Investigators congratulate themselves as Madeleine McCann searches end
Their efforts focused on a 120-acre stretch of land, using equipment such as chainsaws, diggers and a ground-penetrating radar.
The operation comes 18 years after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from nearby Praia da Luz while on holiday with her family in 2007.
The British girl vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Officers involved in the latest searches held a debrief before leaving the site, and there was a round of applause before a crate of German beer was removed from one of the tents in the designated base area.
After the Augustiner beers were carried away, some officers struggled to grapple with the tents they were taking down because of the blustery conditions.
Officers pack up a tent at the end of the day (James Manning/PA)
Earlier in the day, personnel could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed stretches of land.
Pick-axes and shovels were used to dig some of the undergrowth and a digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the site.
They spent the first two days of the search focusing on one particular derelict building, using ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using a digger and chainsaws.
British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said.
Members of the search teams at one of the base camps close to Praia da Luz (James Manning/PA)
Madeleine's parents have not commented during the 'active police investigation', staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said.
German authorities requested the search as part of their continued attempts to source evidence to implicate prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought.
In October last year, Brueckner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
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Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Madeleine McCann suspect sent letter about case to police, reports say
Madeleine McCann suspect sent letter about case to police, reports say He reportedly said 'decisive questions can never be answered' Christian Brueckner, in a light-coloured suit, stands next to his lawyer prior to the verdict in his trial on five unrelated sex crimes in Germany last year (Image: MICHAEL MATTHEY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images ) The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann sent a letter to police saying "decisive questions can never be answered", according to reports. Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, reportedly sent a letter to officers saying questions which would implicate him in the case of the three-year-old British girl, who vanished from the same resort 18 years ago, cannot be answered. In the note, seen and translated by The Sun newspaper, Brueckner reportedly wrote: "It is the important questions, the decisive questions, that can never be answered. "Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? "Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? "Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos? Article continues below "And, don't forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no." It is not clear when the letter was written. Brueckner spent time in the Praia de Luz area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near a reservoir. It comes as German and Portuguese investigators finished three days of searching a 120-acre stretch of land near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday as part of attempts to source evidence to implicate Brueckner. In the searches, requested by German authorities, crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Madeleine McCann was three years old when she vanished on May 3, 2007, after her parents left her asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal. Madeleine McCann (Image: PA ) Since then hers has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world with British, Portuguese, and European police forces involved in the investigation. Police forces from across Europe have launched multiple searches for Madeleine since her disappearance in 2007. Early efforts focused on the Praia da Luz resort where she was last seen in her family's holiday apartment. In 2013 British police began Operation Grange, a formal investigation into the case. Searches have included digging in scrubland, draining reservoirs, and using sniffer dogs and ground-penetrating radar. Most recently German authorities searched the suspect's old place of residence in Praia da Luz, covering a large patch of land near the home of their prime suspect and the McCanns' holiday apartment. Brueckner moved to Portugal in 1995 after serving a two-year prison sentence in Germany for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl in 1994. He is known to have been renting a cottage in Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine's disappearance. Soon after the media descended on the resort in 2007 he moved back to Germany. Police have previously claimed he made a 30-minute phone call from the same area just an hour before Madeleine disappeared. He is alleged to have confessed on two occasions to kidnapping and sexually abusing the toddler – once to a friend in a German bar in 2017 and again to his prison cellmate in 2020. The German national was formally identified as a suspect in 2022 but has denied any involvement. He also denied committing the 2005 rape for which he was convicted of in 2019. In October 2024 he was acquitted of two charges rape and two of sexual abuse in a German trial where it was argued there was a lack of evidence and witnesses who were not credible. Brueckner has not been charged in the McCann case but German authorities began investigating him in June 2020 for her alleged kidnap and murder. Article continues below German authorities maintain that he is the main suspect in Madeleine's disappearance and are pushing for charges before his scheduled release in September.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Questions raised by Madeleine McCann suspect's new letter - from DNA to photos
In his latest bid to clear his name, and gloat at police, Christian Brueckner has sent a letter to police which highlights six major questions in relation to the case A vile letter from the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has raised some questions over the case. German prosecutors are convinced of Christian Brueckner's guilt — but he has never been charged and denies any involvement. In his latest bid to clear his name, and gloat at police, he has sent a letter to police saying "decisive questions can never be answered", according to reports. Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, reportedly sent a letter to officers saying questions which would implicate him in the case of the three-year-old British girl, who vanished from the same resort 18 years ago, cannot be answered. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. In the note, seen and translated by The Sun newspaper, Brueckner reportedly wrote: "It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered." He went on to ask the following six questions: Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Or photos [of the above]? Is there a body/corpse? He added that the accusations against him "will not hold up and that the investigation will be dropped". The letter carried on with Brueckner claiming that the case was built on "purchased witnesses" but said he understood the German legal system well and claimed it would be unlikely for him to be locked up for her disappearance. It comes after German and Portuguese police came together this week to search every properties and pieces of land linked to Brueckner, as his sentence is due to end in September. Investigators are said to be set on the idea that the paedophile took the three-year-old but and are desperate to prove this before he is freed - the predator has denied any involvement. This search, the most significant since 2008, included an abandoned farmhouse surrounded by partially collapsed outbuildings. Police were spotted removing mounds of earth from the scene, which was then taken away in plastic bags for further examination. Firemen were also spotted draining an abandoned well. Despite this, nothing related to the missing girl appeared to have been found during the operation, police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been discovered. To date, the Metropolitan Police has spent more than £ 13million on Madeleine's case, dubbed Operation Grange
South Wales Guardian
8 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Madeleine McCann suspect ‘told police decisive questions can never be answered'
Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, reportedly sent a letter to officers saying questions which would implicate him in the case of the three-year-old British girl, who vanished from the same resort 18 years ago, cannot be answered. In the note, seen and translated by The Sun newspaper, Brueckner reportedly wrote: 'It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered. 'Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? 'Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? 'Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos? 'And, don't forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no.' It is not clear when the letter was written. Brueckner spent time in the Praia de Luz area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near a reservoir. It comes as German and Portuguese investigators finished three days of searching a 120-acre stretch of land near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday as part of attempts to source evidence to implicate Brueckner. In the searches, requested by German authorities, crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
