Latest news with #PortuguesePolice
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
UK tourist tragedy as two men found dead in Portugal hotel
Two British tourists have tragically died after jumping into a pool while on vacation in Portugal. The 27-year-old and 29-year-old men were discovered at the bottom of a swimming pool at a hotel in Albufeira early this morning (July 15), reports MirrorOnline. Emergency services were alerted at around 4am and attempted resuscitation, but both men were pronounced dead at the scene. READ MORE: Evil granddad murdered grandson as his mum and grandmother 'watched abuse unfold' Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã reported that both men appeared to have been drinking and did not know how to swim. Police are said to be working on this theory too. Read more: Met Office verdict as Midlands set for next heatwave Read more: Three counties in England set to sizzle in 35C new heatwave arriving next week Police have also said there is no suspicion of foul play. At least one local paper in Portugal is reporting the two men who died this morning were both British, and were on vacation with friends. The Foreign Office has been approached for comment. Portuguese police could not be reached this afternoon for an official comment, MirrorOnline reported.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Gun found in new Madeleine McCann search ‘has not been ruled out as a game-changer' amid race against time to charge prime suspect Christian Bruekner
The gun retrieved from a well drained by firefighters last week during fresh Madeleine McCann searches on the Algarve has not been ruled out as a game changer by investigators. Further details emerged hours after German prosecutors described the co-operation with Portuguese police as 'excellent and very constructive' as authorities in both countries continue to try to build up a case against suspect Christian Brueckner ahead of his scheduled release from prison in September. The type of gun discovered during the three-day search operation last week near Brueckner's former ramshackle cottage home close to the Algarve resort where Madeleine vanished on May 3 2007, has not yet been revealed, but well-placed sources said today it was a 6.35 calibre. Typically these types of guns are small, pocket-sized, semi-automatic pistols used for self-defence or target shooting, but can be airguns. Portuguese daily Correio da Manha reported yesterday it was unlikely to be a 'lethal weapon' although tests are understood to be ongoing. It has not yet been ruled out as a potential game-changer in the 'race against time' to charge Brueckner over Madeleine's disappearance before he finishes the seven-year prison sentence he is currently serving for the 2005 rape of an American woman. Another gun said to have been found during last week's searches has been ruled out. It is believed to be more than 50 years old and has been described by Portuguese sources as a 'rusting relic.' The same well-placed sources confirmed yesterday forensic analysis of fragments of bones and adult clothing also unearthed last week would take place at a specialist police lab in Lisbon and not in Germany as initially reported. No samples of any kind have been sent back to Germany despite reports to the contrary, the insiders said. German forensic officers have been offered the opportunity of being present at the tests, although it was unclear today if they had accepted the invite. They were shown some of the bones that were unearthed, thought to be animal bones, in a video-conferencing session but were 'unable to come to any real conclusions about exactly what they were'. German prosecutors said yesterday in their only official statement so far since wells, ruins and water tanks across a 120-acre area in Atalaia between the Algarve towns of Praia and Luz and Lagos were inspected: 'The search operation conducted in Portugal last week has been completed as planned. 'No information can be provided at this time regarding the results of the investigation. 'Our sincere thanks go to all police officers involved in the search. 'The co-operation between the Portuguese police and the Federal Criminal Police Office was excellent and very constructive. 'We don't want to say anymore at the moment.' Luis Neves, the National Director of the Policia Judiciaria police force which in Portugal has been the lead police force in the hunt for Madeleine and whose officers worked along German counterparts at last week's search, insisted last Friday it had 'not been in vain' despite the apparent lack of results. He said: 'Nothing is in vain, not least because doors are being closed'. At the last Madeleine McCann search in Portugal just over two years ago, when the Arade Dam a 40-minute drive from Praia da Luz was combed, German police who requested the operation did take back home with them samples believed to be mainly soil samples. The remote dam was described at the time as Brueckner's 'little paradise.' The May 2023 dam searches were the first major searches in Portugal for Madeleine McCann in nine years following an earlier June 2014 operation when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar. Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in while her parents were eating tapas nearby with friends, and burglars dumped her body. They also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster's whereabouts. In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine's body but failed to find any trace of her. Last Friday Correio da Manha claimed German prosecutors had refused to probe a couple suspected of running over Madeleine McCann in a drink-drive accident. Portuguese authorities demanded an investigation into a British man and his German wife after his UK-based sister tipped off cops in 2018 she thought he could be covering up a dark secret about Maddie's disappearance, the newspaper reported. But it said German authorities rejected a Portuguese request to use an undercover police officer with a fake identity to try to befriend the female suspect and firm up their suspicions she was driving a car that hit Madeleine while under the influence of alcohol. There has so far been no official response from German, Portuguese or UK police to the claims. Convicted 48-year-old paedophile Brueckner denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance. His earliest possible prison release date is September 17 - though his lawyer said he would have to pay £1,300 in outstanding fines from a series of motor offences to leave then.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- The Sun
More details emerge on ‘gun found in well' during new Madeleine McCann search amid race against time to charge Brueckner
THE gun found during the fresh search for Madeleine McCann has been revealed as a 6.35 calibre pistol, well-placed sources said today. The gun was reportedly discovered during the three-day search operation last week near to lead suspect Christian Brueckner's former ramshackle cottage in the Praia da Luz area. 2 Young Madeleine vanished on May 3 2007, around the same area, it is believed. Further details emerged hours after German prosecutors praised Portuguese police for their work looking around the scrubland in Praia da Luz last week. Typically 6.35 calibre guns are small, pocket-sized, semi-automatic pistols used for self-defence or fun target shooting, but can be airguns. Portuguese daily Correio da Manha reported yesterday it was unlikely to be a 'lethal weapon' although tests are understood to be ongoing. It has not yet been ruled out as a potential game-changer in the 'race against time' to charge Brueckner over Madeleine's disappearance before he finishes the seven-year prison sentence he is currently serving for the 2005 rape of an American OAP. Another gun said to have been found during last week's searches has been ruled out. It is believed to be more than 50 years old and has been described by Portuguese sources as a 'rusting relic.' The same well-placed sources confirmed yesterday forensic analysis of fragments of bones and adult clothing also unearthed last week would take place at a specialist police lab in Lisbon and not in Germany as initially reported. No samples of any kind have been sent back to Germany despite reports to the contrary, the insiders said. German forensic officers have been offered the opportunity of being present at the tests, although it was unclear today if they had accepted the invite. They were shown some of the bones that were unearthed, thought to be animal bones, in a video-conferencing session but are said to have been 'unable to come to any real conclusions about exactly what they were' via the screen. German prosecutors said yesterday in their only official statement so far since wells, ruins and water tanks across a 120-acre area in Atalaia between the Algarve towns of Praia and Luz and Lagos were inspected: 'The search operation conducted in Portugal last week has been completed as planned. 'No information can be provided at this time regarding the results of the investigation. 'Our sincere thanks go to all police officers involved in the search. 'The co-operation between the Portuguese police and the Federal Criminal Police Office was excellent and very constructive. 'We don't want to say anymore at the moment.'
BBC News
05-06-2025
- BBC News
Madeleine McCann search in Portugal ends after three days
The fresh search for Madeleine McCann has ended after investigators spent three days in areas near to where the three-year-old disappeared 18 years ago in investigators left the search area at about 17:15 local time before Portuguese counterparts then removed the outer cordon from the disappeared while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007, sparking a Europe-wide police investigation that has become one of the highest-profile missing persons is unlikely authorities will disclose the result of the search for several weeks but a conversation the BBC had with one officer suggested nothing significant was found. Police officers on Thursday were seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in the area on the outskirts of the municipality of Lagos and some used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth.A digger was used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the search in the day tents erected as part of the base area for investigators started to be taken were seen loading vans parked near the police officers' base area in Atalaia, and German and Portuguese officers were seen shaking hands and embracing as the search drew to a and specialist equipment were brought in to help scour scrubland and abandoned buildings on Wednesday. On the night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while their three-year-old daughter and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor case was initially handled by the Portuguese authorities with the aid of the Metropolitan police took the lead in 2020 when they identified German national Christian Brückner as their prime suspect, who is known to have spent time in the same part of Portugal between 2000 and authorities suspect him of murder. British police continue to treat the case as a missing persons has repeatedly denied any involvement and no charges have been brought against him relating to Madeleine's 48-year-old is serving a prison sentence in Germany for an unrelated rape case and could be released as early as prosecutors approved a European warrant to allow German teams to conduct the searches on private search took place between where Madeleine vanished and where the German investigators' prime suspect was staying at the time. Last month, Kate and Gerry McCann marked the 18th year anniversary of their daughter's disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".However they would not comment during the "active police investigation", staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said.
The Guardian
05-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Police conclude searches in Portugal in Madeleine McCann investigation
Searches for Madeleine McCann in Portugal on land a mile from where the British toddler was last seen in 2007 have concluded. German and Portuguese investigators embraced each other on Thursday afternoon after three days of scouring scrubland and abandoned farmhouses close to the resort of Praia da Luz. Their efforts focused on a 120-acre stretch of land, using equipment such as chainsaws, drones, diggers and a ground-penetrating radar. There have been no obvious signs of any major discovery from the operation, which comes 18 years after the three-year-old disappeared from Praia da Luz while her parents were out having dinner, leaving her sleeping in a nearby room with her toddler twin siblings. CNN Portugal reported that animal bones and adult clothing had been found, while the Correio da Manhã newspaper said material collected from one of the many derelict houses had been sent off for analysis. 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 in the area. A digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures. Investigators have also deployed ground penetrating radar technology that can identify anomalies under the surface. They began winding down the searches in Atalaia, near Lagos, on Thursday afternoon. At around 5pm the German and Portuguese teams were seen having a debrief before shaking hands and embracing. There was a round of applause before one officer was seen carrying a crate of German beerr. After the beers were carried away, some officers struggled to grapple with the tents they were taking down because of the blustery conditions. As they packed up, officers could be seen carrying equipment such as bins, boxes and folding tables away from their base area. Personnel also loaded vans, which were parked at the base area near to abandoned buildings, with some of the equipment used in the searches. Earlier in the day, a group of 15 officers had taken part in a hillside briefing by a derelict farmhouse. Police were then seen carrying out fingertip searches of shrubbery outside the property. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police, as they look for evidence that could implicate the prime suspect, Christian Brückner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. Brückner, who was living in a nearby cottage at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, has repeatedly denied any involvement. He 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. British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan police said.
