A renewed search for Madeleine McCann is expected in Portugal
Investigations into the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are due to start on Tuesday, police in Portugal have confirmed.
A statement from the Policia Judiciaria said it was coordinating searches in the Algarve at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers.
According to Portuguese news website SIC, an area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, some 50km from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing in 2007, has been cordoned off from searches.
It said the prime suspect in her disappearance, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017.
Investigators assume that the 45-year-old killed Madeleine, who was three at the time, after kidnapping her from a holiday apartment.
Brueckner, who has denied any involvement in the youth’s disappearance, was identified as a suspect by Portuguese officials in June 2020.
In Germany he is charged with several different sex offenses allegedly committed in Portugal during this period.
German authorities were expected to release a statement on the search on Tuesday.
Pictures emerged on Monday of Portuguese officers walking along dry tracks near the reservoir and cordoning off areas with police tape.
It’s not the first time the reservoir has been searched.
In 2008, Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid specialist divers to survey the waterway after claiming to have been tipped off through criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was in the reservoir.
The last search in Portugal related to her disappearance was in 2014, when British police were given permission to search bushland near where she disappeared.
Earlier this month, Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, posted a brief statement on their Find Madeleine campaign website to mark the anniversary of her disappearance.
They said: “Today marks the 16th anniversary of the kidnapping of Madeleine.
“Still missed… still missed very much.
“It’s hard to find the words to express how we feel.
“The police investigation is ongoing and we are awaiting a breakthrough.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/praia-da-luz-madeleine-mccann-portugal-kate-algarve-b1082970.html A renewed search for Madeleine McCann is expected in Portugal
