — in 2005, is considered the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine, with him reportedly writing a letter to the police denying any involvement in her disappearance.
'Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos? And, don't forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no,' the letter, which was not dated, reportedly read.
An Irish woman who said that she was raped by Brueckner has previously spoken about him being a potential suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, saying that she was '100% certain' that he was the one who took her. Christian Brueckner is the new prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine. Pic: Moritz Frankenberg/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Hazel Behan, who Brueckner was found not guilty of raping in 2004, said that her heart went out to Madeleine and her family, and that she's fearful Brueckner will be free this year once his seven-year sentence for rape ends.
'The idea that Madeleine and I could be connected through this evil man, that he could have been the last person she saw in her little life, devastates me,' Ms Behan said. 'I think of her so much. I know I shouldn't, but I also feel a huge sense of guilt that I didn't fight more with the Portuguese police after I was attacked. Madeleine could be with her family now if the man who raped me had been caught and convicted.
'But I stayed quiet because the police in Praia da Rocha told me to. I didn't make a noise because one of them told me it would 'ruin the tourist trade'. If there was any attempt by them at the time to find the perpetrator it was never reported to me.'