Police reveal real reason they are testing soil samples found during Algarve dam search

A source close to investigators have disclosed the reason soil at the Algarve dam could help close the net on the suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

Police leading the Madeleine McCann investigation have revealed the real reason they are testing soil samples collected from an Algarve dam during their recent search.Detectives spent three days scouring the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal, where they believe top suspect Christian B was, in the days after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared.

According to The Sun, police searched the remote spot the convicted rapist and paedophile called his “little paradise” and dug deep holes to collect samples of soil which are set to be compared to dirt samples on file from the suspect’s van, sources told the Daily Mirror.

German prosecutors first linked Christian B to the remote beauty spot through photos that have not been made public.

Sources said proving he visited Barragem do Arade in May 2007 could be “pivotal” to the case.

One source said: “Photos led German police investigating Maddie’s disappearance to the reservoir.

“One of their focuses now is to close the net around Brueckner by showing through soil sample analysis that his van was there.

Authorities scour areas around the Arade dam, in Silves, near Praia da Luz on May 23. Picture: AFP

“A positive match of the soil they already have from the vehicle with the earth they removed during the search last week will be another important piece of evidence against him.

“It will be a slight setback if the forensics people don’t get a match but at this stage investigators remain hopeful.”

SEVERAL ITEMS AND ‘RELEVANT CLUE’ FOUND

German police searching an Algarve reservoir close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared 16 years ago may have unearthed a “relevant clue” there, raising her parents’ dwindling hope of a breakthrough.

Officers have revealed a “number of items” in their search of the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal, – 48 km from where Madeleine was snatched – in a potentially major update in the toddler’s disappearance.

The isolated 160 square feet woodlands, referred to by prime suspect Christian Brueckner as a “little piece of paradise,” was cordoned off and extensively searched by police who dug eight deep holes to collect samples of soil sent for forensic and DNA testing in Germany.

Police believe they have found a “relevant clue” during their search of the beauty spot after they were able to match photographs showing Brueckner wandering the reservoir.

A bra strap, pieces of clothing and plastic items were also dug out. It is not yet known if they are relevant to Madeleine.

“A number of items were seized as part of the investigation. These will be in the evaluated in the coming days and weeks,” said German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the case,

“Whether individual items actually have a connection to the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be said.

“The investigations conducted here in Braunschweig against the 45-year-old suspect are expected to continue for a long time.

“We thank all officers who participated in the search. The co-operation between the

Maddie McCann disappeared while holidaying with her family in 2007.

Portuguese police, the British officers and the German federal police was outstanding and very constructive,” he added.

Parents Kate and Gerry McCann face an agonising wait to learn the results of forensic testing which could take months.

Last week marked the first major search for the toddler in nine years and comes after German police found photographs of Brueckner at his self-described ‘little paradise’ in the Portuguese region.

German officers had sifted through more than 8,000 pictures belonging to Brueckner which linked him to Barragem. Other places that have turned up in the photographs.

Convicted rapist Christian Breuckner was named by German police as the Madeleine suspect. Picture: Bild

Christian Breuckner, 45, has never been charged and denies any involvement. Picture: AFP/Carabinieri Press

“Detectives are seeking to work out where they are and why Christian B was taking pictures of those places,” a police source has said.

Brueckner is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of a woman on the Algarve. Brueckner lived in the region between 1995 and 2007, say police.

Madeleine was three years old when she disappeared while sleeping with her twin siblings while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz in 2007.

They left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends.

Brueckner is thought to have often travelled in his Volkswagen T3 camper van to the reservoir – which is known to have been used as an unofficial camping spot.

Kate and Gerry McCann with twins Amelie and Sean and Madeleine in a family portrait. Picture: Supplied

The German denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, saying he was “miles away” at the time.

Last month, the McCanns marked the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance, saying she is “still very much missed” and they “await a breakthrough”.

Originally published as Police reveal real reason they are testing soil samples found during Algarve dam search