The excavations began on Tuesday. Authorities investigating the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in 2007 are undertaking new searches in Portugal, the German prosecutor's office in charge of the case said on Tuesday.
These operations "are ongoing in Portugal", according to the judicial authorities of Brunswick (northern Germany). This is "research" carried out with the support of the German judicial police, says the prosecutor's office. According to several local media, divers have already combed this area in 2008. But they had only found animal remains.
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The operations take place near the dam of Arade, in the municipality of Silves. It is located about fifty kilometers from the place of disappearance of the child. This new development follows the indictment of the main suspect in Germany, Christian Brueckner, a repeat paedophile who lived for several years in southern Portugal.
14 months of controversial investigations 15 years ago
This man, who is serving a prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 in Portugal, had already been identified by German investigators in 2020 as the main suspect in the murder of the British girl.
Nearly four years old, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her room in the resort of Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region, on May 3, 2007 while her parents were having dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant. Portuguese police closed the investigation in 2008 after 14 months of controversial investigations, including the indictment of the girl's parents, who were later cleared.
