Reservoir search in Madeleine McCann case reveals ‘relevant clue’

Portuguese authorities on Thursday completed their search for the Algarve reservoir about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where the British three-year-old was last seen alive 16 years ago.

45-year-old German sex offender Christian Brückner, imprisoned in his homeland on a different case, allegedly visited the reservoir “a few days” after Madeleine’s disappearance. New York Post reports.

Portugal’s Judicial Police remained silent on the results of the search, which included sniffer dogs, earth-moving equipment, a drone and a lumberjack, saying the effort “has collected some material that will be subjected to competent examination.” The collected material will be handed over to the German authorities.”

Portuguese newspaper Correio de Magna (Morning Post) It is reported that during the search, the cops came across “relevant evidence”, but it is not known what it was.

Several items were reportedly seized in the Barraguem do Arade dam area, including a bra strap, pieces of fabric and plastic objects, but it is not clear if they are related to the Madeleine case, reports the Mirror.

The police were reportedly looking for a gun and video camera believed to have belonged to Brückner, which were stolen and then thrown away by two of his former accomplices in a gang of petty criminals.

According to a prison informant, the video camera showed Brückner torturing and raping an American woman and a teenage girl, according to the Daily Mail.

The last search was carried out at the request of the German authorities and involved Portuguese, German and British detectives.

Crews leveled the 50 square meter area and dug deep holes. Additional holes were dug closer to the reservoir, which was less than half full due to drought.

German prosecutor Christian Wolters said the authorities would evaluate the results and could issue a statement as early as next week.

In 2020, German officials named Brückner, who was in the Algarve in 2007, as a suspect in the toddler’s murder, but he has not been charged and denies any involvement.

Brückner is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

The disappearance of a little girl has attracted worldwide attention, spawning several books and documentaries about true crimes.

Police investigators in three countries are still trying to figure out exactly what happened the night Madeleine disappeared from her bed on May 3, 2007. parents, Jerry and Kate McCann, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

When Kate went to check on the children around 10 pm, she found the window open, but Madeleine was not.

Earlier this month, the McCanns shared a heartbreaking tribute to their missing daughter on the day she would have turned 20.

This story first appeared inNew York Post and reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Reservoir search in Madeleine McCann case reveals ‘relevant clue’