Police wrap up search for Madeleine McCann

6/6/2025 6:05

Portuguese and German police

were on Thursday wrapping up their search in Portugal's southern

Algarve region for evidence related to the disappearance of

British toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago.



There were no immediate announcements on the outcome of the

operation as vans with German license plates and a Portuguese

police vehicle left one of the search sites in Atalaia, a

neighbourhood of Lagos municipality.



A source involved in the operation said the searched area

had included several derelict houses, wells and reservoirs

covering "dozens of hectares".



McCann went missing on May 3, 2007 while on holiday with her

family in the Algarve town of Praia da Luz, sparking a frenzied

search and gaining the attention of the world's media. She has

never been found.



German police said in June 2020 that McCann was presumed

dead and that German national Christian Brueckner was probably

responsible. He has denied responsibility.



Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug dealer, is

behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the

same area of the Algarve.



His sentence runs until September, meaning he is set for

release unless prosecutors find enough evidence to charge him

over McCann's disappearance.