Madeleine McCann search called off after just three days as police pack up
German and Portuguese police began searching properties on Tuesday.
The new search for Madeleine McCann has been called off - just three days after it started. This week a new search was launched for clues over her disappearance.
She vanished in Portugal when she was a toddler. On Tuesday, German and Portuguese police descended on several properties in an area of southern Portugal close to Praia da Luz.
She had been in the area on holiday when she went missing in 2007. But the officers in question have now been seen packing up their equipment, which included a digger and ground-penetrating radars
They are believed to have not found any traces of the missing girl. Investigators were punctured at several homes linked to prime suspect and convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner.
The Mirror reports he used to live in the area during the time the toddler vanished while on holiday. A group of German and Portuguese officers stood around for a debrief at the search officially ended.
The meeting ended in a round of applause and the teams shaking hands. Despite this, nothing related to the missing girl appeared to be found during the operation.
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Police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been found. Police initially had a warrant until Friday, June 6, to investigate areas of interest in southern Portugal.
Earlier today, investigators indicated that they were expected to end their search on Thursday if nothing was found. The operation kicked off on Tuesday, June 3, with teams scouring through more than 20 plots of land east of Praia da Luz.
This included spots between the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine vanished and the cottage where German authorities' prime suspect Christian Breuckner lived.
Search teams discovered animal bones and pieces of adult clothing at these sites, according to Portuguese TV reports. The huge operation saw more than 60 officers involved in the latest search.
Police were pictured using a JCB digger and cutting-edge ground-penetrating radar scanners. One of the places searched was a cottage once lived in by prime suspect Brueckner.
The fresh search was reportedly prompted by new information about their suspect. Convicted paedophile Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany.
He was caged over the 2005 rape of an elderly woman at her Praia da Luz home but he has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.
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