The search for Madeleine McCann concluded this Thursday in the Algarve, following a request from German authorities.
Around 25 German police officers collaborated with Portuguese authorities to conduct searches around the outskirts of Praia da Luz, from Tuesday morning until Thursday afternoon, reported AFP.
The officers executed clearing operations of land in and around ruined buildings, wells, and cisterns, utilizing georadars to map and identify any subsurface anomalies worthy of excavation to uncover new leads in the investigation, now in its 18th year.
The police actions were part of a European Investigation Order issued by German authorities and led by the Public Prosecution Office coordinator for the Faro region.
The Public Prosecution Office of Braunschweig, Germany, is overseeing the process and requested the execution of search warrants in the Lagos municipality.
A source from the Portuguese police stated that all evidence seized during the searches will be handed over to German authorities with the authorization of the Portuguese Public Prosecution Office.
Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, just days before her fourth birthday, from the room where she was sleeping with her twin siblings, in an apartment of a tourist resort in Praia da Luz.
Christian Brückner was named a suspect in 2023 in the disappearance of the British girl. According to authorities, Brückner, a German national, lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, with phone records placing him in the Praia da Luz area on the day the child went missing.
Last year, the man was acquitted of charges involving three counts of rape and two of child sexual abuse, allegedly committed between 2000 and 2017 in the Algarve. His defense argued that Brückner was being prosecuted solely because of his association with the Madeleine case, an argument the Braunschweig court agreed with.
[Updated at 18:01]
