Latest news with #MadeleineMcCann
Powys County Times
33 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Madeleine McCann: fresh police searches to start on Tuesday in Portugal
New searches by German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are expected to begin in Portugal on Tuesday. Madeleine, then aged three, disappeared in 2007 while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. According to The Sun, the new searches will involve radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground and will focus on trenches near where the McCann family was staying at the resort. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. 'The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.' Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, will be starting the search on Tuesday, with Portuguese police also on the ground, according to reports. On Monday, Portuguese police reportedly closed off dirt roads in the area where searches will be taking place while tents have been set up in the nearby Atalaia area, near a cottage once lived in by Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance. Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005, has denied any involvement. German authorities said they are receiving support from Portuguese law enforcement while the Portuguese police said that searches will be carried out between June 2 and 6 in the municipality of Lagos, in accordance with a European investigation order. Any evidence seized by the Policia Judiciaria will be passed to the German federal police. They last carried out searches in the country in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. It had previously been searched in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was there. British police were later given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished in 2014. Last month, Madeleine's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as 'beautiful and unique' before her 22nd birthday, and expressing their determination to keep searching. A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family 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.'
Daily Mirror
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Ex-detective makes bombshell claim about new Madeleine McCann search
The new search will last three days, unless police find anything significant, and will use radar devices to scan 15ft down in Praia da Luz in a desperate attempt to find clues of what happened to Madeleine A former British police detective has made a bombshell claim about the new search for Madeleine McCann. The toddler went missing during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal on May 3 2007. Over the last 18 years there has been no positive sighting and no one has been charged with her abduction, but her parents have never given up hope Fresh police searches are due to start today near the spot where Madeleine McCann was last seen. German police have requested the searches, expected to take place between Praia da Luz where the three-year-old vanished and a house near the holiday resort where principal suspect Christian Brueckner used to live. A well-placed Portuguese source confirmed this week's operation was scheduled get underway tomorrow but said some preparation work may take place beforehand. He said: 'They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine's body.' Former British Police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has worked on some of the world's most high profile missing persons cases, has given his take on the new searches for Madeleine McCann. Taking to social media yestreday Mark wrote: "The police in Portugal are going to search for the German police - the areas surrounding where Christian B (CB) rented a small farm building . The search is looking for evidence of Madeleine McCann's body . I thoroughly investigated this whole area for my @paramountplus series and we filmed a lot of the area around . It was 10 months before Madeleine went missing that CB was last seen at that address . I cannot see any evidence being found." The new search will last three days, unless police find anything significant, and will use radar devices to scan 15ft down in Praia da Luz in a desperate attempt to find clues of what happened to Madeleine. A well-placed Portuguese source said said: "They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine's body." Detectives acting on a request from a German public prosecutor will carry out 'a broad range' of searches. At least 30 agents from Germany's BKA are involved in the search and are equipped with ground-penetrating radar that can scan 15ft down into the earth. They will be focusing on the area near a cottage used by the main suspect and nearby scrubland. The last time police resumed searches in the case was in 2023, when detectives from the three countries took part in an operation searching near a dam and a reservoir about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Praia da Luz resort.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Portugal police announce new search in Madeleine McCann disappearance
LISBON: Portuguese police will carry out a new search this week at the request of German authorities investigating the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, a spokesperson told AFP Monday. The British 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 of Lagos, where the girl disappeared on May 3, 2007. The move is part of a warrant issued by the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office, in northern Germany, which is conducting a preliminary investigation into Christian Brueckner, suspected by German authorities of killing McCann, the Portuguese police spokesperson 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 spokesperson added. Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for the 2005 rape of an American woman aged 72 at the time, in Praia da Luz, the town where Madeleine McCann disappeared. He was acquitted in October 2024 in a trial in Germany for two sexual assaults and three rapes committed between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal. 'As part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case, criminal proceedings are currently underway in Portugal,' Christian Wolters, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig (which is also known as Brunswick), told AFP. British police said it was 'aware of the searches' conducted by German law enforcement. 'The (British) police services are not on-site but we will assist our international colleagues wherever needed,' a British police spokesman told AFP. The last search in the case occurred in May 2023. German justice officials said in 2020 they thought Brueckner was involved in the girl's disappearance, a globally resonant criminal mystery where false leads and twists were numerous. Maddie, as she was frequently called, disappeared from the holiday apartment where she was staying with her parents while they were having dinner nearby. Her disappearance sparked an international campaign and extraordinary media mobilisation. At the time of the incident, Brueckner lived on the Portuguese Algarve coast, near the McCanns' vacation spot, and a mobile phone registered to him pinged near their lodging on the night of Maddie's disappearance. His sentence theoretically runs until September 2025.
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
Madeleine McCann: fresh police searches to start on Tuesday in Portugal
New searches by German police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are expected to begin in Portugal on Tuesday. Madeleine, then aged three, disappeared in 2007 while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings. According to The Sun, the new searches will involve radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground and will focus on trenches near where the McCann family was staying at the resort. A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. 'The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.' Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, will be starting the search on Tuesday, with Portuguese police also on the ground, according to reports. On Monday, Portuguese police reportedly closed off dirt roads in the area where searches will be taking place while tents have been set up in the nearby Atalaia area, near a cottage once lived in by Christian Brueckner, who German prosecutors say is the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance. Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005, has denied any involvement. German authorities said they are receiving support from Portuguese law enforcement while the Portuguese police said that searches will be carried out between June 2 and 6 in the municipality of Lagos, in accordance with a European investigation order. Any evidence seized by the Policia Judiciaria will be passed to the German federal police. They last carried out searches in the country in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir. It had previously been searched in 2008, when Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine's body was there. British police were later given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished in 2014. Last month, Madeleine's family marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, describing her as 'beautiful and unique' before her 22nd birthday, and expressing their determination to keep searching. A statement from her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and the family 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.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
New searches begin for missing Madeleine McCann in Portugal
June 2 (UPI) -- German police have launched new searches for Madeleine McCann in the same area in southern Portugal where the 3-year-old from England was last seen 18 years ago. Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007, from a resort in Praia da Luz, a town in the Algarve. Her parents, medical doctors Kate and Gerry McCann, had gone to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her 2-year-old twin siblings. On Monday, Portuguese police confirmed to the BBC that a search will be carried out from Monday through Friday on warrants issued by German prosecutors. Searchers last looked in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, The Guardian reported. The prime suspect is Christian Bruecker, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005. He has denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance and is due to be released from prison in September. In October 2024, Bruecker was acquitted of rape and child sex abuse charges in Portugal between 2000 and 2017 after an eight-month trial by Braunschweig District Court judge Uta Engemanndue, who threw out the case due to lack of evidence. The new search will focus on the area between the Ocean Club resort where the McCann family was staying and the house where Bruckner lived. In 2022, a German documentary found evidence that Bruckner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman. German prosecutors also have linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against him. "We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA [German federal police] in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann," a spokesperson for Britain's Metropolitan police said. "The Metropolitan police service is not present at the search. We will support our international colleagues where necessary." In April, British ministers approved more than $135,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating her disappearance. She would be 22 years old now. "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," Kate and Gerry McCann and other family members said in marking the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month. "We will do our utmost to achieve this." .
