THE last-gasp search for Madeleine McCann has been called off at the end of the third day – dashing hopes of nailing Christian Brueckner to the case with DNA evidence.
Scores of cops painstakingly combed scrubland near Praia da Luz with JCBs, radar and fingertip searches, believing the tot or her pyjamas could have been buried there.
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Around 60 cops scoured the area but found nothingCredit: Dan Charity
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The search was focused on a handful of derelict buildingsCredit: Dan Charity
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Madeleine McCann went missing while on holiday with her family in 2007Credit: PA
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Christian Brueckner appears in court in Germany last monthCredit: Dan Charity
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There was an option to extend the search until tomorrow if any clues had been found – but cops turned up “nothing of consequence”.
Despite initial suggestions samples collected during the search would be sent to Germany for analysis, Portuguese sources this afternoon confirmed that would not happen.
Animal bones and adult clothing were unearthed, but no traces linked to Madeleine McCann, so there is no cause for further inspection.
A Portuguese police officer told The Sun: “We have found nothing. There is nothing worth being sent to Germany for testing. We are finishing today.”
A group of 30 officers was seen searching scrubland on foot before dismantling the cordon tape around 4pm.
Attention now turns to prime suspect Brueckner’s impending release from jail, when he is expected to flee from Germany and slip away for good.
Prosecutors have until September to rustle up an extension to his sentence to guarantee the opportunity to bring him to justice in the event of conclusive evidence.
At least five abandoned stone farmhouses and barns were scoured in the area, where Brueckner is known to have lived in a “wild camp”.
Particular attention was paid to a farmhouse where 2007 satellite images showed what appeared to be a white tent.
A trench was dug out with an excavator and officers returned today to conduct a close fingertip search.
This week’s search – the first since May 2023 – deployed special radar technology which can scan the ground and detect buried objects.
Plans to scour the whole area were scrapped yesterday – and cops focused all their efforts on at least five abandoned buildings.
The Sun revealed that this search was ordered after key figures in the case were flown back to Germany to again give statements on the claims Brueckner kidnapped and killed the toddler in 2007.
He has never been formally charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and denies any involvement – but German cops are convinced he is guilty.
The Sun revealed in a documentary last month that German police uncovered a cache of disturbing evidence revealing Brueckner’s obsession with young kids.
There was also a hard-drive of pictures, which German investigators continue to keep secret, that is believed to indicate why they are sure Madeleine is dead.
After a similar search of the nearby Arade Dam two years ago, soil and other samples were sent to Germany for checks but found to have no evidential value.
Follow our live blog, below, for the latest news and updates…
Pictures: Final day of search before halt
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: AFP
Credit: PA
Credit: AFP
Fresh search cost £300,000 – report
The fresh search for Madeleine, which was halted on Thursday afternoon, is estimated to have cost around £300,000.
More than 60 officers are said to have been involved, according to The Times.
Teams on the ground deployed cutting-edge tech – like ground radar scanners, drones and diggers.
But the search isn’t believed to have cost anything to the British taxpayer.
This is because it was being led by German cops with Portuguese support – with no UK involvement.
Recap: Search ended – with no success
The search for clues linked to Madeleine McCann ended after three days of digging on Thursday.
Cops could have extended the hunt to today had promising evidence been unearthed.
Investigators found animal bones and adult clothing – but nothing related to the missing three-year-old.
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: PA
Credit: PA
Nothing sent off for analysis
Despite initial suggestions samples collected during the search would be sent to Germany for analysis, Portuguese sources this afternoon confirmed that would not happen.
Three separate sources – including one spoken to by The Sun – said boxes of detritus taken away from farmhouse being searched contained “nothing of consequence.”
Only animal bones and adult clothing were found – but nothing worthy of further analysis.
Brueckner wiped emails from key months, police say
In June last year, a senior detective revealed that investigators had uncovered emails on Christian Brueckner’s Hotmail account linking him to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
According to the detective, police also found a second email account where Brueckner had exchanged disturbing child abuse videos with other paedophiles.
Crucially, it’s claimed Brueckner deleted all emails from the Hotmail account during the first half of 2007 — the exact period when Madeleine went missing.
Prosecutors were able to access the inbox after submitting a legal request to US tech giant Microsoft back in 2019.
What are the key questions surrounding the case?
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007 remains one of the most puzzling and high-profile missing persons cases in the world.
Here are the key questions that continue to surround her case:
1. What really happened on the night of May 3, 2007?
Madeleine was last seen sleeping in her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. She was gone within a 45-minute window — yet no one witnessed an abduction, and there were no clear signs of forced entry.
2. Was Christian Brueckner involved — and if so, how?
The German sex offender was named a suspect in 2020 after phone records placed him near the resort on the night Madeleine disappeared. He lived in the area at the time and has a history of child sex offences. But there’s still no hard evidence linking him directly to the crime.
3. Was there a break-in or did someone have inside access?
There were no definitive signs of forced entry, sparking theories that the abductor may have entered through an unlocked door or even had a key. This has raised questions about who else may have known the McCanns’ routine.
4. Was key evidence missed or mishandled in the early investigation?
Portuguese police faced heavy criticism for delays and procedural errors in the crucial early hours and days. Could vital clues have been lost, and did those mistakes cost investigators their best chance to find Madeleine?
5. Is Madeleine still alive?
Despite countless searches, tips and theories, there has never been conclusive proof of what happened to her. Without forensic evidence or a body, investigators — and her family — continue to hold onto hope.
The search for answers goes on.
Full timeline of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance
April 28, 2007
The McCann family — Gerry, Kate, and their three children — arrive in Praia da Luz, Portugal, for a holiday at the Ocean Club resort.
May 3, 2007
6:00pm: Madeleine is seen eating dinner with her family.
8:30pm: Her parents join friends at a nearby tapas restaurant, taking turns to check on the children.
10:00pm: Kate McCann checks the apartment and discovers Madeleine is missing. The alarm is raised.
May 4, 2007
Police begin investigating a possible abduction. Border alerts are issued, but the crime scene is not properly secured.
May–June 2007
Thousands of tips flood in. Portuguese police question staff and tourists. Madeleine’s photo spreads worldwide.
August 2007
British sniffer dogs detect the scent of blood and human remains in the McCanns’ apartment and rental car.
September 2007
Kate and Gerry McCann are declared “arguidos” (official suspects) by Portuguese police, but are never charged.
July 2008
The Portuguese case is officially closed due to lack of evidence. The McCanns are cleared.
May 2011
The UK government asks Scotland Yard to review the case under Operation Grange.
July 2013
Scotland Yard says Madeleine may have been abducted during a botched burglary. New suspects are identified.
May 2019
Police confirm they are pursuing a “significant line of inquiry” after years of limited progress.
June 2020
German police announce a new suspect — Christian Brueckner, a convicted sex offender living in the area at the time.
April 2022
Brueckner is formally declared an official suspect by Portuguese authorities.
May 2023
Police launch a renewed search of a reservoir in Portugal, near where Brueckner once stayed.
June 2024
Emails linking Brueckner to child abuse material and potential links to Madeleine’s case are revealed by investigators.
June 2025
Searches resume on land east of Praia da Luz, near a farmhouse where Brueckner once lived. Investigators drain wells and use radar equipment to look for clues.
Despite years of investigation and global attention, Madeleine’s fate remains unknown.
Where did Madeleine vanish?
Madeleine disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal.
She was on holiday with her parents Kate and Gerry McCann and younger siblings – twins Sean and Amelie – when she went missing.
The McCanns arrived at the location on April 28, 2007, for a seven-night break at the two-bedroom ground-floor apartment.
Madeleine vanished from the accommodation where she had been sleeping with her brother and sister on what was due to be the penultimate day of the McCann family holiday.
The children’s parents were at a nearby restaurant.
The three-year-old’s disappearance remains one of the most well-known missing person cases in British history.
Credit: AFP
Previous failed searches for Madeleine
The 2023 searches were the first major hunt in Portugal for Madeleine in nine years.
Search teams carried out a three day scour of the reservoir’s banks, which prime suspect Christian Brueckner allegedly referred to as “his little paradise”.
The reservoir is 31 miles from the Ocean Club holiday apartment in Praia da Luz where Madeleine was snatched.
Cops also left behind two-foot deep holes following their search at a “hippy camp” close to the reservoir.
They followed 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 that 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.
Pictures: Authorities using radar equipment today
With the last-gasp search for Madeleine called off at the end of the third day, hopes of nailing Christian Brueckner to the case with DNA evidence have been dashed.
Scores of cops painstakingly combed scrubland near Praia da Luz with JCBs, radar and fingertip searches, believing the tot or her pyjamas could have been buried there.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) sends electromagnetic pulses into the ground, detecting changes in material and potential buried objects without the need for large-scale excavation.
It’s a method often used to locate graves and burial sites.
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: Dan Charity
Christian Brueckner’s connections to Praia da Luz
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner was born in Germany in 1976 but moved to Portugal as a teenager.
He is thought to have resided in Portugal for around 12 years between 1995 to 2007.
The convicted paedophile at one point stayed in a campervan near Praia da Luz – where three-year-old Madeleine vanished in 2007.
Brueckner had chillingly made a 30-minute phone call in the resort just an hour before Maddie disappeared, according to the Telegraph.
He is also reported to have spent time close to the Barragem do Arade reservoir between 2000 to 2017 – roughly 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Credit: Darren Fletcher
Recap on fresh Madeleine search
Cops spent days clearing abandoned farm buildings where prime suspect Christian Brueckner is believed to have camped after being kicked out of his rented house nearby in late 2006.
German officers supported by Portuguese police took away boxes of samples after clearing buildings with cutting tools and a digger and also searched with ground penetrating radar.
The Sun’s team in Portugal was last night able to enter a derelict farmhouse which police had excavated for two days before halting the hunt.
Satellite images from 2007, seven weeks after Maddie vanished, appeared to show a white tent pitched within its stone walls.
Police appeared to have used a digger to level the same spot – which was left strewn with rubble as they left last last night.
Sources said there had been no breakthrough to provide vital new evidence for German investigators convinced Brueckner abducted and murdered the British tot.
And fears were growing that the convicted rapist and child sex fiend will now walk free and “go to ground” after his current jail term ends in September.
A no-fly zone over the search area due to be extended if the search continued into Friday was due to be lifted at midnight last night.
‘Nothing of consequence’ found
Several Portuguese police sources confirmed nothing of consequence had been found and said no material evidence was being shipped back to Germany for analysis.
Other Portuguese sources reported that only animal bones and adult clothing had been found – and nothing which could be linked to the missing three year-old.
The search commissioned by German police leading the Maddie probe focussed on an area of open land east of Praia da Luz where the three year-old tot vanished in May 2007.
Why was the search halted early?
The ground search was scheduled to last three days with an option to extend if anything of interest was unearthed.
But a source close to the investigation told The Sun yesterday: “The search is not being extended because nothing of any significance has been found.
“It’s very disappointing but nothing taken away from the search area so far has provided any useful clues.”
Praia da Luz wants to move on from Madeleine’s disappearance
As the fresh Madeleine search draws to a close, it’s clear the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz looks to move on from its painful past.
One British woman who has lived there for 40 years told The Times: “It was a terrible time for Luz.
“No one wants to talk about what happened. It is something that people want to forget.
“When you walk around town now, I don’t think you would know. That is what people want, not to remember.”
Credit: AFP
Cops not searching ‘key’ place
Cops said earlier that they had no plans to conduct searches in the town or specific hotel where Madeleine was seen last, according to the Daily Star.
This week’s search – the first since May 2023 – deployed special radar technology which can scan the ground and detect buried objects.
Plans to scour the whole area were scrapped yesterday – and cops focused all their efforts on at least five abandoned buildings.
The Sun revealed that this search was ordered after key figures in the case were flown back to Germany to again give statements on the claims Brueckner kidnapped and killed the toddler in 2007.
He has never been formally charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and denies any involvement – but German cops are convinced he is guilty.
Pictures: Teams leave Maddie search sites
Credit: PA
Credit: PA
German and Portuguese cops hug as search draws to a close
German and Portuguese investigators could be seen shaking hands and embracing as the Madeleine searches appeared to draw to a close.
The officers involved in the operation stood in a circle for a debrief before they participated in a round of applause.
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is due for release from jail in September, when he finishes his seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly woman.
What happens now?
Assuming there are no last-minute revelations from the material officers searched today, the search will go down as having failed to find any evidence advancing the case.
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is due for release from jail in September, when he finishes his seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly woman.
In an interview earlier this year, he said he’ll flee Germany and slip away for good if he gets out.
His lawyer even suggested he would get plastic surgery to make him unrecognisable.
German prosecutors have said they’re convinced Brueckner killed Maddie, so are desperate to keep him behind bars until they can pin the crime on him conclusively.
But time is fast running out.
Nothing sent off for analysis
Despite initial suggestions samples collected during the search would be sent to Germany for analysis, Portuguese sources this afternoon confirmed that would not happen.
Three separate sources – including one spoken to by The Sun – said boxes of detritus taken away from farmhouse being searched contained “nothing of consequence.”
Only animal bones and adult clothing were found – but nothing worthy of further analysis.
Search ends – with no success
The search for clues linked to Madeleine McCann has ended after three days of digging.
Cops could have extended the hunt for one more day had promising evidence been unearthed.
Investigators found animal bones and adult clothing – but nothing related to the missing three-year-old.
Final-lap foot search
A group of 30 officers was seen searching the scrubland on foot in the closing moments of the search.
Police began taking down tape marking the cordons at 3.50pm, but there has been no official announcement that the search is over.
This is expected shortly, however.
Animal bones, clothes – but no Maddie
There have been “no traces” of Madeleine McCann turned up in this week’s search, CNN Portugal reported today.
Investigators found animals bones and adult clothing, but nothing relating to the missing girl.
German police running the hunt have yet to comment on the reports.
Hundreds of thousands on 3-day search
The three-day operation near Praia da Luz, which is expected to wind up this afternoon, is estimated to have cost around £300,000.
More than 60 officers have been involved, according to The Times.
And teams on the ground have deployed cutting-edge tech – including ground radar scanners, drones and heavy machinery.
However, the search is not believed to have cost anything to the British taxpayer as it is being led by German police with Portuguese support – and doesn’t involve the UK.
Day three in pictures
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: PA
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: Dan Charity
Credit: PA
