Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are scouring scrubland and abandoned buildings in a new search near where she was last seen in Portugal.
Investigators are focusing on an area between Praia da Luz, the holiday resort from where she disappeared 18 years ago, and one of the houses where suspect Christian Brueckner lived at the time she went missing.
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the search along with Portuguese officers, with the activity due to last until Friday. Investigators are reportedly planning to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground.
Madeleine was three years old when she vanished while on holiday with her family on 3 May, 2007, sparking a Europe-wide police investigation.
German national Brueckner was formally identified as an official suspect in the her disappearance in 2022. Brueckner has denied any involvement and has not been charged with any crime related to the case.
The last search for Madeleine was carried out in May 2023, when police searched an inland reservoir in the Algarve.
Read More
Key Points
- New search for Madeleine McCann launched 18 years after disappearance
- Search focused on scrubland and abandoned house
- Ground penetrating radar being used following ‘tip off’, reports claim
- Last search took place in 2023 in remote dam
UK ministers approved £100,000 for Madeleine McCann investigation in April
05:00
,
Tara Cobham
Ministers in the UK approved more than £100,000 in additional funding for Scotland Yard detectives investigating Madeleine’s disappearance in April.
The Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the current searsch operation but that British officers will not be present.
Madeleine McCann’s parents mark anniversary of disappearance with heartbreaking message
04:00
,
Tara Cobham
Watch: Investigators dig at abandoned farmhouse in search for Madeleine McCann
03:00
,
Tara Cobham
Where are Madeleine McCann’s family now?
02:00
,
Tara Cobham
In pictures: Police search scrubland and abandoned buildings on Tuesday
01:00
,
Tara Cobham
Watch: Everything you need to know about new search for Madeleine McCann
Wednesday 4 June 2025 00:30
,
Tara Cobham
Mapped: Where police are looking in new major search for Madeleine McCann
Wednesday 4 June 2025 00:00
,
Tara Cobham
Will Christian Brueckner ever face charges over the disappearance of Maddie McCann?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 23:30
,
Tara Cobham
The assertion that 47-year-old Christian Brueckner could be the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann looked a little thinner when he was acquitted in October on five unrelated sexual offences – two of which involved children – following a trial that began in February 2024.
Despite the huge amount of interest around Christian Brueckner’s past, the verdicts were no great surprise. They had been anticipated since last July when the presiding Judge, Uta Inse Engemann, in the German regional court of Braunschweig had ruled that there was “no longer sufficient evidence of guilt for all of the charges”.
Brueckner, a German national, remains in jail, serving the final months of a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in 2005 at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz — the same hotel where Madeleine went missing two years later. But as he seeks early release from the 2019 sentence, police in Germany are hurrying to charge the prime suspect in the disappearance of the British toddler before he walks free from prison.
David James Smith reports:
Brueckner tells journalist he is most looking forward to steak and beer if he gets out of jail
Tuesday 3 June 2025 23:00
,
Tara Cobham
Suspect Christian Brueckner has told a journalist that if he gets out of jail the thing he is most looking forward to is a steak with a beer.
Ulrich Oppold, a journalist from German broadcaster RTL, visited Brueckner in prison in Germany.
Brueckner refused to answer any questions relating to Madeleine after discussions with his lawyers.
He told the journalist that if he does get out of jail he will have to lie low as he is so well known.
Brueckner described himself as “bekannt wie ein bunter Hund” – which literally translated is “as well-known as a colourful dog”.
Full story: Shovels, pickaxes and an abandoned farmhouse – inside the search for Madeleine McCann
Tuesday 3 June 2025 21:30
,
Tara Cobham
The Independent’s crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports from Portugal:
Swinging pickaxes into the hardened ground and clearing piles of rocks and rubble - the dozen-or-so police officers began work on Tuesday in temperatures that reached 20C.
Gathered on a remote area of clifftop scrubland a few miles from the Portuguese resort Madeleine McCann vanished from 18 years ago, one team dug at an abandoned farmhouse under the watchful gaze of nearby journalists.
Other officers cleared undergrowth and debris around nearby buildings, while a fire crew pumped water from a disused well before appearing to use a winch to the check the site.
Read the full story here:
Watch: Madeleine McCann’s father Gerry describes moment he realised daughter was missing
Tuesday 3 June 2025 21:00
,
Tara Cobham
Met Police confirms British officers will not be present for search
Tuesday 3 June 2025 20:30
,
Tara Cobham
The Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the operation.
However, the force confirmed that British officers will not be present for the search.
Who is conducting the new search and for how long
Tuesday 3 June 2025 20:07
,
Tara Cobham
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the new search for Madeleine McCann, along with Portuguese officers.
The activity is due to last until Friday.
Watch: Everything you need to know about the new search for Madeleine McCann
Tuesday 3 June 2025 19:32
,
Rachel Clun
Mapped: Where are police searching for Madeleine?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 19:00
,
Rachel Clun
Who is Christian Brueckner?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 18:29
,
Rachel Clun
German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in 2020 in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where the young girl went missing on May 3, 2007.
At the time of revealing him as a suspect, the prosecutor leading the investigation into Brueckner Hans Christian Wolters said he was “very confident” the inmate is responsible for kidnapping her.
But last year, a German judge acquitted Brueckner of separate rape and sexual abuse charges, and he is due to be released from prison in September.
In January this year Wolters admitted there was no imminent prospect of charging Brueckner over Madeleine’s disappearance, as police still needed to secure forensic evidence linking Brueckner to the case.
Brueckner, who has maintained he had nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance, is serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
He is due for release in September, and told a German reporter in a rare interview he would lie low after he was free.
Christian Brueckner plans to lie low if released from prison
Tuesday 3 June 2025 18:02
,
Rachel Clun, PA
The main suspect in the Madeleine McCann place is currently in prison in Germany, but is due to be released in September.
In a rare interview, Brueckner told German journalist Ulrich Oppold that if he gets out of jail the thing he is most looking forward to is a steak with a beer.
Brueckner refused to answer any questions relating to Madeleine after discussions with his lawyers. He has previously denied any connection to her disappearance
He told the journalist that if he does get out of jail he will have to lie low as he is so well known.
Brueckner described himself as "bekannt wie ein bunter Hund" - which literally translated is "as well-known as a colourful dog".
Watch: Investigators dig at abandoned farmhouse in search for Madeleine McCann
Tuesday 3 June 2025 17:33
,
Amy-Clare Martin
Amy-Clare Martin is at the scene of the search in Portugal:
Teams were digging and combing through rubble in one abandoned farm building on Tuesday afternoon, using a chainsaw to cut back overgrown shrubs.
Full story: What happened to Madeleine McCann? A timeline of the 18-year search
Tuesday 3 June 2025 17:01
,
Rachel Clun
In pictures: Search concentrates on abandoned farmhouse
Tuesday 3 June 2025 16:29
,
Rachel Clun
Search teams drain a well in the search for clues
Tuesday 3 June 2025 16:00
,
Amy-Clare Martin, PA
Search teams have been seen draining a well and clearing areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings as the latest search for Madeleine McCann continues in Portugal.
Fire crews appear to be using a winch to search a disused well next to another farm building.
German investigators along with Portuguese police officers and firefighters are working in a little-developed area of countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz where Madeleine was last seen in 2007.
Journalists were kept some distance from the site of the renewed search on Tuesday.
Will Christian Brueckner ever face charges over the disappearance of Maddie McCann?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 15:41
,
Rachel Clun
David James Smith looks back at 17 years of false starts in finding out what happened to the youngster, and asks if the German national will ever face charges over her disappearance?
Police scour an abandoned farmhouse for clues
Tuesday 3 June 2025 15:14
,
Amy-Clare Martin
Amy-Clare Martin is on the ground in Portugal:
Police have been scouring an abandoned farmhouse and other derelict farm buildings in a remote area more than 6km from the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine McCann vanished 18 years ago.
Police cordons have blocked off tracks to the rural area of scrubland off a scenic coastal path which stretches between Lagos and Atalaia, near where Christian Brueckner used to live.
Around 30 agents from the BKA, the German federal police, started searching early on Tuesday before stopping for a break as temperatures reached about 20C shortly after midday.
German investigators are thought to be searching up to 21 remote locations over the coming days in the first searches for the missing toddler in two years.
Investigators use shovels, chainsaws to clear scrub as they search
Tuesday 3 June 2025 14:48
,
Amy-Clare Martin
Amy-Clare Martin reports from the scene in Portugal:
Police have erected a tent near the derelict farmhouse as searches continue.
Crews were this morning using shovels, chainsaws, hedge trimmers and pickaxes to clear scrub as they scoured abandoned farm buildings.
Others were seen using a pump with a yellow hose to drain a well in the remote area.
Mapped: Where are police searching?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 14:12
,
Rachel Clun
Tuesday 3 June 2025 13:51
,
Amy-Clare Martin
Amy-Clare Martin is at the scene of the new search for evidence:
The new search site for clues about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a large, scrubby area close to the sea.
Paths towards the search area, a rural stretch off a coastal path between Lagos and Atalaia, have been taped off.
Searches have been focused on an abandoned farmhouse and other derelict buildings at the remote location, near a cottage where Christian Brueckner used to live.
Brueckner is the main suspect in a German police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance. He denies any involvement.
Watch: New search for Madeleine McCann gets underway in Portugal
Tuesday 3 June 2025 13:32
,
Rachel Clun
New investigation potentially the largest since 2008
Tuesday 3 June 2025 13:12
,
Rachel Clun, Reuters
The scale of the renewed investigation into the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann could be the largest since 2008.
Portuguese and German police on Tuesday launched joint searches of a "vast" area in Portugal's southern Algarve region for new evidence related to the case.
Portugal's investigative Judicial Police said on Monday they would execute search warrants between June 2 and 6 at the behest of the public prosecutor's office in Germany's Braunschweig, which in 2022 formally identified German national Christian Brueckner as an official suspect in the case.
A source involved in the search operation said the targeted area was "vast" with police using ground-penetrating radar across several hectares. Portuguese officers were following instructions from German police under a European Investigation Order.
In pictures: Police searching vast area in hunt for clues
Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:53
,
Rachel Clun
A large international media pack has gathered as police from Germany and Portugal search for clues about Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.
Authorities plan to drain two wells in search for evidence: reports
Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:37
,
Rachel Clun
Authorities plan on draining two wells in their search for evidence connected to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha reported authorities wanted to drain the wells to see if there was any evidence there.
Police officers from Germany and Portugal began the renewed search for clues this morning.
New search comes after crime scene was 'bungled' 18 years ago, expert says
Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:20
,
Rachel Clun
The search currently underway in Portugal for evidence linked to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance 18 years ago could be a “desperate last throw of the dice” according to an expert.
Jim Gamble, the former chief executive of Child Exploitation & Online Protection Command, told Sky News the clock was ticking for German prosecutors to find evidence linking Madeleine’s disappearance with their suspect, Christian Brueckner.
"I've said many, many times the crime scene was bungled [at the time], and so there was no control,” he said. "And so that chaos at the beginning, that came at a cost to the investigation."
Mr Gamble said police would need “one piece of forensic evidence" linking Brueckner to the crime.
Brueckner has denied any involvement, and is set to be released from prison in Germany within months.
"And that's why they're pushing," he said. "But based on the intelligence and the information they have, I hope... they know what they're looking for."
In pictures: the ruins being investigated by police
Tuesday 3 June 2025 12:03
,
Rachel Clun
Dozens of officers from Germany and Portugal are expected to search for traces of Madeleine McCann until Friday.
Watch live: Madeleine McCann investigators scour abandoned farmhouse near suspect's home in Portugal
Tuesday 3 June 2025 11:43
,
Rachel Clun
Police cordon off dirt roads in vast search area near the sea
Tuesday 3 June 2025 11:25
,
Rachel Clun
Investigators from Germany and Portugal are searching a vast area covered in scrub and long grass near the sea in the Algarve region of south-east Portugal.
Some officers can be seen searching the scrub, while others have focused on an abandoned farmhouse in the vicinity.
Dirt roads have been cordoned off to prevent anyone other than official investigators accessing the site.
Police search abandoned farmhouse
Tuesday 3 June 2025 11:11
,
Rachel Clun
German police have been searching an abandoned farmhouse in their renewed search for Madeleine McCann.
Photos show officers searching around an abandoned building, and the Mirror reports that officers could be seen digging inside the derelict building.
Suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance complains of prison attack in interview
Tuesday 3 June 2025 10:55
,
Rachel Clun
The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has complained about being attacked by fellow prisoners and spoken about the meal he is looking forward to on his release from prison.
Christian Brueckner spoke in an interview with Germany’s RTL, but declined to talk about the McCann case. He was named a prime suspect by German police in 2020, but has previously denied any involvement.
Brueckner is serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is due to be released from prison in September.
In the interview, Brueckner said a fellow inmate attacked him and broke a rib.
He told RTL he would go into hiding after his release, because of the publicity around him. He is also looking forward to having a beer and a steak once freed.
Search focused on scrubland and abandoned house
Tuesday 3 June 2025 10:39
,
Rachel Clun
Photographs from the site of a renewed search for the body of Madeleine McCann show the area is covered by dense scrub.
The BBC reports the search is centred around what appears to be an abandoned cottage.
Where are police searching?
Tuesday 3 June 2025 10:20
,
Rachel Clun, PA
German police are focusing the search today around the Atalaia area, where Christian Brueckner was staying when Madeleine disappeared in 2007
