German police officials have reportedly searched a reservoir in Portugal to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, who vanished when she was just three years old from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007. Police detectives believe that Brueckner visited the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal’s Algarve region shortly after the little girl went missing. Portuguese police recently conducted a three-day search at the reservoir in early February 2021 for clues about her disappearance. Detectives now believe they can prove Brueckner’s van was in the area at the same time Madeleine was abducted.
The reservoir search is part of a major investigation into the prime suspect and convicted sex offender, Christian Brueckner. Bruckner, who is currently serving time in a German prison for drug trafficking, is the central focus of the Madeleine investigation. He has been a person of interest in the case since 2017. In addition, the British police’s Operation Grange, which was established to find answers about the toddler’s disappearance, is working closely with German authorities on the case.
The forensic analysis of soil samples will be crucial in determining if the part-time DJ was present near the reservoir during Madeleine’s disappearance. If the investigators find that the soil sample analysis reveals a “positive match”, the police may be able to further close the net around Brueckner, who had lived and worked sporadically in Praia da Luz around the time of the disappearance. His movements and whereabouts at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance have been under investigation for years, and a German prosecutor’s case, submitted in December 2020, claims to have substantial evidence demonstrating Brueckner’s guilt, including phone records and witness testimonies.
However, a forensics expert warns that traditional evidence will be difficult to find after the passage of 16 years since the disappearance. Dan Matthews, a Forensic Scientist and Director of Forensic Resources Limited, opines that the investigators would have searched the reservoir for “things that could have stood the test of time and not been destroyed by its passage,” such as clothing fragments or jewellery. Matthews elucidates that such evidence would not be easily discovered as the surrounding environment could impact the evidence over time.
Despite the time that has passed, Brueckner remains the leading suspect in the Madeleine McCann investigation, and the investigators are continuing to gather more evidence to build their case against him. The search for new evidence and the recent forensic analysis of soil samples suggest that authorities remain committed to finding answers for the McCann family and bringing whoever is responsible for her disappearance to justice.
