A fresh search operation for Madeleine McCann has begun in southern Portugal, 18 years after the British toddler vanished while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Algarve.
Authorities from Portugal and Germany have resumed investigations across a 21-square-kilometre site near the municipality of Lagos.
The operation, which is expected to continue until Friday, is focusing on disused buildings, rural terrain, and wells – areas between where Madeleine went missing in 2007 and where the German investigators’ prime suspect was known to be staying.
Three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from her bed on the night of 3 May 2007, while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were dining nearby. Her twin siblings were sleeping in the same room. The case quickly captured global attention, triggering one of the most high-profile missing persons investigations in Europe.
The current search was initiated at the request of the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig, Germany.
Christian Brückner, a 48-year-old German national, has been named as the prime suspect. Brückner, currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a woman in Portugal in 2005, remains under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case, although no charges have been filed. He has denied involvement.
On Tuesday, search teams were seen clearing thick vegetation, digging near derelict buildings, and pumping water from wells. The operation involves Portuguese police, German officers, and British support, echoing previous international efforts in 2014, 2020, and 2023 – none of which yielded significant evidence.
The McCann family, marking the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance last month, have reiterated their commitment to uncovering the truth.
Information sourced from AP News, BBC and Reuters.
