Madeleine McCann: what police are looking for in latest Portuguese search

Police searching for evidence concerning the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have said that material collected during the operation in Portugal did contain a “relevant clue”.

The Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported that among the objects found were “a bra strap, pieces of clothing and plastic objects”. Police explained that the material will now be “subject to the competent expertise of the German authorities”, to whom the results of the search have been sent for analysis.

The police's attention centred on the Barragem do Arade reservoir in the Algarve and a neighbouring “spit of land”, said the BBC. Officers were seen “using rakes and hoes, strimmers and a small excavator”.

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‘Tips from a criminal informer’

Madeleine McCann went missing shortly before her fourth birthday 16 years ago from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, as her parents dined out nearby with friends. Her whereabouts remain unknown, but she was presumed dead in absentia in 2020.

The latest phase of the search to determine what happened to the toddler involved a three-day operation in which police “scoured the remote reservoir”, following “certain tips” being handed to German prosecutors, the Daily Mirror reported.

It is believed these tips came from a “criminal informer”, said the Daily Mail, who suggested a “gun and camcorder” could hold the key to discovering what happened to the missing girl, as police believe the camcorder could have pictures or video footage of Madeleine.

The newspaper reported these items are thought to have been “stolen” from the “prime suspect Christian Brueckner”, who German prosecutors believe may have abducted and killed McCann. He once referred to the reservoir as “a little piece of paradise”.

“Petty thief, drug trafficker, paedophile, rapist” is how The Times described Brueckner, who is currently in prison for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in the Algarve, the same area in which Madeleine disappeared.

But whether the abduction and murder of Madeleine can be added to his list of crimes “remains to be seen”, the newspaper said. Brueckner has denied being involved in her disappearance and has not been charged with any crime related to it.

‘What might have been?’

Experts have also played down the chances of success in the latest efforts to find out what happened to Madeleine, Reuters said.

German prosecutor Christian Wolters told the news agency: “Of course there is a certain expectation, but it is not high.” He said he did not expect the results of the studies of samples to be announced any time soon.

“Of course we are still looking for the body. [But] there are other things too,” he added.

“The truth is, that after a hunt for a little girl over a decade and a half, that has involved the police forces of three nations, countless missteps, many millions of pounds… appalling accusations and conspiracy theories, these paths may also lead nowhere,” said The Telegraph’s Harry de Quetteville. “Or worse, since the dig team packed up on Thursday night, they may offer up clues only to the ‘what might have been?’”

New searches for Madeleine follow the Home Office granting additional funding this year to assist the Metropolitan Police. According to The Independent, the total funding given to the case, dubbed Operation Grange, has been “just shy of £13.1m since 2011”.