Police probe ground, abandon buildings in search for Madeleine McCann
June 4 (UPI) -- German and Portuguese police Wednesday continued their search near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal for Madeline McCann, the British child missing since 2007.
The search efforts included using ground penetrating radar focused on some derelict structures a few miles from the site where Madeline went missing.
German federal police requested the renewed search that began Tuesday as they seek evidence against the imprisoned prime suspect, Christian Bruckner. He is serving time for raping a 72-year-old woman near Praia da Luz in 2005.
The search is scheduled to continue until Friday.
Bruckner lived in one of the houses being searched when Madeline went missing.
Roughly 30 officers are conducting the search using drones and a digger and well as the ground penetrating radar.
The radar employs electromagnetic radiation pulsed into the ground to detect objects or changes beneath the surface, reducing the need to dig as much as other wise would be required.
Bruckner has denied being involved in Madeleine's disappearance.
He was officially identified as a suspect in 2022.
The search is focused on 120 acres that include abandoned buildings between the Ocean Club resort where McCann and her family were staying and the house Bruckner lived in.
Bruckner sometimes worked as a handyman at the Ocean Club.
Madeleine disappeared May 3, 2007 after her parents left her sleeping in a room with her twin 2-year-old siblings.
The last search before this was in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir roughly 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Bruckner is set to be released from prison in September unless further charges are filed.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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