Police reportedly found two guns during the latest round of Madeleine McCann searches in Portugal last week – animal bones and clothing were also discovered

Police reportedly found two guns in the search for Madeleine McCann last week. The firearms have now been sent back to Germany for analysis, along with fragments of bones and clothing which had already been reported, according to The Olive Press.

There is currently no further information on the type of guns found. The bones are said to be from animals, but some smaller fragments will be analysed. On Thursday, a team of German and Portuguese investigators wrapped up a three-day search along a 120-acre stretch of land in Lagos, Portugal, in their latest attempt to find new evidence against prime suspect Christian Brueckner.

Initial reports suggested the operation – which took place 30 miles from where three-year-old Madeleine went missing in May 2007 – had failed to turn up any new leads.

Kate and Gerry McCann continue their search for answers ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
The team was seen congratulating and embracing each other and officers involved in the latest searches held a debrief before leaving the site. There was a round of applause before a crate of German beer was removed from one of the tents in the designated base area.

British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said. Madeleine’s parents have not commented during the “active police investigation”, staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said.

During the search – the first to take place since 2023 – crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, including a derelict farmhouse. In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. Brueckner spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.

A well that was searched by police ( 
Image:
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
A source told Berlin Morning Post: “Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory. As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things.

“The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance but that is clearly their hope.”

German authorities requested the search as part of their continued attempts to source evidence linked to Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought.

Prime suspect Christian Brueckner ( 
Image:
Phil Harris)
In October last year, Brueckner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

A new documentary has meanwhile described disturbing circumstantial material found at an old warehouse once owned by Brueckner in Neuwegersleben, Germany.

According to The Sun, police searching the premises discovered more than 70 children’s swimsuits, a toddler’s bike, inflatable toys, and a cache of images on an 80GB hard drive, which were allegedly taken in Portugal.

They also found a laptop, masks and guns, alongside a handwritten story about using drugs to kidnap a woman and child from outside a preschool.