Police investigating the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann are preparing to search a reservoir and the surrounding area in Portugal, PA media and dpa reported, citing several sources.
The area near the Baragem de Arade reservoir, about 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared in 2007, has been cordoned off as police prepare to launch a search tomorrow, Portuguese news site Sic reported.
Police said the main suspect in the girl’s disappearance, accused sexual abuser Christian Brückner, had spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017.
Investigators believe the 45-year-old killed Madeline, who was three in 2007, after abducting her from her parents’ holiday home. Brückner, who has repeatedly denied any connection to the girl’s disappearance, was suspected of murder in the case by Portuguese officials in June 2020. He has been charged in Germany for several separate incidents of sexual abuse, believed to be carried out in Portugal at the time.
Portuguese and British police officers will be present during the search, but it will be carried out by German investigators and police. German authorities have not commented on the matter, but it is understood that there will be a media statement tomorrow morning related to the search. Footage began circulating this afternoon of Portuguese officials scouring the grounds surrounding the reservoir and cordoning off the area with police tape.
The area is not searched for the first time. In 2008, Portuguese lawyer Markus Aragão Correia paid trained divers to check the reservoir after he claimed he had been tipped off by criminals that Madeleine’s body was there.
The most recent search in Portugal linked to Madeleine’s disappearance was in 2014, when British police were given permission to search the wooded area around where she disappeared.
Photo: BTA/AR
Earlier this month, Madeline’s parents, Kate and Gerry, made a brief statement on their website about the campaign to find Madeline to mark the 16th anniversary of her disappearance. “Today marks 16 years since Madeline was abducted. She is still gone… and we still miss her very much. It is hard to find words to describe how we feel. The police investigation is ongoing and we await a breakthrough,” they said.
2023-05-22 18:45:41
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