A renewed search into missing Madeleine McCann, 18 years after her disappearance, has been called off – the search came to an end a day earlier than expected
The renewed search for missing toddler Madeleine McCann has been officially ended after just three days.
German and Portuguese police descended on several properties in an area of southern Portugal close to Praia da Luz – where Madeleine went missing in 2007. Cops were pictured packing up their equipment – which included a digger and ground-penetrating radars – and they are believed to have not found any trace of the missing girl. Investigators were pictured at several homes linked to prime suspect and convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner – who used to live in the area during the time the toddler vanished, while on holiday.
A group of German and Portuguese officers stood around for a debrief as the search officially stopped – which ended in a round of applause and the teams shaking hands. The officers involved also hugged each other after the three day operation.
Despite this, nothing related to the missing girl appeared to have been found during the operation, police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been discovered.
Police initially had a warrant until Friday, June 6, to investigate areas of interest in southern Portugal. Earlier today, investigators indicated that they were expected to end their search on Thursday if nothing was found.
Police using a digger during their search on Wednesday (
Image:
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
The operation kicked off on Tuesday, June 3, with teams scouring through more than 20 plots of land east of Praia da Luz. This included places between the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine vanished and the cottage where German authorities’ prime suspect Christian Breuckner lived.
Search teams discovered animal bones and pieces of adult clothing at these sites, according to Portuguese TV reports.
Police also used ground-penetrating radar in their search (
Image:
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
The huge operation saw more than 60 officers involved in the latest search. Police were pictured using a JCB digger and cutting-edge ground-penetrating radar scanners.
One of the places searched was a cottage once lived in by prime suspect Brueckner. The fresh search was reportedly prompted by new information about their suspect.
Cops searching an abandoned home on Wednesday (
Image:
Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
