Latest news with #searchteams
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Cole Cooper: Police to revisit teenager's 'last sighting' locations
Police investigating the disappearance of teenager Cole Cooper are to revisit the locations where he was last seen before he went missing four weeks Cooper, 19, from the village of Banknock, near Falkirk, was reported missing on Friday 9 May. Police say they have a confirmed witness sighting of him at about 20:45 on Wednesday 7 May in the nearby village of Longcroft. Prior to that he had been captured on CCTV at several locations in Longcroft in the early hours of Sunday 4 May after he had left a party in Denny. Police have spoken to almost 400 residents through door-to door inquiries and more than 2,000 hours of CCTV have been say that since a dedicated online information portal was set up, numerous potential sightings, possible lines of inquiry, footage and images have been submitted directly to the investigation team. Timeline of Cole's disappearance 3 May: Cole is on a night out with friends in Denny4 May: He leaves a party in Denny just before 05:00 in the morning. He was seen on CCTV approaching the door of his father's house in Mayfield Road, Longcroft, at 05:49 before leaving four minutes was then captured on CCTV at various other locations in Longcroft. The last footage of Cole was at around 06:00 on Cumbernauld Road.7 May: A witness told police they spoke to Cole at around 20:45 on the A803 Glasgow Road, at the Intersection with Cumbernauld Road, Longcroft.9 May: Cole is reported missing Specialist search teams Falkirk Area Commander, Ch Insp Alex Hatrick, said: "Our priority remains tracing Cole and getting answers for his family on his whereabouts."We have a dedicated team, including specialist officers and national resources, following all lines of inquiry."Specialist search teams as well as the air support and dive and marine units have been searching Longcroft and the surrounding area."I would like to thank the public for the support they've shown for this investigation and all the information provided to police. It shows the community is as committed to finding Cole as we are." Officers will return to the locations of the last sightings on Sunday 8 June and Wednesday 11 Insp Hatrick said: "Officers will be revisiting the Glasgow Road and Cumbernauld Road areas around the same time as the last sightings to ensure we've spoken to as many people as possible who may have information which could help."I continue to urge anyone with information on Cole's movements or whereabouts to come forward. No matter how significant you believe that information is, it could prove vital."Cole is described as being about 5ft 10ins, of medium build with short, brown hair. On 7 May he was seen wearing a black puffer-style jacket with black jogging who has information should contact police.
Sky News
4 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Madeleine McCann: Investigators end latest searches for missing British girl
Investigators in Portugal have ended their latest searches for Madeleine McCann after three days. Police have been scouring scrubland and abandoned structures near the town of Praia da Luz where the three-year-old British girl went missing 18 years ago. Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in the Algarve on Thursday. Search teams involving German and Portuguese officers, as well as firefighters, used pick-axes and shovels to dig undergrowth, and a digger was again used to remove rubble from an abandoned structure at the site. Authorities have not yet commented on the ending of the latest searches. So far, officers have not announced they have found anything of significance.
The Sun
5 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Satellite pic from days after Maddie vanished shows eerie ‘tent' in Brueckner's camping spot now being searched by cops
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a 'wild camping' ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal. Search teams have zeroed in on scrubland between Brueckner's old home and the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal where Maddie was snatched in May 2007. 15 15 15 15 15 And German police leading the hunt hope the convicted child sex fiend and rapist may have left vital clues which could finally nail him for Maddie's murder. Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least five derelict farmhouses and barns where Brueckner camped at the time the British tot was taken. Sun analysis of a June 2007 satellite image of one building being searched yesterday revealed what appeared to be a white tent pitched within its walls. The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 - seven weeks after Maddie was taken from her family's Ocean Club apartment a five minute drive away. Recent pictures of the same spot show the building's massive deterioration - and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking elusive scraps of DNA evidence. The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls. It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time. But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the march of time yesterday. Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings. And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops. 15 15 15 Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner's old house. Ground penetrating radar scanners - capable of finding bodies 15 feet below ground - were also drafted into the grim search. Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars. But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign 'wild camper' set - believed to include Brueckner. Police are believed to have launched their 'last throw of the dice' search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware. Local man Joao Pedro, 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: 'It used to be a romantic spot - I used to take my girlfriends there. 'But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you'd see camper vans and tents there all time. 'It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.' 15 15 15 A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings. One officer said: 'We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.' The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner's single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction. Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby. He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched. A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year. Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday. Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area - which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates. The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie's body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate. Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing - like the missing tot's pink Eeyore pyjamas - might be found are also remote. German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would 'go to ground' when he is released in September. The vile pervert - who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie - is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. A Portuguese police source said last night: 'This really is a last ditch effort - search teams here are hoping they get lucky. 'Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.' 15 15 15 TIMELINE OF EVENTS Here's a timeline of the case which has gripped the world. May 3, 2007 Madeleine McCann disappears from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history. January 15, 2016 Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany. Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search. February 16, 2016 Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop. He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then. May 3, 2017 Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner. September 27, 2018 On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy. He is extradited to Germany the following year. December 16, 2019 Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars. June 4, 2020 German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann. For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead. German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner). June 23, 2023 In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain. February 16, 2024 Brueckner goes on trial accused of non-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany. Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges. October 8, 2024 Brueckner was acquitted of all claims. Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending. June 3, 2025 Fresh search for Madeleine's body begins. September 17, 2025 Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken. Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Body found in hunt for missing Snowdon hiker
The body of a young hill walker has been found on Tuesday following a search on Mount Snowdon after he was reported missing. An appeal was launched on Monday after the 20-year-old, named only as 'John', went missing on the mountain, known as Yr Wyddfa in Welsh. He was last seen on the Llanberis Path around 5.40pm. Search teams found the man's body on the mountain at 10am on Tuesday. Police say John was from West Sussex. A North Wales Police spokesman said: 'Sadly, the body of a man has been discovered on Yr Wyddfa shortly before 10am this morning, Tuesday May 27. 'The man has now been formally identified as 20-year-old John from the West Sussex area who we circulated as missing in the early hours of this morning. 'There are thought to be no suspicious circumstances, and the coroner has been informed. 'Our deepest condolences remain with John's family and friends at this difficult time. 'Thank you to partner agencies, volunteers and members of the public who assisted in our searches overnight and during the morning.' Snowdon at 3,560ft is the highest point in the British Isles outside of the Scottish Highlands. Around 500,000 people climb the peak annually. However, it can be treacherous to walkers because of adverse weather, poor visibility and rocky terrain. In April, a 10-year-old boy hiking with his father survived a 33ft plunge on the Tryfan climb in Snowdonia. A helicopter was called to airlift the boy, who suffered leg and hip injuries. In July 2022, a teenager fell 300ft to his death after ending up on a treacherous mountain track while trying to scale the summit with his father. The pair from Devon were trying to walk the Snowdon Horseshoe but appear to have taken a wrong turn on Crib y Ddysgl, the second highest peak in Wales, an inquest heard. Christopher Wilson, 18, slipped and tumbled 100m in free fall and went on to suffer 'unsurvivable injuries'. In February, a doctor fell 30ft to her death while walking with a friend in Snowdonia, a coroner's court heard. Dr Charlotte Crook, 30, and her colleague Adam Weatherhogg were walking on Glyder Fach on Feb 16 before she lost her footing and fell over a ledge. In 2020, lone walker, Alan Froud, 72, died after falling more than 1,000ft from a Crib Groch ridge on Snowdon. With an estimated 700,000 people visiting the summit annually, Snowdon is one of the most visited mountains in Britain. In August 2023, Snowdonia rangers urged people to stop posting videos and pictures from the picturesque Welsh national park as they could not cope with the influx of visitors and they were wearing away the path, making it more treacherous.
CTV News
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Body of missing snowmobiler found on northern Ontario lake
Emergency personnel have deployed resources to search for an overdue snowmachine driver who went missing Sunday west of Timmins.
