New Madeleine McCann search under way

New Madeleine McCann search under way

Authorities from Germany and Portugal have initiated a fresh search into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal almost 20 years ago. The three-year-old girl vanished from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz in the Algarve during a family vacation on May 3, 2007, triggering a widespread police investigation across Europe. This case remains one of the most high-profile unsolved missing person cases globally.

Portuguese police have confirmed that they are conducting the search based on warrants issued by German prosecutors, covering 21 different plots of land in the municipality of Lagos near Praia da Luz. The search operation is scheduled to continue until Friday, with the involvement of around 30 German police officers. German investigators have taken the lead in the case after identifying Christian Brückner as their key suspect in 2020.

Brückner, a 48-year-old individual currently serving a sentence in Germany for a separate crime involving the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005, has been at the center of the investigation. While German authorities suspect him of murder, they have not gathered adequate evidence to press charges against him. Both German and Portuguese authorities have named Brückner as a formal suspect and are collaborating to gather evidence in the ongoing search.

The night Madeleine went missing, her parents were having dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant while she and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor apartment. Her disappearance was noticed by Kate, her mother, around 10:00 PM. Recent findings have indicated that Brückner may have worked sporadically at the Ocean Club as a handyman, shedding new light on the case. As Madeleine’s parents marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance last month, they expressed their unwavering determination to uncover the truth. The Metropolitan Police, also involved in the investigation under Operation Grange since 2011, remains vigilant during these latest search efforts conducted by German authorities in Portugal

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