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The Independent
15 hours ago
- General
- The Independent
Investigators congratulate themselves as Madeleine McCann searches end
German and Portuguese investigators congratulated and embraced each other as the latest searches connected to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann drew to a close. Search teams wound down the operation in Atalaia, near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday, after three days of scouring scrubland and abandoned structures. 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. 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. 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.
The Independent
a day ago
- General
- The Independent
Madeleine McCann searches to end after three days scouring abandoned buildings
Investigators looking in to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are to conclude their latest searches after three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, it is understood. Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in Portugal on Thursday. Search teams of German and Portuguese police officers, as well as firefighters, used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth and a digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the site. 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 toddler vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Personnel have spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a 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. It is understood officers will conclude the searches on Thursday, Madeleine's parents are not commenting 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 phoographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.
BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Madeleine McCann searches to end after three days scouring abandoned buildings
Investigators looking in to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are to conclude their latest searches after three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, it is understood. Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in Portugal on Thursday. Advertisement Search teams of German and Portuguese police officers, as well as firefighters, used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth and a digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the site. Madeleine disappeared in 2007 (PA) 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 toddler vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Personnel have spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using a digger and chainsaws. Advertisement British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said. It is understood officers will conclude the searches on Thursday, Madeleine's parents are not commenting 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. Advertisement Search teams used a digger as part of the operation (James Manning/PA) 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 phoographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. Advertisement
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Witness who first linked Christian Brueckner to Madeleine McCann is 'convinced' prime suspect knows what happened to her and there is 'hope' for missing girl's parents
The witness who first linked a sex offender prime suspect to the abduction of Madeleine McCann has told how he is convinced he knows what happened to her. Police in Portugal are this week making fresh searches for clues to Madeleine's disappearance on land close to the former home of German paedophile Christian Brueckner. Helge Busching, a former friend of Brueckner, first linked the German to her abduction as long ago as 2008 - just a year after she disappeared. Busching told MailOnline: 'I am convinced Brueckner is involved. There has to now be some hope for Madeleine's parents.' The then three-year-old vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007 and it has been 18 years of heartache for her parents Kate and Gerry as well as her now teenage two siblings. The following year at a musical festival in Portugal Brueckner made remarks that made his friend convinced to this day that he was responsible. As he spoke out, searches in Portugal continued for a second day in the hope of finding vital evidence linking Brueckner to Madeleine. Busching's evidence against his former friend has already proved vital in sending Brueckner to jail previously - for seven years in 2019 when he was convicted of raping an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, just two years before Madeleine vanished. Former roofer Busching, who has also given a statement to Scotland Yard, claims Brueckner told him in 2008 at a Spanish festival that it was 'strange Madeleine didn't scream' when she was taken. Busching told MailOnline: 'That man is evil, he's bad and he deserves to stay behind bars. 'I know he is capable of taking Madeleine and I told Scotland Yard and the German BKA (police) the same thing. 'When he said 'she didn't scream' we were talking our language, German and I could tell from his voice and gestures what he meant, there is no misunderstanding. 'I just pray to God that they find something to keep him in jail. The BKA wouldn't spend all this money to send a team to Portugal of they didn't think it was worth it. 'They have to find something because time is running out, Brueckner could go free in September and if he does, he will disappear, and justice won't be done.' Busching was interviewed by Scotland Yard in 2017 and spent three days with them but initially told the McCanns private investigator Dave Edgar about his suspicions in 2008 – a year after Madeleine was abducted. Busching was interviewed in Greece for three days with detectives from Operation Grange – the unit tasked with investigating Madeleine's disappearance - flying out to see him and they were so concerned about leaks they swept the room for bugs. During the interviews he told them that Brueckner had 'confessed' to him he was Madeleine's abductor saying, 'she didn't cry' and this has what grabbed investigators attention. British police then contacted German police and told them about Brueckner, and he was eventually announced as the prime suspect for Madeleine's abduction and murder in June 2020. He is due to be released from jail in September but only if he pays outstanding fines of 1500 Euro although sources close to his legal team claimed he didn't have any money so he would stay behind bars until January 2027. At the 2019 rape trial Busching told the court that he recognised Brueckner in a vile video he found at his house showing him raping and abusing an elderly woman and another young girl. Brueckner has insisted that he is innocent of the 2005 rape and that DNA evidence used at his trial is flawed while he has also denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. Searches of scrubland at Atalaia, around three miles from the Ocean Club complex where Madeleine vanished from continued on Wednesday and are expected to continue on Thursday. Officers using chainsaws and strimmers could be seen cutting away undergrowth surrounding abandoned buildings and then using shovels and pickaxes to break up soil which was taken away for examination. Initial suggestions that police would also search former homes Brueckner used to live in while working and living in Praia da Luz also appeared to be wide of the mark. Police have significant amounts of circumstantial evidence linking Brueckner to the scene, his mobile phone was logged there and his profile as a convicted paedophile and rapist fits the bill but they are still lacking a 'smoking gun' to charge him with. Publicly Portuguese police are providing support and help but privately they are questioning the motive and have shrugged their shoulders and rolled their eyes when asked what they expect to find.
Sky News
2 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Madeleine McCann latest: Parents not commenting on new search - as police shift area of focus
That's all for our coverage today Today, police officers in Portugal continued to scour scrubland and abandoned buildings on the second day of the latest searches for missing Madeleine McCann. Officers were seen clearing vegetation around abandoned buildings, wearing protective gear such as hard hats and face masks, and a digger was used to move rubble. They are working in fields and scrubland between a main road and the sea, with a few buildings nearby, including a vineyard. The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police, as they look for evidence that could implicate prime suspect Christian B, 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. Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann are not commenting during the "active police investigation", staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said. Our correspondent Dan Whitehead has been at the scene of the search on the outskirts of Praia da Luz and watching the scenes unfold. You can scroll back through the page for all the updates from today. Eyewitness: 'It's clear search activity has moved' Our correspondent Dan Whitehead, who is in Praia da Luz, says police activity has moved. "The focus yesterday for police was on disused farm buildings, close to where the prime suspect Christian B lived. "It's clear that the activity has moved elsewhere at the moment." He says the ground is hard and dense, and that poses a challenge for officers. "German police are leading this investigation because of that prime suspect Christian B," he adds. "He denies all involvement." Who is Christian B? Christian B is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman in the same resort Madeleine disappeared from two years later. He was arrested in Italy in 2018 and is due to be released from prison in September. He has not been formally indicted or charged with any offence related to the McCann case and denies any involvement. But in 2022, Portuguese police named him an 'arguido' in their investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, which makes him a formal suspect and gives him the right to silence and appropriate legal representation. He 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 lived in a cottage in Praia da Luz. Soon after the world's media descended on the resort in 2007, he moved back to Germany. Police have previously claimed he made a 30-minute 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. There was no suggestion in either alleged confession that he killed her, and he continues to deny any involvement. When did the last search take place? German police were last in Portugal on the McCann case in 2023. They spent a week searching the Barragem do Arade reservoir around 30 miles from Praia da Luz, after reports of a "tip-off". The search was requested by the German authorities who in 2020 named convicted sex offender, Christian B, the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance. While he has always denied any involvement, it's reported he liked to visit this reservoir, calling the area his "paradise." Watch: What do we know about new search? Investigators are continuing to scour scrubland and abandoned buildings in the second day of the latest searches for missing Madeleine McCann. Teams of German and Portuguese police officers, as well as firefighters, face the task of hunting for evidence 18 years on from the disappearance of the British three-year-old in 2007. This week's operation is focusing on a sparsely developed area of land around 3.5 miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was last seen while on holiday with her parents and siblings. Here, Sky correspondent Alice Porter takes a look at what we know after the initial searches this week... Search teams using hedge trimmers around run-down buildings Parked vans and police officers remain in Atalaia, Sky News' Dan Whitehead reports. Search teams have begun clearing the surrounding areas of more abandoned structures as part of the investigation. Officers can also be seen using hedge trimmers around more run-down buildings in the same scrubland area on the outskirts of Lagos. Madeleine's parents not commenting on new search Kate and Gerry McCann will not be releasing any statements during this "active police investigation", according to staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign. We last heard from the girl's parents last month, on the 18th anniversary of her disappearance. "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." In pictures: At the site of building search Investigators continue to search derelict buildings in Atalaia today. These images show how it looks inside, with the ground cleared of rocks and debris. Key dates since disappearance of Madeleine Searches for Madeleine McCann have resumed in Portugal, near where she was last seen in 2007. Madeleine, then aged three, vanished while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort, after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. What prompted this new search is still unclear. But the authorities are likely to be searching for a body - or any sign that Madeleine McCann was taken to the area they are searching after she was abducted. Here is a look at the key dates since the disappearance of Madeleine... Police digging at site near coast Our team is by the coast in Atalaia, where officers are still searching for evidence. We can hear digging from inside this abandoned building, pictured below, continuing yesterday's work around ruins and wells. A police drone is flying overheard, while officers can be seen throwing rocks out from inside the structure.
