Is this the turning point in the Maddie case? Police are allegedly looking for pink pajamas

Is the Maddie McCann missing person case about to be solved? 16 years after her disappearance, the police are looking for new clues at a reservoir in Portugal.

Update from May 24, 13:27 p.m.: What exactly and why is being sought at the Arade reservoir in Portugal remains open for the time being. "We never said that the girl disappeared where we are now looking," Hans Christian Wolters of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office told NDR on Wednesday.

Operation in the Maddie case: "We have no confession"

The indications that something could be found at the reservoir did not come from the main suspect Christian B., Wolters emphasizes. "We don't have a confession or anything like that, or a clue from the suspect where it would make sense to look," said prosecutor Wolters. Where these clues come from and what it is exactly, he did not want to say. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office assumes that the convicted sex offender Christian B. kidnapped and killed the girl.

The lake is about 50 kilometers from the resort in Praia da Luz, where Madelein McCann disappeared. Police are reportedly looking for pink pajamas that Maddie was wearing at the time of her disappearance 16 years ago (see update, 9:38 a.m.). Her body has not yet been found.

Maddie McCann: Search for evidence at the reservoir continues – soil samples taken

Update from May 24, 12:27 p.m.: The second day of the search operation at the Arade reservoir in southern Portugal is underway. Officials from Germany, Portugal and Great Britain arrived on Wednesday morning back in the search area not far from the municipality of Silves, reported a reporter from the Portuguese state television station RTP.

No significant traces were found on Tuesday. Only soil samples were taken for analysis, RTP and the Portuguese news agency Lusa report, citing investigators. The search operation on Tuesday had to be stopped prematurely at 18:00 due to bad weather conditions. Reporters on the ground had previously observed how bags had been transported out of the search area.

Maddie McCann case: investigators are probably looking for pink pajamas

Update from May 24, 9:38 a.m.: Police are combing the area around the Arade reservoir in Portugal. Apparently, investigators are looking for the missing Madeleine McCann and pink pajamas.

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The British girl was wearing the pajamas when she disappeared in 2007. This is reported by the British Daily Mail, citing sources who would be very close to the investigators. Other items of clothing, scraps of fabric or remains that could be associated with Maddie's disappearance are also in the focus of the officials.

British officials are also on the scene, also to keep Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry informed. This was announced yesterday by the Portuguese news agency Lusa. The search operation is complex – since Tuesday morning, investigators from the BKA have also been on site. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office and the BKA had set the operation in motion. What exactly triggered the new search remains unknown for the time being. Only that it would be a hint. There is talk of "recent developments". According to media reports, the main suspect, Christian B., is said to have been in the region several times. Photos of the reservoir are said to have been found on his laptop.

New clues in the Maddie case: investigators are looking for evidence at the Arade reservoir in Portugal (photo). © Yui Mok/dpa

Maddie McCann case: officials transport bags

Update from May 24, 7:10 a.m.: The search for Maddie McCann, who has been missing for almost 16 years, continues in Portugal today, Wednesday. Since Tuesday morning, the Arade reservoir and the area have been the focus of a new search operation. Sniffer dogs, divers, dozens of vehicles and specialists were involved in the operation on Tuesday, according to media reports. The police had set up blue tents as a coordination center.

As reported by the British news channel BBC, more than 20 officials were busy excavating next to the reservoir around noon. Several bags were taken from the search area, but the contents are unknown. According to the reports, four more areas of interest are to be searched this week.

A police tent and vehicles can be seen near the Arade dam, about 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz in Portugal. Portuguese police have resumed the search for Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who disappeared in the country's Algarve region in 2007. © Joao Matos/dpa

Maddie McCann: What exactly are the investigators looking for?

Update from May 23, 16:53 p.m.: The area around the Arade dam in Portugal is cordoned off. TV crews and photographers were only allowed to film or photograph from a distance. According to media reports, even the airspace was closed for safety reasons. Drones are also used in the search operation.

What are the investigators looking for in the Maddie McCann case? The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office is silent about the "clue" that set the large-scale search operation in motion. "Of course, the search was preceded by a clue. But I can't say more at the moment," said Hans Christian Wolters, spokesman for the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office at the request of IPPEN. MEDIA (see also update from 10.55 a.m.).

Apparently, the police assume to find a trace at the dam, which are related to the main suspect Christian B. and Maddie McCann. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the public prosecutor's office are investigating Christian B. on suspicion of murder. Investigators suspect that the now 46-year-old Christian B. kidnapped and killed Madeleine. There are many clues, but the chain of evidence is not closed, it has been said since then often by the prosecutor's office.

B. is currently in custody in Germany. He was sentenced to several years in prison for rape in Portugal in 2005. At the same time, the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office charged him last year with several other sex crimes that he allegedly committed between 2000 and 2017, also in Portugal.

Update of May 23, 13:31 p.m.: Madeleine McCann has disappeared without a trace in Portugal for almost 16 years. Since Tuesday morning, the Arade reservoir and the area have been the focus of a new search operation – about 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz. From there, little Maddie disappeared from the apartment of a holiday resort on May 3, 2007. The then three-year-old would be 20 years old today.

Maddie missing person's case: search operation for "clue" at the Arade reservoir in Portugal

Update from May 23, 11:42 a.m.: Boats are on the water, tents are set up, emergency services are walking along the shore. A rubber dinghy with two investigators was also launched. The search operation in the case of the missing Maddie McCann at the reservoir in Portugal has been in full swing since Tuesday morning, as can be seen in photos taken by news agencies. According to media reports, almost 30 emergency services are combing through a region around the Arade reservoir, and about dozens of search dogs are in use. Divers have also been observed in the water.

Is the Maddie McCann missing person case about to break through? Police are looking for clues at a reservoir in Portugal. © FILIPE AMORIM / AFP/Police

According to the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office, there is a "clue" behind the large-scale action in Portugal. It remains unclear exactly what the clue is.

Maddie McCann missing person's case: Reservoir area searched as early as 2008

The Arade reservoir was searched back in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correira privately covered the costs of specialty divers. The lawyer is said to have received a tip from criminal contacts at the time that Maddie's body was in the reservoir, reports the TV channel Sky News.

Maddie McCann: New search operation in Portugal – BKA on site

Update from 23 May, 10.55 a.m.: The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office confirms at the request of IPPEN. MEDIA investigation into the case of Madeleine McCann in Portugal. "Of course, the search was preceded by a clue," said prosecutor Christian Wolters of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office.

What specific indications are involved? What kind of trail the investigators are pursuing, is initially still unclear. For further information and details, the public prosecutor's office is keeping a low profile for "investigative tactical reasons".

These are "currently criminal procedural measures", as it says in a very brief statement from the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office. And further: "The measures will be implemented by way of legal assistance by the Portuguese law enforcement authorities with the support of officials of the Federal Criminal Police Office."

Maddie McCann missing person's case: The search operation at the Arade reservoir in Portugal is underway. Boats are also in the water. © FILIPE AMORIM/afp

The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig is investigating the case of Maddie McCann on suspicion of murder against the German sex offender Christian B., who has been convicted several times and is currently in custody in another matter.

After a tip from Germany: Is the turning point in the Maddie McCann case coming today? Police pursue new lead

Update from May 23, 9:07 a.m.: For more than 16 years, there has been no trace of Madeleine McCann. That could change soon. There are new clues. The Portuguese police are looking for Maddie in a reservoir. The action had been requested by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and is to "take place in the next few days," the Portuguese police confirmed in a short statement. The British police should also take part in the search operation.

The search at the Arade dam is scheduled to begin today, Tuesday, and will last two days, Portuguese media report. The focus of the police is therefore the area around the reservoir. Police officers will search the lake Barragem do Arade near the town of Silves in the Algarve, about 40 kilometers from Praia da Luz. Maddie McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort on 3 May 2007 at the age of three.

The lake was already examined by divers shortly after the disappearance of little Maddie, RTL reports. It remains to be seen whether the new search operation will bring new clues or even evidence.

In the case of the missing Maddie, the German suspect Christian B. plays a key role, according to German investigators. B. may have had friends in the area, according to various reports. The place had been frequently visited by the main suspect. The Braunschweig public prosecutor's office announced a press release.

Tip from Germany in the Maddie McCann case: Police have a new lead and are looking for a body in the reservoir

First reported on May 22, 2023

Praia da Luz – In the case of Maddie McCann, who disappeared in 2007, there seems to be a new lead. As Portuguese media reported on Monday, a reservoir not far from the village will be searched for the girl where the then three-year-old disappeared from Tuesday.

New clue in the Maddie McCann case: police are looking for a body in a reservoir in Portugal

More than 16 years ago, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's apartment in a holiday resort in Praia da Luz in Portugal. Although the girl was searched for internationally, the case could never be solved. But according to Portuguese media reports, a reservoir about 23 kilometers from the place where Maddie disappeared will be searched from Tuesday (May 50). As reported by Bild, the initiative of the renewed search operation came from German authorities.

According to the Portuguese weekly Expresso, the main suspect in the investigation is said to have stayed at this remote reservoir more often in the past. He has a criminal record for sexual offences and lived regularly in the Algarve from 1995 to 2007. Since June 2020, the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office has been conducting a murder investigation against the German, but the authority has not yet brought charges in the case. Currently, the suspect is serving a multi-year prison sentence following a final conviction for rape in Portugal in 2005.