Police have concluded their latest three-day search at a remote site in Portugal, where three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared eighteen years ago while holidaying with her family.
Official details are sparse, but footage of authorities celebrating on site has led to suspicions that a breakthrough clue has been found.
Former head of the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command Centre, Jim Gamble, also suggested a possible breakthrough, telling Express.co.uk that “they wouldn’t send 60 officers, forensic experts, earth-penetrating radar, and dig for three days without a clear plan.
Real Crime Profile covers the updates in this episode.
The search was conducted across an area of scrubland in Praia da Luz, targeting abandoned farm buildings frequented by drifters and petty criminals. Previous searches of the area between 2011 and 2014 failed to uncover any evidence.
It comes as the top suspect for Madeleine’s disappearance, German native Christian Brückner, is slated to be released from prison this September.
German authorities revealed in 2020 that a former friend of Brückner’s recalled having a conversation in 2008 where Brückner seemed to suggest he was responsible for Madeleine’s murder.
Brückner was jailed for rape in 2019, a crime he committed while living in the Algarve region of Portugal.
The German intelligence agency Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) funded this latest search in hopes of uncovering physical evidence linking Brückner to Madeleine’s disappearance before his release.
This case has captivated the world since Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007. For a full breakdown of the timeline, evidence, and theories surrounding the case, listen to Real Crime Profile’s multi-part series.
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