All we know about Madeleine McCann search from 'mystery' tent to high-tech equiptment - Daily Star

All we know about Madeleine McCann search from 'mystery' tent to high-tech equiptmentGerman authorities are working with their Portuguese counterparts to reopen the search for Madeleine

McCann who went missing in 2007, looking into the area near where prime suspect stayedCommentsNewsAlexandra Snow06:01, 05 Jun 2025Updated 06:03, 05 Jun 2025As the search continues today,

here's all we know so far(Image: PA) German police have launched a fresh hunt for Madeleine McCann, 18 years on from the British toddler's disappearance.

Squads kitted out with spades are trawling through farmland between Praia da Luz – the spot where Madeleine vanished in 2007 – and the holiday home of prime suspect Christian Brueckner.

‌ The operation kicked off yesterday as police officers from Portugal and German held a joint briefing before heading into the wasteland to begin their search.

‌ Police have not revealed what new evidence or development has sparked this search, with a source telling the Sun: "German cops know it is now or never."

Here is everything we know about the new search for Madeleine, who would now be 22-years-old.

Police say this could be the last chance to get answers(Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Article continues belowWhere and why are they searching? This latest, and likely final, search

comes through a tip off by someone close to prime suspect Christian Brueckner.

An investigating source has told the Sun: “Following Brueckner's trial last year someone contacted them with theories on where anyone who took Madeleine might've dumped her.

“They told cops about trenches that were dug in Praia at the time Madeleine disappeared, and the house where Brueckner had lived on the edge of the village.

‌ "Of course, all of these places have been searched over and over again, but now they have a new weapon in their ground-scanning radar. It means they don't need to dig for the sake of it.

But as soon as they spot anything of interest they are ready to excavate and check it."

The searches will take place on more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land near to a ramshackle rented cottage where Brueckner spent several years living before 2007.

German teams were seen removing rubble and vegetation from outside an abandoned farmhouse on the grassy land in Praia da Luz. Authorities investigated and drained two wells in the

surrounding area to see if there is “anything of interest”.

‌ Yesterday, teams investigating took samples of potential evidence from properties near Praia Da Luz in Portugal.

Locals say this is the first search completed in this area(Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Mystery ‘tent’ erected It is now claimed that a mystery white tent was erected on a patch of

land in the days following Madeleine McCann's disappearance. It is believed that the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case reportedly bunked down in a "wild camping" site.

‌ A satellite photo from 22 June 2007 has been unearthed by The Sun and shows a white tent pitched inside the walls of a derelict building. Captured a full seven weeks post-Madeleine's

disappearance from the Ocean Club apartment, just a five minute drive away.

The equiptment used will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds(Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)High-tech search Police are scanning the area near Praia da Luz armed with groundbreaking

radar technology which is capable of detecting human remains 15 feet below ground. The radars have been dubbed a “new weapon” that changes the way searches are conducted. Investigators will

now be able to focus in and only explore areas when the radar signals something, instead of digging blindly.

‌ According to The Times, all of this new technology is set to cost at least £300,000.

However, it’s not all high-tech. Some teams are still seen using pickaxes, shovels and chainsaws to clear dense vegetation and dig near a derelict building.

Christian Brueckner is currently serving time for the rape of a 72 year old woman(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)‌Christian Brueckner release Brueckner was first linked to McCann’s

disappearance in 2020 and has emerged as the prime suspect in the case.

He is currently in prison in Germany for he rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005, but is due to be released in September.

Brueckner told German broadcast RTL that he wants to disappear after his release. He said: “The fact is that I have been in prison for many years for something that I cannot have committed

and that therefore, through the participation of the media, half the world considers me a cruel rapist.”

‌ When police investigated a factory owned by Brueckner, disturbing findings were made, including children’s clothes and a suitcase full of images of young girls.

Although Brueckner, 47, is still being investigated, he has never been charged and denies all involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Article continues belowKate and Gerry’s reaction Last month, Kate and Gerry McCann marked the 18th anniversary since Madeleine's disappearance, however the parents will not comment on the

search.

The Find Madeleine Campaign said that the parents will not be commenting during the "active police investigation"

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.