‘Clue’ found in new Portugal search for signs of long-missing Madeleine McCann
Possible evidence recovered from a Madeleine McCann search site in Portugal is being sent for scientific testing after a three-day operation.
Searches of a beauty spot in Portugal linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ended on Thursday with the discovery of a “relevant clue”.
Soil and other items recovered from the site, which was described as “paradise” by the prime suspect, are being sent for scientific testing in Germany after the end of a three-day joint operation with the Portuguese authorities.
Madeleine’s parents will hope the search will uncover evidence that will end the 16-year mystery surrounding the girl’s disappearance.
The investigation centred on a promontory at the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 50km from the holiday resort of Praia da Luz, from which Madeleine vanished days before her fourth birthday in May 2007.
The focus was a 160 sq ft (15 sqm) area used as an informal picnic spot by partygoers and drug users.
Christian Brueckner, the German who is an official suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, was linked to the “hippy commune” of Barao de Sao Joao, where he sold cannabis at parties held in remote woodland.
Debris and soil was removed from the area before eight holes about 2ft (60cm) deep were drilled, suggesting that officers were looking for buried items. The discovery of a “relevant clue” led police to focus on a specific area, according to the Correio da Manha newspaper.
A second, smaller area deep in the woodland was also among several sites searched. All are well above the waterline in 2007, which has fallen significantly because of drought. Scientific tests on the items will take weeks and will be conducted in Germany.
Christian Wolters, a German prosecutor involved in the investigation, said a statement would be issued within the next few days if nothing of significance was found, but would be delayed in the event of there being any relevant evidence.
Two criminal associates of Brueckner renewed their claims that they stole a video camera and gun from his home when he was in jail in 2006 and threw them into a reservoir.
Manfred Seyferth and Helge Busching claim footage on the camera showed Brueckner torturing and raping an American woman and a girl aged about 15.
Brueckner, 45, has claimed the men are seeking to set him up because a drug deal went wrong. He was living in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the resort with an Austrian carpenter, Michael Tatschl, 49, when both were convicted in 2006 of stealing diesel from HGVs.
They were released from jail five months before Madeleine disappeared.
Tatschl has said Brueckner often visited a reservoir 30 minutes inland from Praia da Luz with a German drifter called Christian Post.
Post, 55, who now lives in Cambodia, has denied any knowledge of the reservoir. He gave evidence at the trial that led to Brueckner being jailed in 2019 for the rape of an 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Wolters, the prosecutor investigating Madeleine’s disappearance, said before the end of the search: “Of course we are still looking for the body. We’re not just looking for that, of course. There are other things too. Any discovery of clothing could help the investigation.”
The Times
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