Police investigate Madeleine McCann disappearance ‘to search a reservoir’
According to multiple reports, police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are preparing a search in and near a reservoir in Portugal.
An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, some 50km from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing in 2007, is being cordoned off while German police prepare to begin searching on Tuesday, the Portuguese news outlet reported. website SIC.
It said the prime suspect in her disappearance, convicted sex offender Christian Brückner, 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 reportedly denied any involvement in the youth’s disappearance, was identified by Portuguese officials as a murder suspect in the McCann case in June 2020.
In Germany he is charged with several different sex offenses allegedly committed in Portugal during this period.
Both Portuguese and British police officers would be present while the search was carried out by German investigators, SIC said.
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 her body was in the reservoir.
The last search in Portugal related to Madeleine’s disappearance was in 2014, when UK police were given permission to investigate bushland near where Madeleine disappeared.
Earlier this month, Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry posted a brief statement on their Find Madeleine campaign website to mark the 16th anniversary of their 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/madeleine-mccann-praia-da-luz-police-kate-portugal-b1082880.html Police investigate Madeleine McCann disappearance ‘to search a reservoir’
