Madeleine McCann police make wild discovery buried in ground in latest search

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Tonight it was reported that police working on the Madeleine McCann case found two guns buried underground during last week's searches in Portugal.
Clothing and animal bones were also found. The items will now be sent back to Germany where they will undergo forensic analysis.
It follows fresh claims about prime suspect Christian Brueckner, with a new documentary claiming images of children's swimming costumes, guns, a mask and toddler's toys were found at a property linked to the convicted paedophile.
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Last year, Brueckner was acquitted of carrying out five other sexual offences in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 after a judge in Braunschweig said there was not enough evidence to convict him.
But German investigators - determined to keep the dangerous Brueckner behind bars - have continued to build a case against him regarding Madeleine McCann.
In May this year, he returned to court on charges of insulting a public official. Despite prosecutors urging for an extended sentence, he was only given probation with a minimum of one additional month in prison.
Before one of his court appearances, the Mirror asked him if he knew what had happened to Madeleine McCann. He responded with a smirk.
While investigators have been tight-lipped about what information they have linking him to Madeleine, some details have made their way into the public domain.
According to a documentary by The Sun, suspicious items found in a German warehouse bought by Brueckner a year after Madeleine's disappearance included guns, 75 girl's swimming costumes, and a car with chemicals hidden in the boot.
Remains of a dead dog were uncovered along with a hard-drive, as well as a number of child kidnap stories believed to have been penned by the paedophile.
A former inmate in the same prison as Brueckner has also alleged that he once told him about a number of offences he had committed, including reportedly snatching a girl from a flat in Portugal.
Convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner is at the centre of a desperate race against time to find new evidence in the Madeleine McCann case.
Police are looking into his time In Portugal where he lived a nomadic lifestyle in a VW camper van and stole from hotels and holiday flats to support himself financially. He spent time in the Praia de Luz area of Portugal between 2000 and 2017. His home was just one mile away from the Ocean Club, where the McCann family were staying when Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007.
In 2005, he raped a 72-year-old American woman, an offence for which he was jailed 14 years later
Years later, investigators reportedly found his mobile phone had received a call close to the holiday flat complex around one hour before the three-year-old was reported missing.
Olive Press reports the guns, bones and clothing reportedly found during the latest round of Madeleine McCann searches will now be sent off for forensic analysis.
While the bones are said to be from animals, there are some smaller fragments which supposedly need looking at in closer detail.
Police reportedly found two guns in the search for Madeleine McCann last week.
The firearms have now been sent back to Germany for analysis, along with fragments of bones and clothing which had already been reported, according to The Olive Press
Madeleine McCann police found 'two buried guns' in latest Portugal search
Kate and Gerry McCann don't often comment on the search for their daughter these days, with their last update coming on May 3 this year.
On the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, they 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."
They added: "May is also Madeleine's birthday - her 22nd this year. No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day. We continue to 'celebrate' her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her."
Police in Germany are inspecting tiny fragments of clothes and bone.
A source told the Berlin Morning Post: 'Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory. 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.'
Brueckner spent time in the Praia de Luz area of Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
In 2005, he raped a 72-year-old American woman, an offence for which he was jailed 14 years later.
Madeleine McCann's university student brother Sean is tipped to become an Olympic athlete.
Sean and his twin sister Amelie were just two years old when their sister disappeared 18 years ago in the Algarve in 2007.
Today 20-year-old Sean has become a highly accomplished swimmer tipped to join Team GB in Los Angeles in 2028.
Recently Sean was captured on camera with a gold medal around his neck after competing in a Mediterranean open water swimming competition.
Police are investigating samples of 'clothes and bones' found in last week's search for Madeleine McCann, it is claimed.
On Thursday, a team of German and Portuguese investigators wrapped up a three-day search along a 120-acre stretch of land in Lagos, Portugal, in their latest attempt to find new evidence against prime suspect Christian Brueckner.
Initial reports suggested the operation - which took place 30 miles from where the three-year-old went missing in May 2007 - had failed to turn up any new leads.
But now, it has been claimed that fragments of clothing and bones have been sent off for testing this week after being found at the scene.
A woman who alleged she was raped at knifepoint by the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case says she fears he will seek her out following his release from prison.Christian Brueckner, 48, is due to be freed from a German jail in September after completing his sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old US woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2005.Hazel Behan, 41, from Ireland, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she fears the German man will "hunt her down".Brueckner was acquitted by a German court in relation to the charge of violent rape of Ms Behan at her apartment in Praia da Rocha in Portugal's Algarve.She told The Sun: "His sentence may be ending but mine never did. I have lived with fear every day for 21 years."Fear that I'll see him. Fear that he'll find out where I live and hunt me down. I also have fear that he'll do to someone else what he did to me."I've called him out in a public forum and I have genuine concern he could confront me."
It's not yet clear when the letter, in which Brueckner criticises the police, was written.
A newly uncovered letter from lead suspect Christian Brueckner is said to mock German police's attempts to link him to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
In the handwritten note, seen by German newspaper Bild, he reportedly writes: 'Are there any traces of her in my vehicle? Any other traces of her in my possession? Photos? Is there a body? No, no, no.'
The UK has spent several million pounds in its efforts to find out any information about Madeleine McCann.
Funding given to Operation Grange has reached more than £13.2million since 2011.
As of 2022, there were five Metropolitan police officers who were working on the case.
The residents of Praia da Luz have said they hope the family of Madeleine McCann will "get closure."
Long-term residents in the resort town said they hoped the search would bring the family much-needed closure.
Speaking to the BBC, residents said: "We hope her family get closure."
An explosive new Madeleine McCann documentary has revealed new bombshell evidence that may prove that Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the case. The new film hones in on circumstantial evidence found in his lair that points directly to why German national Brueckner is the prime suspect in the case that has gripped the world since Madeleine vanished in 2007.
Clues have been few and far between since little Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday to the Algarve some 18 years ago. The investigation uncovers the disturbing finds at Brueckner's abandoned factory as well as his sickening obsession with young children.
To read more, click here.
The documentary revealed the existence of an 80gb hard drive that contains images and a laptop key, which might have persuaded police to launch another phase of the investigation.
The hard drive also put Brueckner at the location of Arades Dam, in Portugal.
A new TV documentary has compiled a host of circumstantial evidence, including images of children in swimming costumes as well as toddler toys found at his property.
The documentary also reveals how a mask, guns and Brueckner's confession to using chemical ether to take a mum and her child outside a school.
A document also put the suspect at the location of a search for Madeleine McCann where he allegedly said "she did not scream" as he discussed the British toddler with an associate.
It also reveals harrowing kidnap stories where Brueckner wrote: "A very small girl enters the room. She's definitely not older than five."
An ex-neighbour previously desribed convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner as an "angry young man."
The neighbour, who lived in the same town where Madeleine vanished in 2007, recalled Brueckner had regular arguments with his then girlfriend.
The neigbhour told The Independent: "If was riding past and he'd be standing outside, we'd say hello, you know how are you." She added: "Nothing more. Then we found out he was a really nasty piece of work."
Irish woman Hazel Behan, 41, claimed police were dismissive of her account that she was raped at knifepoint by Christian Brueckner.
Hazel said she reported the assault in Praia da Luz 21 years ago but that they were dismissive of her claim.
She said they continued to follow her for the next few weeks to analyse her behaviour and believes they were checking to see if she was sexually promiscuous or not.
A former homicide police chief has shared why this missing person case captured the public in particular.
Simon Foy, who led Operation Grange to find Madeleine in 2011, explained that the case had captured the world because it was 'every parent's nightmare'.
He told The Guardian: 'When I was working in homicide investigations in the Met, occasionally these cases would come along which for some reason just connected around the public consciousness.
'It's a whole load of things: it's a young blond girl, it's a middle-class family, it's a holiday, it's every parent's nightmare. All that sort of stuff very unpredictably would combine together and you would go from virtually minimal media interest and coverage to significant and substantial media coverage, and that was all before the days of social media.'
True crime tourists have flocked to Praia da Luz in a bid to retrace the family's last steps.
British friends Joanne Sheppard, 60, and Jane Thorp, 61, visited the Ocean Club complex last week.
Joanne told The Guardian: "When we decided to go on holiday, I said I would like to see the place where [Madeleine] went missing and I'd like to sit and see the scope of the area so we could get a feel of various routes where maybe Gerry McCann and Kate walked."
An Irish woman who was allegedly raped at knifepoint by Christian Brueckner fears he will "hunt her down" when he is released from prison.
Brueckner, 48, who is the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case is set to be freed from a prison in Germany in September. He was jailed for the rape of a 72-year-old US woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal in 2005.
Now, Hazel Behan, 41, who bravely waived her right to anonymity, has opened up about her ordeal and said she is living in fear.
She told The Sun: 'His sentence may be ending but mine never did. I have lived with fear every day for 21 years. Fear that I'll see him. Fear that he'll find out where I live and hunt me down. I also have fear that he'll do to someone else what he did to me.
'I've called him out in a public forum and I have genuine concern he could confront me. I wouldn't put anything past a person like him. If he is released, I will worry for every woman and child who, like me, believes the justice system is protecting them. A leopard doesn't change his spots.'
A rescue expert has spoken to Fox News about the Madeleine McCann case, saying it's "frustrating" because the "five W's" remain unanswered.
Bryan Stern is the founder of Grey Bull Rescue, a charity that rescues Americans and its allies from combat zones.
He told Fox Digital: 'The five W's are unanswered right now: Who did it? How did it happen? When did it happen? Where did it happen, you know?'
'That's why these situations are so frustrating … because there's way more questions than answers. The only thing that anybody knows for sure is that there's a little girl who used to be walking the streets; now she's not.'
He believes that the renewed search clearly suggests that officials are still searching for answers in an unsolved case. He said it may have been sparked by a tip off from someone close to Christian Brueckner, or the paedophile himself as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Investigators are looking into claims a British man and his German wife were somehow involved in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann after the sister of the Brit tipped off detectives.
The woman claimed in 2018 that the couple had been drinking close to where Madeleine went missing.
They reportedly had been in a car that hit Madeleine while under the influence of alcohol.
A note written by Christian Brueckner asked six questions.
According to a note translated by The Sun, Brueckner wrote: "It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered."
These are the six questions he raised:
Portuguese police reportedly did not know what intelligence German police were working with when they launched the latest search.
German officials packed up a few soil samples from the site during the search, although they have not commented on the significance of anything that was found.
German police had been searching for any links that tied Christian Brueckner to the location where he had been at the time of Madeleine's disappearance in 2007.
Madeleine McCann vanished on May 3 while she was on holiday with her family at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz.
Her parents went out for dinner with some friends while she and her brother and sister stayed at the holiday flat about 100 yards away.
The adults had a rota system and, when it was Kate McCann's turn to check on the children, she found Madeleine was missing.
Police were then alerted and guests at the complex started to search for Madeleine.