New searches for Madeline McCann to begin in Portugal later today
NEW SEARCHES BY German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are expected to begin in Portugal today.
Madeleine, then aged three, disappeared in 2007 while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings.
According to The Sun, the new searches will involve radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground and will focus on trenches near where the McCann family was staying at the resort.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
'The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.'
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, will be starting the search today, with Portuguese police also on the ground, according to reports.
Yesterday, Portuguese police reportedly closed off dirt roads in the area where searches will be taking place while tents have been set up in the nearby Atalaia area, near a cottage once lived in by Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.
Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005, has denied any involvement.
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German authorities said they are receiving support from Portuguese law enforcement while the Portuguese police said that searches will be carried out between 2 and 6 June in the municipality of Lagos, in accordance with a European investigation order.
Any evidence seized by the Policia Judiciaria will be passed to the German federal police.
They last carried out searches in the country in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
It had previously been searched in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was there.
British police were later given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished in 2014.
Last month, Madeleine's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as 'beautiful and unique' before her 22nd birthday, and expressing their determination to keep searching.
A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family said: 'The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this.'
In April, ministers approved more than £100,000 (€118,000) in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance.
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