Searches requested by German authorities as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Maddie McCann in 2007, ended yesterday at 5:00 pm.
The aim is to find any evidence that could link Brüeckner to the disappearance of Madeleine.
Since Tuesday this week, inspectors from the German and Portuguese authorities have been carrying out investigations and searches, to try to find clues to at last unravel the mystery surrounding the child's disappearance 18 years ago.
Over the 3 day search, 30 inspectors from the Judicial Police plus the same number of German police have been searching ruined buildings, cisterns and abandoned wells in various properties in the Atalaia area of the Algarve, between Praia do Porto de Mós and the town of Luz. These are places where Christian Brüeckner, the suspect identified by the German authorities for the kidnapping and murder of then 3 year old Maddie, is believed to have been.
A JCB, Georadars - ground penetrating equipment that identifies changes in the soil, and brush cutters to clear parts of the land, were used resulting in several objects being collected to be analyzed by the German police. Animal bones are reported to be among the limited findings.
The suspect, Brüeckner is currently in prison in Germany for raping a US citizen in the Algarve, but is up for potential release in the coming months.
Madeleine McCann disappeared from the apartment where she was sleeping with her two-year-old twin brothers in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007, while her parents were having dinner with friends in the village, just a few metres away.
In 2020, German police named Christian Brückner as the prime suspect in the child's kidnapping and murder, but no charges have been filed.
Brueckner, who was formally identified as a suspect in 2022, has denied any involvement.
Source https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/ - photo by Reuters
