Madeleine mccann cops pinpoint 21 privately-owned pieces of land to search

GERMAN POLICE HAVE SAID THE SEARCH AREA WOULD EXTEND FROM THE HOUSE WHERE THE PRINCIPAL SUSPECT LIVED, COMNTINUING EASTWARDS TOWARDS AN INLAND AREA KNOWN AS ATALAIA IN THE DIRECTION OF LAGOS

16:36, 02 Jun 2025Updated 16:48, 02 Jun 2025 Well-placed sources have said new searches for Madeleine McCann would take place on more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land. They will be

centred near to a ramshackle rented cottage on the outskirts of Praia da Luz where principal suspect Christian Brueckner spent several years living. German police are said to have requested

the searches, expected to take place between Praia da Luz where the three-year-old vanished on May 3 2007 and a house near the holiday resort where Brueckner used to live. They said the

search area would extend from the house eastwards towards an inland area known as Atalaia in the direction of Lagos. One said: “The search will take place on 21 privately-owned pieces of

land which in some cases are open and not fenced off. “Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched. “The landowners haven’t had to be asked for permission and they can’t stop the

searches from continuing if they turn up because police will be acting with a judicial warrant.” Article continues below Another said: “Around 30 German police officers have already arrived

in Portugal and will be starting the search tomorrow (June 3). “Portuguese police will also be on the ground. “We are talking about a rural area with a lot of waste ground. Some of the areas

that are going to be looked at have already been searched before.” The German police team is expected to include forensic experts, who were also present for the May 2023 Arade Dam searches.

It is not clear if detectives are acting on a new tip-off about where Madeleine’s body could be. Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria police force and the country’s Attorney General’s office have

yet to make any official comment and are not expected to do so until after the search work begins. The searches will be the first in Portugal for more than two years following a

near-week-long operation involving Portuguese, German and police officers at a remote dam a 40-minute-drive from Praia da Luz. The searches in May 2023 at Arade Dam, described at the time as

Brueckner’s ‘little paradise', came to nothing. They were the first major searches in Portugal for Madeleine McCann in nine years following an earlier June 2014 operation when British

police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar. Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the

leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby. They also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster’s

whereabouts. In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her. A well-placed Portuguese

source confirmed this week’s operation was scheduled get underway tomorrow but said some preparation work may take place beforehand. He said: “They will be land searches only. The main

objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body.” Portuguese police are understood to have agreed to cooperate with the search after it was approved by the country’s judicial

authorities following a formal request from German cops and prosecutors. Article continues below The search is expected to last around three days unless anything relevant emerges. Brueckner

remains in prison in Germany where he is serving a seven year term for rape. The 48-year-old convicted paedophile faces having his hopes of being released from jail in September scuppered

after reportedly being accused of new offences against prison guards behind bars.