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BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Madeleine McCann: Search continues in Portugal's Praia da Luz
Searches for Madeleine McCann are to resume in Portugal, 18 years after she disappeared from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in the and German authorities are expected to continue to focus the search on disused buildings and was three when she vanished while on holiday with her parents on 3 May 2007, sparking a Europe-wide police investigation that has become one of the highest-profile missing persons search - which covers the municipality of Lagos, near Praia da Luz - will continue until Friday across a 21km sq site between where Madeleine went missing and where the German investigators' prime suspect had been staying at the time. Timeline: Madeleine McCann disappearanceMadeleine's case was initially handled by the Portuguese authorities with the aid of the Metropolitan Police, but German investigators took the lead in 2020, when they identified German national Christian Brückner as their prime 48-year-old is currently serving a sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He is due to be released in September, but that could be pushed back to early 2026 if he does not pay a fine he search site is located around 3.5 miles from the Ocean Club resort, where Madeleine and her family had been leading up to the area - which is large and mostly scrubland - have been closed since Monday, where the team had been clearing grass and Tuesday morning, a Portuguese fire engine and four vehicles carrying German police arrived. Firefighters also drained a well as part of the last search took place two years ago and was focused around a reservoir to the north-east of where the British toddler was staying. Brückner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. German authorities suspect Brückner of murder and fear that if he is not charged with anything new he will disappear following his release. British police continue to treat the case as a missing persons has repeatedly denied any police have a European warrant, which has been approved by Portuguese prosecutors, will allow them to conduct searches on private land. This week's search is expected to span across 21 different plots of have not disclosed if they are conducting this latest search in Portugal based on any new information, making it appear as if they are taking one last look in places where evidence or a body could have been hiddenPortuguese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they will hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German Met Police, which said this week that it was aware of the searches being carried out by German police in Portugal, continues its investigation into Madeleine's case, known as Operation Grange, has been ongoing since 2011 and has cost around £13.3m to the night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short distance away from the ground-floor apartment she and her younger twin siblings were asleep mother, Kate, discovered she was missing at around 22:00.A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against parents marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance last month, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
New pictures reveal fresh Madeleine McCann search near abandoned building
Search teams have scoured undergrowth and an abandoned building in Portugal in the fresh hunt for British toddler Madeleine McCann, with police hoping to find evidence that could implicate a convicted German sex offender in her disappearance 18 years ago. Madeleine was just three years old when she vanished from an apartment on the Algarve coast where she was on holiday with her family, sparking a global campaign to find her and unprecedented media coverage. A previous search of a lake near the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz in 2023 yielded no results, but on Tuesday investigators were back in a part of nearby Lagos to hunt for clues. AFP journalists saw several police vehicles with Portuguese and German number plates as well as fire trucks down a cordoned-off dirt road towards the search site. Late Tuesday, those same vehicles left, marking the end of the first day of the renewed search. A police spokesperson told AFP the day's operations 'ended around 5:45pm.' That's 2:45am Wednesday AEST. Portuguese police said about 25 German investigators were taking part, with the investigation looking at an abandoned building in an overgrown wooded area. The new searches are being carried out at the request of German authorities investigating Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist who is suspected of having killed Madeleine. A mobile phone registered in Brueckner's name was traced close to the family's accommodation on the night Madeleine went missing. A spokesman for the Braunschweig prosecutor's office that issued the new search warrant told AFP that the operations would go on for a total of 'two or three days', meaning up to Thursday. 'As to whether or not something will be found, personally I'd remain rather prudent towards the results we can expect,' the spokesman, Christian Wolters, said. Investigators scour abandoned building Police are focusing on over 20 plots of land to the east of Praia da Luz, The Sun reports. Officers are zeroing in on a remote farmhouse. Police on Tuesday used chainsaws to cut through roots and undergrowth to access the soil and firefighters were using a hose to drain one of two wells at the search area. Investigators are equipped with ground radar technology that can scan the ground down to 4.5 metres in depth. That means they only have to dig if they see something interesting on scans. The major search, the first for more than two years in Portugal, is focusing on wells, ruins, and water storage tanks on 21 plots of privately-owned land thought to cover around 120 acres. It's currently unclear what exactly Brueckner's relationship to the derelict building police are digging near is. The barn is found in between the golf course and the sea — not far from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz where Madeleine vanished. Brueckner had lived near the area close to the beach in a cottage in 2005 — when he had raped a 72-year-old American woman. The shrubland area was a rat run for the prolific thief. Suspect Christian Brueckner Brueckner, a 48-year-old German national, is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape in 2005 of a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz. He is due to complete his sentence in September. He was acquitted in October 2024 in Germany at a trial for two other sexual assaults and three rapes, committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. German authorities in 2020 said they were convinced Brueckner was involved in Madeleine's disappearance, which gained worldwide publicity and has seen several false leads. He has not been charged in connection with the McCann case. Brueckner, who according to German media had a string of previous convictions, including for sexual offences, assault and theft before he was convicted of rape, worked as an odd-job man during his 10 years in the Algarve. He also burgled hotel rooms and holiday apartments. At the time of Madeleine's disappearance he was living in a camper van. On Tuesday, a journalist from Germany's RTL television recounted his correspondence with Brueckner, and how he had met him in prison. Brueckner, the journalist said, complained that 'half the world' considered him to be a 'cruel rapist'. He said he wanted to eat steak and drink beer when he is released from prison. A former neighbour in Portugal had told Sky News television in 2020 that Brueckner was 'always a bit angry, driving fast up and down the lane, and then one day, around 2006, he just disappeared without a word'. He returned to Germany in 2007 — the year Madeleine disappeared — settling in Hanover, but still spent time in Portugal. On the 18th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance on May 3 this year, Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann said they were still determined to find out what happened. '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,' they wrote on the website. 'We will do our utmost to achieve this.'
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Madeleine McCann latest: New search for British girl who went missing in 2007 under way in Portugal
08:21:01 Last search for Madeleine was in 2023 German authorities last carried out searches in 2023, near the Barragem do Arade reservoir. That's about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, and you can see in the map below how far that is from the current search, with teams in Atalaia. Suspect Christian B, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir there (read more about him in the post below this one). That's where the previous search was focused. It was previously searched in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid divers following claims Madeleine's body was there. For more on that search, click on the link below for our eyewitness report at the time... 08:06:01 Who is the suspect in the case? Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under German law, is coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He has not been charged or indicted over Madeleine McCann's appearance and denies any involvement. In October, he was acquitted on rape and indecent assault charges in a trial in Germany - which also heard references to his status as the main suspect in the McCann case. However, a German prosecutor told Sky News in January he wouldn't face charges in the foreseeable future. 07:52:09 Watch: Latest from scene of police search Our correspondent Dan Whitehead got within metres of the operational tents set up by police in Portugal, and spoke to one of the officers. Here's what he had to say - and what kind of conditions search teams are working with... 07:43:01 Police expected to use radar equipment - how the search will be done Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, will start searching today. According to reports, Portuguese police will also be on the ground. While the UK's Metropolitan Police is "aware of the searches" carried out by the BKA (German federal police), British officers will not be involved. "The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary," the force added. As part of the search, radar equipment that can scan underground will be used, giving officers the chance to penetrate at a depth of 15ft. Our partner in the country, SIC Noticias, said authorities are looking for Madeleine's body or a sign she may have once been there. 07:29:01 Watch: What we know about the new McCann search Despite multiple searches over the years, Madeleine McCann has not been found. But police hope the latest search will at least get them closer to the truth. Our correspondent Alice Porter breaks down what we know about today's operation in 80 seconds. 07:16:56 In pictures: Search teams set up in Portugal Our correspondent Dan Whitehead is at the scene now, where police have set up tents for the search. This is in Atalaia - where suspect Christian B had lived - and you can see where that is in relation to Praia da Luz in the map at the bottom of this post. 07:07:37 Where is the search taking place? German officers are honing in on more than 20 plots of land in the east of Praia da Luz. It's an area stretching to the cottage where suspect Christian B - who can't be named in full - lived, and close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared. Yesterday, Portuguese police reportedly closed off dirt roads in the area. Meanwhile, tents have been set up in nearby Atalaia, near the cottage where Christian B once lived. It's likely they'll search groundworks, including wells, ruins and water storage tanks.
Sky News
3 days ago
- General
- Sky News
New search in Madeleine McCann case to get under way in Portugal
Police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance are set to begin a major new search in Portugal this morning. German officers will scour more than 20 plots of land in the east of Praia da Luz, near the cottage where suspect Christian B lived and close to where Madeleine disappeared. Radar equipment that can scan beneath ground will reportedly be used. Portuguese police said they were carrying out a European investigation order from German authorities. The UK's Metropolitan Police said it wouldn't be present but would "support our international colleagues where necessary". Madeleine disappeared on holiday in Praia da Luz in 2007, in what has become one of the world's most high-profile missing person cases. The three-year-old was asleep with her younger siblings in an apartment before their mother Kate discovered her missing. Her parents were dining with friends nearby on the holiday complex and taking turns to check on their children every half hour. German authorities last carried out searches in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. It was previously searched in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid divers following claims Madeleine's body was there. Police sources told Sky's partner in the country, SIC Noticias, the new search was expected to start on Tuesday morning. It said authorities were looking for Madeleine's body or an indication she may have once been there. Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under German law, is coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He has not been charged or indicted over Madeleine's appearance and denies any involvement. In October, he was acquitted on rape and indecent assault charges in a trial in Germany - which also heard references to his status as the main suspect in the McCann case. However, a German prosecutor told Sky News in January he wouldn't face charges in the foreseeable future. Last month, Madeleine's parents marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, vowing they would keep searching. "No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day," they said ahead of her 22nd birthday. "We continue to 'celebrate' her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her."
News.com.au
4 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Surprise new search for Madeleine McCann
Portuguese police will carry out a new search this week in the municipality of Lagos at the request of German authorities investigating the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, a spokesman told AFP on Monday. The toddler was never found after going missing from the resort in Praia da Luz where she was with her family, one of the most high-profile missing person cases in history. Police said it will carry out 'a wide range of actions' between Tuesday and Friday near the southern Portugal seaside resort where the girl disappeared on May 3, 2007. The move is part of a warrant issued by the Brunswick Public Prosecutor's Office, in northern Germany, which is conducting a preliminary investigation into Christian Bruckner, suspected by German authorities of killing McCann, the Portuguese police spokesman said, confirming information from British and Portuguese media. 'All the evidence seized by police will, with prior authorisation from the national public prosecutor's office, be handed over to agents of the German federal criminal police,' the spokesman added. The last search occurred in May 2023, near a lake. 'As part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case, criminal proceedings are currently underway in Portugal,' a spokesman for the Brunswick public prosecutor's office, Christian Wolters, told AFP. 'We are aware of the searches conducted by the BKA (the German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance. The (British) police services are not on-site but we will assist our international colleagues wherever needed,' a British police spokesman told AFP. Bruckner, currently serving a prison sentence for rape, was acquitted in October 2024 in Germany in a trial for two sexual assaults and three rapes committed between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal.
