Madeleine McCann search in Portugal ends after three days

A new search for Madeleine McCann has concluded in Portugal after investigators spent three days combing areas close to where the three-year-old went missing 18 years ago. German investigators ended their search around 17:15 local time, followed by their Portuguese counterparts removing the outer cordon from the site. Madeleine disappeared while on vacation with her parents in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007, triggering a widespread police investigation across Europe.

Authorities are unlikely to reveal the search results for several weeks, but according to a conversation with a police officer, nothing significant was found during the search. Police officers were observed using pitchforks, pick-axes, and shovels to search the land on the outskirts of Lagos municipality, in addition to a digger being employed to remove debris from an abandoned structure at the search site. Tents used by investigators as part of their base were dismantled, with personnel loading vans near the police officers’ base area in Atalaia. German and Portuguese officers were witnessed shaking hands and embracing as the search concluded.

The case of Madeleine McCann was initially managed by Portuguese authorities with assistance from the Metropolitan Police before German police took over in 2020. The primary suspect, German national Christian Brückner, who spent time in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, is suspected of murder by German authorities. British police are treating the case as a missing persons investigation. Brückner has denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance and has not faced charges related to the case. Portuguese prosecutors granted a European warrant to allow German teams to conduct the searches on private land, located between where Madeleine vanished and where Brückner was staying at the time.

Kate and Gerry McCann marked the 18th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance last month, expressing their unwavering determination to leave no stone unturned in the search for Madeleine. However, their campaign staff declined to comment during the ongoing police investigation. Brückner, currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for an unrelated rape case, could potentially be released as early as September

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