Former detective in bombshell Madeleine McCann claim about new police search
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info
A former British police detective has made a bombshell assertion regarding the latest search efforts for Madeleine McCann.
Madeleine vanished while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May 2007. Despite no confirmed sightings or anyone being charged in the 18 years since her disappearance, Madeleine's parents have continued to hold onto hope.
New searches by the police are set to commence on Tuesday close to where Madeleine was last seen. The initiative, requested by German authorities, will focus on an area that stretches from Praia da Luz to a property near the resort, previously linked to chief suspect Christian Brueckner.
A highly informed source from Portugal verified that this week's operation is intended to begin tomorrow, although they suggested some preliminary actions might occur sooner. The source detailed: "They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine's body."
Ex-British Police Detective Mark Williams-Thomas, with experience in high-profile missing persons cases globally, has shared his perspective on the forthcoming operations to find Madeleine McCann, reports the Mirror.
Yesterday, Mark took to social media, stating: "The police in Portugal are going to search for the German police - the areas surrounding where Christian B (CB) rented a small farm building . The search is looking for evidence of Madeleine McCann's body . I thoroughly investigated this whole area for my @paramountplus series and we filmed a lot of the area around . It was 10 months before Madeleine went missing that CB was last seen at that address . I cannot see any evidence being found."
Police have begun a three-day search of the areas surrounding Praia da Luz in the Algarve in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007. Authorities will use radar devices to scan up to 15ft underground as they search for any signs of the toddler's body.
A Portuguese police source told The Mirror: "They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine's body."
The search area includes a spot near a cottage once rented by Christian Brueckner, the man suspected of being involved in Madeleine's disappearance.
Detectives from Portugal and Germany will take part in the search, focusing on scrubland close to the resort where the three year old vanished while on holiday with her family. At least 30 agents from the German BKA police force have flown to Portugal to assist in the latest phase of the investigation and will be using advanced ground-penetrating radar to scan deep into the earth.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Evening Standard
an hour ago
- Evening Standard
Teenage pedestrian dies in collision involving electric bike and car
Madeleine McCann: where the family are now, from Kate's moving memoir to the brother tipped for the Olympics Memoirs and Olympic swimming: where Maddie McCann's family are now
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Madeleine McCann Portugal search to enter third day
Searches for Madeleine McCann are due to resume on Thursday morning near to where she disappeared from Praia da Luz, and Portuguese investigators have until Friday to look for evidence relating to the disappearance of the British toddler 18 years ago. Officers are scouring a 21 sq km (8.1 sq miles) site between where she went missing and where the German investigators' prime suspect, Christian Brückner, had been staying at the 48-year-old is serving a prison sentence in Germany for an unrelated rape case, however he could be released as early as September. Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from an apartment in the Algarve while on holiday with her family in May 2007. Her disappearance is one of the highest-profile missing person cases in the world. Madeleine's case was initially handled by the Portuguese authorities with the aid of the Metropolitan German police took the lead in 2020 when they identified Brückner as a is known to have spent time in the same part of Portugal between 2000 and police suspect him of murder. British police continue to treat the case as a missing persons has repeatedly denied any involvement and no charges have been brought against him relating to Madeleine's disappearance. A European warrant has been approved by Portuguese prosecutors to allow German teams to conduct the latest searches on private and specialist equipment were brought in to help scour scrubland and abandoned buildings on Wednesday. Searches were last carried near the Barragem do Arade reservoir in 2023 as Brückner had photographs and videos of himself in the the night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while their three-year-old daughter and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor month, Kate and Gerry McCann marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".However they would not comment during the "active police investigation", staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said.
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Reason Brit 'drug mules' are 'flavour of the month' for shady gangs is exposed
Recently, Bella Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, was arrested in Georgia and Charlotte May Lee, from Coulsdon in London, allegedly had a synthetic strain of cannabis in her luggage in Sri Lanka Party-going Brits are the "flavour of the month" for drug smuggler gangs, experts warned today. Insiders say Brits are being recruited on the promise of quick cash and the "perfect package" luxury holiday in the likes of Thailand and Indonesia. However, some are never making it home - or are absent for months - because they are being banged up in hellhole jails for drug smuggling offences. Bella Culley, from Billingham, County Durham, and Charlotte May Lee, from Coulsdon, south London, are just two of the several Brits to be lured into the murky world recently. However, in a case that has bucked the trend, a 79-year-old William 'Billy Boy' Eastment, of Somerset, was arrested in Chile last week after a Mexican gang allegedly promised him £3.7million to smuggle a suitcase of crystal meth from Cancun. And experts say the variety highlights how age isn't a barrier for these gangs. One drugs expert said: "They recruit anyone they think looks innocent enough to get through customs, and yet still be dodgy enough to do the deal." Airport security - both in the UK and abroad - is now said to be on high alert for suspicious behaviour that staff may associate with drug smuggling. Culley, for instance, was snagged in Georgia after allegedly carrying 14kg of cannabis into the ex-Soviet nation from Thailand, where she had been holidaying. And Lee, a former TUI flight attendant, is locked up in a Sri Lankan prison after police allegedly discovered 46kg of "Kush" - a synthetic strain of cannabis - in her suitcase when she arrived on a flight from Thailand. A flurry of similar cases have followed including 36-year-old OnlyFans model Clara Wilson, from Nottinghamshire, 21-year-old Cameron Bradford, from Hertfordshire, and 29-year-old Kimberly Hall, from Middlesbrough, who have all been arrested on suspicion of smuggling abroad. Gary Carroll, an expert witness in drug cases, told Mail Online crooks are targeting young people, particularly women, on social media. Mr Carroll, who spent 14 years in policing before becoming a witness, told the publication: "It's (social media) created a gateway for suppliers to target and make connections with young, well-travelled, glamorous ladies and girls that are seeking that ability to travel the world and afford to do so. "Smuggling drugs or packages where they're not entirely sure of the contents in exchange for free holidays and cash seems quite a lucrative offer." Mr Carroll, from Claymore Advisory Group, said he has worked on cases where the "common denominator" is free accommodation, free flights, spending money and some cash with which to come home. He added: "I've even seen business class being thrown in there to sweeten the deal. It's almost the perfect package for those that want to travel, take all the pictures for social media at no expense of their own." Dr David Holmes, a leading criminal psychologist, warned Brits to be vigilant on holiday as he said some gang members will brazenly approach tourists on beaches with offers to join the murky underworld. He said: "It's anyone they think looks innocent enough to get through customs, and yet still be dodgy enough to do the deal. It may be that Brits are the flavour of the month - and I would imagine it's quite more likely that Brits are the flavour of the month with airport security.. That's why they are being picked up more, because they are being picked on more." Police in Sri Lanka, meanwhile, insist Lee - arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle 101lb (46kg) the synthetic strain of cannabis into the country - is "in a lot of trouble". The Brit faces up to 25 years in a tough maximum-security jail in Sri Lanka if she is convicted.
