A development in the search for Madeleine McCann has seen German police officers head to Portugal to scour buildings and land in a bid to bring an end to the 18-year hunt

Madeleine McCann has been missing for 18 years and this week hopes have once again been raised of finally finding out what happened to the three year old.

Madeleine vanished in 2007 while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal. Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann had gone out to dinner with friends a few hundred yards away, leaving her sleeping in a room at their accommodation with her toddler twin siblings.

When they returned to the apartment, Madeleine was gone and for the past 18 years, Kate and Gerry have tirelessly campaigned to find their daughter, with the Metropolitan Police spending more than £13 million on the case in Operation Grange.

Fresh police searches are taking place close to the holiday resort Madeleine vanished from(Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

In 2020, German prosecutors announced they had a prime suspect, Christian Brueckner, in Madeleine’s case and authorities from the country later searched areas of Praia da Luz.

Chillingly, former friend Helge Busching claimed Brueckner had told him in 2008 it was “strange Madeleine didn’t scream” when she was taken. Brueckner has denied all involvement in the tot’s disappearance.

With the 2023 searches proving fruitless and Brueckner behind bars for raping an elderly woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, there has now been a new development which brings fresh hope.

An investigating source explained to 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.”

Wells and water storage tanks are said to be a particular focus (Image: Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)

Following the tip-off, German police have this week been seen using a JCB digger at a large derelict farmhouse where prime suspect Christian Brueckner used to live.

They later turned their attention to a second abandoned farmhouse, with the major search said to be focusing on wells and water storage tanks.

Under the terms of their warrant, investigators have until tomorrow to look through the areas and properties in southern Portugal they believe could be linked to Madeleine’s disappearance. A spokeswoman for the official Find Madeleine Campaign said of the search: “Due to an active police investigation, Kate and Gerry are not doing interviews at this time.”

On the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann had said poignantly: “No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day. We continue to ‘celebrate’ her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her.”