How Madeleine McCann search at reservoir unfolded – and what police found
The long-running hunt for missing Madeleine McCann returned to headlines last week, during a three-day search of a Portuguese reservoir. Acting on tip-offs, police searched the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal, an area that prime suspect Christian Brueckner frequented from 2000 to 2017. Although police are remaining tight-lipped about the details, they said they recovered “a number of items”, which will be evaluated in the coming days and weeks in the hunt for evidence in the mystery of Madeleine’s disappearance on 3 May 2007. Prosecutor for the city of Braunschweig, Christian Wolters, said: “Whether some of the items actually relate to the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be confirmed.” Earlier this week, officers said “materials collected” during the search had already been sent to Germany for analysis. One “relevant clue” was found during the police operation in the Algarve last week, Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported. Separately, investigators are set to widen the search again after photographs belonging to 46-year-old Brueckner were also said to have revealed clues. With help from Portuguese police, and with Scotland Yard detectives watching on, German investigators scoured the beauty spot 16 miles from Silves, near the southern coast of the country. Starting on Monday last week, investigators sealed off a mile-long peninsula jutting into the reservoir and set up tents as an operations base. They then spent three days digging with shovels, cutting back swaths of undergrowth and using rakes and pickaxes to sweep the banks of the reservoir, leaving behind piles of rubble. At the main 160sq-ft excavation area, they flattened a concentrated area of woodland with heavy machinery, and dug holes 2ft deep. Using sniffer dogs to hunt the surrounding grassland for clues, detectives in a rigid-hull inflatable boat also examined the water. A no-fly zone in place in the skies overhead allowed police drones to survey the region undisturbed. A track leading to the search area was cordoned off with police tape and marked vehicles from Portugal’s National Republican Guard. What appeared to be evidence bags were removed from the scene. The dam, which is 31 miles northeast of the Praia da Luz coastal resort from which Madeleine disappeared, was built in 1955 and is fed by the Arade river. Specialist divers had previously searched the reservoir in 2008, paid for by Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia, who claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was there. Two other areas near Praia da Luz could also be searched by police, The Sun reported. Investigators looking through more than 8,000 photographs belonging to Brueckner said they had yielded more clues. Brueckner, who denies any connection to Madeleine, is in jail in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman two years before the three-year-old vanished at the same resort. German prosecutor Christian Wolters said the investigators were looking for a body, as well as anything that could help the investigation, such as clothing. He said co-operation between German, British and Portuguese authorities went “excellently and very constructively”. And enquiries will continue out of the public eye, he added. The probe into Brueckner is expected to continue for a long time, Mr Wolters said on Thursday. As that investigation goes on and as analysis of the recovered items begins, Madeleine’s parents’ 16-year wait for answers continues. Read More Madeleine McCann news – latest: Investigators set to widen search after new photos reveal ‘clues’ Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks: Where are Madeleine McCann’s family now? What happened to Madeleine McCann? Sixteen years and countless heartbreaks as Madeleine McCann’s family wait for answers Items seized in Madeleine McCann search ‘cannot yet be linked’ to disappearance
2023-06-01 22:25
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Madeleine McCann police confirm ‘number of items’ recovered from Algarve reservoir search
Police investigating the disappearance of McCann police say they have recovered a number of items from their recent search of a reservoir in Portugal. German authorities last week helped Portuguese crews comb a remote area inland from the Algarve coastal resort where Madeleine went missing from her bedroom during a family holiday in 2007. Prosecutors said they would evaluate the undisclosed items in the coming days and weeks. “Whether some of the items actually relate to the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be confirmed,” the prosecutor’s statement read. Last week, police in Portugal undertook a three-day search at the remote reservoir which is located around 31 miles from the Praia de Luz resort- the hotel where Madeleine vanished while her parents were at dinner in a tapas bar with friends around 100 yards away from their holiday apartment. As part of this investigation, police dug holes of around 60cm and the surrounding woodland showed pathways had been cut by heavy machinery, leading to the main flattened 160 square foot excavation area. More follows on this breaking news story.... Read More Madeleine McCann news – latest: Investigators set to widen search after new photos reveal ‘clues’ Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance How Madeleine McCann search at reservoir unfolded – and what police found
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