Search continues in Portugal’s Praia da Luz

Madeleine McCann’s research resumed in Portugal, 18 years old after having disappeared from an apartments complex in Praia da Luz in Algarve.

Portuguese and German authorities should continue to focus research on disused buildings and wells.

Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared on vacation with her parents on May 3, 2007, causing a police investigation across Europe, which has become one of the most prominent cases.

This research – which covers the municipality of Lagos, near Praia Da Luz – will continue until Friday through a 21 km2 site (13 miles m²) between the place where Madeleine disappeared and where the first suspect of German investigators stayed at the time.

The case of Madeleine was initially treated by the Portuguese authorities with the help of the metropolitan police, but the German investigators took the lead in 2020, when they identified the German national Christian Brückner as their first suspect.

The 48 -year -old man is currently serving a sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72 -year -old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He should be released in September, but this could be postponed in early 2026 if he does not pay a fine, he must.

The search site is located about 3.5 miles from the Ocean Club Resort, where Madeleine and his family had stayed.

On Wednesday morning, many vehicles carrying dozens of people in uniform and ordinary clothes arrived on the site, which focuses on the edge of the city of Atalaia. Many of them had a covered face.

The roads leading to the region – which is large and especially the escrumment – have been closed since Monday, where the team had cleared grass and vegetation.

A pump with Portuguese firefighters and four vehicles wearing a German police force were seen arriving On the stage on Tuesday. The firefighters also drained a well as part of the research.

The emphasis on the first day of research was on what seems to be an abandoned farm with many abandoned and graffiti buildings, empty bottles and litter.

A white van and a large blue tent can be seen at a short distance from what seems to be an old farm, the basis of research operations.

The region is in the middle of a tourist region.

A few hundred meters to the north, a golf club and a complex, while in the opposite direction, there are steep cliffs leading to the sea. Along the cliffs, is a hiking trail along the cliffs known as Trilho Dos Pescadores, or the Fisherman’s Trail.

The latest research took place two years ago and focused on a reservoir in the northeast of the place where the British toddler remained. Brückner, who spent time in the region between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.

The German authorities suspect Brückner of the murder and fear that if he is not accused of something new, he will disappear after his release. British police continue to deal with the case as an investigation into missing people.

Brückner has repeatedly denied any involvement.

German police have a European mandate, which has been approved by Portuguese prosecutors, will allow them to searches on private land. The search for this week should extend over 21 different plots of land.

The officials did not disclose if they carry out this last research in Portugal according to new information, which gives the impression that they were throwing a last glance at elements of evidence or a body could have been hidden

Portuguese authorities have also appointed Brückner as an official suspect, or “Arguido”. They said they would give all the evidence in the last research to the German authorities.

The MET police, who said this week that they were aware of the searches made by German police in Portugal, continues his investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine.

The case, known as the Grange operation, has been underway since 2011 and has cost around 13.3 million pounds to date.

At night, Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been dinner with friends in a short distance restaurant from the apartment on the ground floor in which she and her young brothers and twin sisters slept.

Her mother, Kate, discovered that she was missing around 10:00 p.m.

A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner was working occasionally at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors also linked his mobile phone data and a sale of cars in their case against him.

Madeleine’s parents marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, saying that “the determination not to leave a non -returned stone is unshakable”.