German police start search in Portugal near site of Madeleine McCann's 2007 disappearance
German police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann are to carry out fresh searches near the Portuguese holiday resort she was last seen 18 years ago, UK police said on Monday.
The three-year-old disappeared from her bed while on holiday with her family in the Praia da Luz resort, in southern Portugal, on May 3, 2007. She has not been seen since.
The main suspect in the case is Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.
He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but has not been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child's disappearance. Brueckner has denied any involvement in her disappearance.
'We are aware of the searches being carried out by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann,' the Metropolitan Police in London said in a statement.
'The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary,' it added, without giving more details.
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