By Ed Carruthers For Mailonline

Published: 10:48 EDT, 16 September 2023 | Updated: 15:28 EDT, 16 September 2023

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Madeleine McCann‘s parents face months of agony as they wait for the results of forensic testing after a ‘relevant clue’ was reportedly found during a three-day search operation in Portugal.

Investigators cleared a large area of woodland at the Algarve reservoir and dug eight deep holes to collect samples, which have been sent for forensic and DNA testing in Germany.

Scientists are expected to have initial results next week, sources say, but it is feared it could take months for a full analysis to be completed.

The Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha said a ‘relevant clue’ was found during the search on Thursday, leading police to focus on a specific area of the secluded beauty spot.

Several items were removed from the site, which may or may not be of relevance to the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance, the publication said. They include a bra strap, pieces of clothing and plastic items. 

The development came after MailOnline told yesterday how investigators had been looking for a gun and camcorder stolen from prime suspect Christian Brueckner’s house.

A criminal informer tipped off German prosecutors that items taken in the 2007 raid at Brueckner’s isolated home were then thrown into the reservoir.

An area of around 160 square feet had been flattened and cleared of grass and shrubs with several holes dug into the ground to a depth of around two feet.

There were also other holes dug into the foreshore close to the waterline and path close to the edge of the reservoir had been cleared by the rotovator.

It is thought the soil removed was taken away by German officials for closer analysis at a lab in Wiesbaden where the country’s investigative force, the BKA, are based.

Axel Peterman, a criminal profiler and former German detective, told The Mirror that the ‘evidence will be examined and evaluated by experts’ within days at an ‘accredited DNA laboratory’.

He argued that the examination of the land may identify the form of a ‘ditch or dug-out hole’ that could lead to ‘clothing or hidden objects’ tying the suspect to the area.

However, former Met Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kirkham claimed the search was carried out ‘more in hope than expectation’ due to the amount of time that has passed since Madeline went missing in May 2007.

Portuguese police have confirmed that the three-day search resulted in ‘the collection of some material that will be subject to expertise analysis’ but, according to The Telegraph, it could be weeks or months to analyse all the samples. 

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has said a statement would be released soon if investigators find nothing of significance. But if the samples prove relevant, the statement would be delayed.

Investigators have been combing the shores of the reservoir rather than searching under the water, as it is considerably lower than usual due to lack of rain.

Just after 5pm on Thursday police lifted the cordon and allowed media through to the site that had been searched the last three days.

Police were desperate to find the video camera as they believe it may contain images of Madeleine, but also of other sex attacks Brueckner is said to have carried out on at least two unidentified women.

The informer has backed up information from key witnesses Manfred Seyferth and another man called Helge Busching, who have already told German investigators they broke into the house while Brueckner was in jail.

Seyferth said the pair had found a gun and a video camera at the isolated house in Foral where Brueckner lived, a few miles from the reservoir at Silves on Portugal’s Algarve, the focus of the latest police search.

Germans Seyferth and Busching, who tipped off the police, were living in the Algarve at the same time as Brueckner, and the two were involved in petty theft with him before having a falling out.

Footage on the video camera was said to show Brueckner torturing and raping an American woman, with footage of a girl around 15 years old also subjected to the same horrific ordeal.

In 2019, Brueckner was convicted by a German court of the rape of an elderly American woman in her home at Praia da Luz close to where Madeleine vanished, and was given a seven-year sentence.

It is not known if this is the same woman on the missing video tape but investigators are keen to track it down to build up a more damning case against Brueckner.

A source close to the investigation told MailOnline: ‘Both men have told the BKA (German investigation police) they broke into Brueckner’s home.

‘They had all been part of a network of petty criminals in the Algarve back in the early 2000s around the time Madeleine went missing but then fell out.

‘Seyferth has told police that he and Busching found a video camera and a gun at the house after they broke in.

‘When the video camera was played they said it showed a masked man carrying out a sex attack on a woman and the voice they heard was Brueckner’s.

‘Seyferth said a gun was also found and that after finding the video camera they panicked, drove off and later threw both items in the lake.

‘Seyferth has told investigators the material on the video tape was evil and if this can be found will be vital to building a case against Brueckner.

‘Now another witness has come forward to confirm the story of the first two men and this has prompted intensification of the investigation.’

Last year police in Germany charged Brueckner with a variety of historical sex crimes including rapes against two unidentified women and Irish tour guide Hazel Behan between 2000 and 2006.

Meanwhile, Portuguese and German police left the scene this afternoon. In a sign that the search was over, blue tents that had been set up earlier this week were dismantled and packed away.

Officers could be seen shuttling back and forth, packing tables and chairs and carrying them to vans.

A truck used to empty portable toilets also arrived at a forward operating area that had been set up near the investigation site.

The last vehicles to leave were the German-registered black Mercedes vans belonging to the BKA investigative police.

Sources close to the investigation said that material found at the scene, mainly soil samples, would be taken back to Germany for analysis.

Forensic biologist Dr. Mark Benecke told German media: ‘Soil samples contain stones, pollen and a few other small components that can be transmitted during an act.’

‘This means that if I find old shoes, for example, that now contain exactly the same components as in the earth, I know the person was there.’

He added that traces of textile fibres, pebbles or pollen could still be used even centuries later.

He told RTL: ‘The only question is whether no one walked around there and left other traces that disturb the whole thing.

‘If other people celebrated at that point, maybe urinated, vomited, somehow left their own skin, then of course it will be more difficult.’

Meanwhile, Mr Wolters told MailOnline: ‘We will see how successful we were after the search is complete.

‘If necessary, we will then issue a short press release in the coming week. But that also depends on the result of the action.

‘If we don’t find anything, we will certainly tell you quickly. If there were any finds, this would probably not be possible.’

Just before 1.30pm local time on Thursday there was a noticeable increase in activity as machinery and equipment brought to the search site was driven away.

A large rotavator used for cutting away thick bushes and shrubs was seen being driven away on a trailer along with strimmers, wheelbarrows, pick axes and spades.

A driver in one truck shouted ‘Finito’ as he made his way back up the dirt track from the reservoir leading to the main road.

In a statement issued after the end of the search the Portuguese Judicial Police said: ‘Following the statement of May 22, 2023, the Judiciary Police informs that the steps requested by the German authorities, through a request for international cooperation, have been fulfilled, which resulted in the collection of some material that will be subject to the competent expertise.

‘The operation was coordinated by the Judiciary Police, which involved investigators, criminal experts and security personnel.

‘The works had the participation of the German authorities (BKA) and were attended by British authorities (MPS).

‘It also had the collaboration of the Faro Command of the National Republican Guard in various aspects, as well as the Regional Command of Emergency and Civil Protection of the Algarve and the Municipality of Silves, with regard to the logistics necessary for the development of the works.

‘Safeguarding the interests of the investigation are still under way in Portugal, the collected material will be delivered to the German authorities.’

It comes as shameless former police detective Goncalo Amaral slammed the current search for Madeleine as an attempt to ‘pin the case’ on the prime suspect.

Amaral was kicked off the original investigation in 2008, after suggesting Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry were responsible for the then three-year-old’s disappearance, and later wrote two books on the mystery.

Speaking for the first time since police began searching the area around the Arade Dam, just 35 miles from the resort of Praia da Luz, he claimed the fresh hunt was just an attempt to make prime suspect Christian Brueckner a ‘scapegoat’.

He told respected Portuguese news weekly Sabado: ‘The question should be how are the German police involved? How did the (Portuguese) Judicial Police agree to this and why?

‘In simple analysis I see that there is no new investigation, what is happening is an act of building the profile of a scapegoat and a virtual blaming.’

He then suggested the search was an attempt to show the public ‘Brueckner must be guilty’ as a lot of ‘ time, money and human hours have been invested’.

When asked what would be found he said: ‘If there was anything there, it would be possible to find bones, perhaps hair and even part of the missing girl’s pyjamas.

‘On the other hand, finding the child’s remains would only be possible if she had not been cremated, as seems to have happened.’

In the interview, which came as a joint police team from Portugal, Germany and the Metropolitan Police continued their hunt for a third day, Amaral again pushed his theory Brueckner was a ‘convenient scapegoat’.

He said: ‘When British police began to consider Christian Brueckner as a suspect, he was living in Portugal and walking freely around.

‘The investigation should have focused on the individual through special techniques, namely telephone and computer interceptions, personal and electronic surveillance, undercover agents etc, in order to advance the investigation of the suspect’s possible responsibility and subsequent death of the child.

‘But astonishingly, the German police put him in a German jail, isolating him from the outside world, making any kind of investigation centred on the suspect impossible.

‘Little by little, the Germans built up the suspect’s profile as a rapist, paedophile and murderer, gathering similar Portuguese cases, accusing him of them, and then the great moment came and they named him to the world.

‘In conclusion they did not allow a professional and serious investigation and made this individual a scapegoat as a suspect without any evidence or proof.’

Amaral ended his interview by claiming the case was being pushed by senior figures and said: ‘If the political pressures end, this case will end and there will be answers.’

Last year the McCanns lost a lengthy 13-year court battle against Amaral for the claims he made in his two books which shamelessly suggested they had been involved in her disappearance.

Amaral’s 2008 book Maddie: The Truth About The Lie, implicated the McCanns in their daughter’s abduction and accused them of hiding her body.

Their fight took him to the European Court of Human Rights and it rumbled on for years before coming to an end last September.

Their lawyers argued that the Portuguese authorities had breached their right to respect for a private and family life in the way the court in Lisbon dealt with their libel claim against Amaral.

Initially they had won their case in 2015 and Amaral was ordered to pay 500,000 euros in damages but he appealed and the case was overturned and eventually thrown out by the Portuguese supreme court in 2017.

It was then that Kate and Gerry decided to take the case to the ECHR in Strasbourg but judges there ruled against them and they later issued a statement saying they were ‘naturally disappointed’ with the ruling.

In another interview with Portuguese outlet Renascenca, Amaral even outrageously claimed detectives had contacted the factory where Madeleine’s pyjamas had been made, hinting this could be used to plant evidence against Brueckner.

He said how investigators had ‘these pyjamas from the factory that produced them and they were now in the hands of English authorities’.

Amaral controversially went on: ‘I don’t know under what conditions the pyjamas are kept and what could happen to them

‘The parents and friends cannot be held responsible so a scapegoat is needed and here it is. The Germans just want to prove that this individual has something to do with the case.’

He also blasted the German investigation that saw Brueckner convicted of the 2005 rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz and for which he was jailed for seven years in 2019.

Amaral said: ‘The gynecological examination carried out at the Portimão Hospital, on the night the alleged crime took place, shows that there was no rape.

‘The individual is convicted for something that did not exist. The sheets etc were also collected from the woman’s house and nothing was found that had traces of this German.’

Brueckner was convicted after DNA was found on the sheets but he insists this was because he had stroked the victim’s cat and they had been transferred onto the bedclothes. 

Madeleine was aged three in May 2007 when she vanished from her bedroom in the apartment her family were staying at in the Praia da Luz resort on the Algarve coast. The reservoir is about 31 miles inland from the resort. 

The probe this week was first major search for the toddler in nine years and comes after German police discovered photos of Brueckner at his self-described ‘little paradise’ in the Portuguese region, it is understood.

German prosecutors last year named convicted child abuser and drug dealer Brueckner as the prime suspect in McCann’s disappearance. 

He is currently behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve region from where McCann went missing.

The case, unsolved for the past 16 years, remains a mystery as no body has ever been found. It sparked a media frenzy in Britain, with developments also followed by outlets around the world and celebrities joining appeals to help find Madeleine.

The reservoir was searched by divers hired by a Portuguese lawyer in February and March 2008. Back then, the diving team leader described the ‘long process’ his team faced navigating the ‘black’ waters.

Marcos Aragao Correia organised the privately funded operation after claiming he had been tipped off that Madeleine had been murdered and her body thrown into the reservoir within 48 hours of her disappearance.

Two bags containing small bones were found during the second search after divers had earlier recovered several lengths of cord, some plastic tape and a single white cotton sock.

Portuguese police were alerted following the discovery but subsequently ruled out the possibility the bones were human because of their size.

Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann had previously dismissed Mr Correia as a self-publicist and said there was no evidence suggesting any link between their daughter and the reservoir.

The dam, near the town of Silves where a lorry driver says he saw a woman handing a child like Madeleine over to a man two days after she went missing from her Praia da Luz holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, is not thought to have been searched since March 2008 as part of the ongoing investigation into her disappearance.

The search is the first major operation of its kind since June 2014 when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

The Scotland Yard digs nearly nine years ago in Praia da Luz were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.

The searches failed to find any trace of the missing youngster.

In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her.

The abandoned wells are a 15-minute drive from a cottage Brueckner rented on the outskirts of Praia de Luz, on a narrow road leading down to a beach where the paedophile used to park his VW camper van.

German prosecutor Wolters has consistently said he is convinced Madeleine is dead and caged paedophile Brueckner has been named as the sole suspect.

The deviant, currently serving time for the September 2005 rape of an American elderly woman in the resort where Madeleine vanished, has yet to face any formal accusation over the youngster’s disappearance.

Last April he was made an official suspect or arguido in Portugal over Madeleine’s disappearance, although his defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher labelled it a ‘procedural trick’ linked to statute of limitations legislation at the time.

Last autumn Bruecker was charged in Germany with several sex crimes on the Algarve against women and children including the rape of an Irish holiday rep in 2004 and the sexual abuse of a ten-year-old girl on a beach near Praia da Luz in 2007.

Brueckner’s lawyer revealed in April those charges had been dropped against him in a bombshell development after successfully arguing prosecutors had no jurisdiction over him in Braunschweig where the Madeleine case was being brought.

The case could end up with prosecutors in Saxony-Anhalt instead but an appeal lodged by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has yet to be decided.

Braunschweig prosecutor Mr Wolters has insisted they are still in control of the Madeleine McCann investigation and Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, remains in custody.

The Arade Dam, the Barragem do Arade in Portuguese, is fed by the watercourse of the Arade River whose source lies to the south-west of the Serra do Caldeirao mountain range and runs through the municipalities of Silves, Lagoa and Portimao before reaching the ocean.

Construction was completed in 1955 and it began operating the following year.

Madeleine McCann news RECAP: Latest updates as Portuguese and German police finish scouring reservoir close to Praia da Luz holiday resort after three-day search

By David Averre

Published: 03:46 EDT, 25 May 2023 | Updated: 14:36 EDT, 25 May 2023

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Madeleine McCann news LIVE: Latest updates as Portuguese and German police continue to scour reservoir close to Praia da Luz holiday resort

By David Averre

Published: 03:46 EDT, 25 May 2023 | Updated: 13:35 EDT, 25 May 2023

By Chris Jewers

Published: 03:11 EDT, 24 May 2023 | Updated: 21:15 EDT, 24 May 2023

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By Chris Jewers

Published: 03:11 EDT, 24 May 2023 | Updated: 13:06 EDT, 24 May 2023

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Investigators hunting for signs of Madeleine McCann cut down tree branches and brought in sniffer dogs today as they searched a secluded woodland spot next to a remote Algarve reservoir said to be linked to chief suspect Christian Brueckner.

The search for evidence connecting the toddler’s 2007 disappearance the German convict entered its second day today, as it was claimed the operation is taking place following a tip from a ‘very credible’ German police informer.

Photos and footage of the search operation today showed a group of Portugal’s National Republican Guard (GNR) being led by sniffer dogs to a small copse of trees close to the water’s edge. Officers were seen clearing branches shortly after.

This comes amid reports that officials are seeking any fragments of clothing and old rags that could be related to her disappearance – particularly the pink pyjamas she was wearing the night she vanished.

Meanwhile, respected Portuguese media outlet Expresso said the informant gave detectives ‘details’ they took ‘very seriously.’ The flagship weekly publication named Rainer Grimm as the man leading the probe for Germany’s central criminal investigation agency the BKA, saying he was among the officers at the site.

‘Expresso knows that these searches have their origin in a tip from a BKA informant who that police force considers very credible,’ it reported on its website. ‘This informant told investigators details that the German police took very seriously.’

It added: ‘The searches were requested by the German police after receiving this information.’ The media outlet said it had obtained its information from a ‘source close to the investigation.’  

Emergency services with brush cutters to clear the search area arrived at the temporary camp set up on the shores of the Arade reservoir early on Wednesday.

Portuguese police, assisted by German and British counterparts, had focused their search on Tuesday on the reservoir’s shoreline.

This morning police appeared to be focusing on a valley slightly north of a secluded clearing behind trees near to where three tents were put up on Monday.

The dense vegetation meant they had to use tools including chainsaws to remove trees to access it properly.

Meanwhile, a fire service vehicle and rigid-hull inflatable boat were again on the banks of the reservoir, and appeared ready to launch on to the water.

Madeleine was aged three in May 2007 when she vanished from her bedroom in the apartment her family were staying at in the Praia da Luz resort on the Algarve coast. The reservoir is about 31 miles inland from the resort.

The first major search for the toddler in nine years comes after German police discovered photos of Brueckner at his self-described ‘little paradise’ in the Portuguese region, it is understood.

German prosecutors last year named convicted child abuser and drug dealer Brueckner as the prime suspect in McCann’s disappearance. 

He is currently behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve region from where McCann went missing.

The case, unsolved for the past 16 years, remains a mystery as no body has ever been found. It sparked a media frenzy in Britain, with developments also followed by outlets around the world and celebrities joining appeals to help find Madeleine.

On Wednesday, the German prosecutor leading the country’s investigation into Brueckner’s suspected link to Madeleine’s disappearance said they do not have a confession from the convict.

Braunschweig prosecutor Christian Wolters said that while investigators have ‘indications’ that evidence could be found at the reservoir, this has not come from Brueckner himself.

‘We have indications that we could find evidence there. I don’t want to say what that is exactly, and I also don’t want to say where these indications come from,’ Wolters told German public broadcaster NDR today.

‘The only thing that I would clarify is that it doesn’t come from the suspect – so we don’t have a confession or anything similar now, or an indication from the suspect of where it would make sense to search, ‘ Wolters said, adding that ‘it was other indications that prompted us to conduct this search.’

However, Wolters appeared to calm expectations of what might be found, saying, ‘We never said that the girl disappeared where we are now searching.’ 

Tuesday saw about 20 officers with rakes and hoe-like tools spread out in a line, poking and raking the soil close to the Arade dam. Police also used a drone to scan the area from above and searched with sniffer dogs on both sides of the water.

Footage from the site showed officers taking bags away from the reservoir yesterday afternoon but it was not clear what was inside them. One video showed an officer being handed a bag by a colleague as they drove by in a black Ford SUV.

Last night a Portuguese source close to the investigation told The Sun: ‘The search is being taken very seriously and is being controlled totally by the Germans. 

‘They asked Portuguese officers assisting them to look for any evidence – but especially rags.’

The Times reported that Madeleine’s pyjamas, which were pink and decorated with images of Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh, were a focus of the hunt. 

A similar pair of pyjamas was held up by Kate and Gerry McCann during a press conference in June 2007, the month after their daughter vanished, in the hope of prompting witnesses who may have seen her that night to come forward. 

Also last night the McCann’s former spokesman Clarence Mitchell told the Mirror the couple were being kept updated.

‘Until a body is found and proved to be Madeleine’s, Kate and Gerry are not giving up hope. They will be kept informed every step of the way of any development. It leaves Kate and Gerry on tenterhooks. It is another incredibly difficult time for them.’

According to Portuguese outlet Correio da Manha, excavations were carried out at two different spots around the water’s edge on Tuesday. 

The reservoir is currently less than half full owing to a drought affecting Portugal and neighboring Spain. Much of the area being searched would be below water level in years of normal rainfall. 

In the afternoon police appeared to be concentrating their efforts on a peninsula of land jutting into the reservoir.

Officers using sticks were beating back undergrowth as they inched their way through the woods before fanning down onto the beach to carry on the search. 

However, just before 5.30pm, a violent thunderstorm and driving rain struck the search area and the operation was abandoned after it became clear the weather would not improve. The search was meant to continue until 9pm.

A no fly zone has been set up around the area extending for six miles. 

This is due to expire at 10pm on Wednesday night fuelling suggestions the search will only be short.

The Portuguese police are expected to give an update on the operation once it has been completed later this week.

Two sides of the area have gently sloping banks towards the water, while the third is a sheer cliff, where three white police tents could be seen set back from the edge.

The reservoir is popular with tourists, particularly campervan users, and has BBQ stands and sun loungers scattered around.

Brueckner is known to have driven there frequently in his VW campervan, and is understood to have described it as his ‘little paradise’.

Sources close to the investigation have said they had evidence the clearing in the trees – where the white tents have been set up – was the spot Brueckner used to spend time at after parking up his campervan nearby.

A local who asked not to be named, but knows the area well, said: ‘It’s pretty well-hidden by the trees and you don’t realise it’s there until you’re almost upon it.

‘People wild camp there overnight from time to time which is why you’ll find the remains of fires inside small walls of stone.

‘It’s got old sun loungers in it and makeshift benches that visitors use to rest on. It’s very out-of-the-way and very peaceful but at the same time it’s got a slightly eerie feel about it,’ they said.

Local Portuguese reports, partly confirmed by police sources, claimed the searches were requested and authorised after German police obtained videos and photos of Brueckner by the planned dig site.

They are thought to have been found buried in the paedophile’s ‘secret lair’ in a dilapidated factory site in the German village of Neuwegersleben 65 miles south-east of Hanover. 

Police raided the site in February 2016 in search of the body of missing five-year-old Inga Gehricke, who vanished while on a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt in May 2015 and has been dubbed the ‘German Maddie.’

Reports at the time said German detectives had discovered more than 8,000 images and videos on USB sticks and hard drives filled with child abuse images.

They were said to have been buried under the body of Brueckner’s dead dog.

Officials have been tight-lipped about the search.

In a statement on Tuesday, German prosecutor Wolters said: ‘Criminal proceedings are currently taking place in Portugal as part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case. Wolters said German officers are investigating in Portugal ‘on the basis of certain tips.’

He said he was unable at this stage to give more detail on what prompted the search, and what officials were hoping to find, but said that such details would be released ‘if we… think the results are publishable’.

‘Yes, the measures in Portugal are connected with the Madeleine McCann proceedings, which means that we are investigating there in Portugal on the basis of certain tips (tip-offs),’ Wolters said on Tuesday.

‘There is a major search operation taking place that is being implemented by the Portuguese authorities. But there are also German officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office on site who are supporting the whole thing.’

He added: ‘I can’t disclose the background at the moment, i.e. why we are searching there and what we hope to find there. That shall remain our secret for the moment.’

‘If we find something and we think the results are publishable, then we will certainly inform you about it. But give us a little bit of time. The action itself will also take a bit of time. It will not be completed within two hours or so. And whether we then find something and what we find, of course, we have to see that first.’

The Metropolitan Police has said officers are present in Portugal so they can inform Madeleine’s family if there are any developments.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said: ‘The Met continues to work with and support colleagues in Portugal and Germany, with their investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

‘Met officers will be in Portugal and I am grateful to the Policia Judiciaria and Bundeskriminalamt for allowing us to be present whilst their work is ongoing, so that we can inform Madeleine’s family of any developments.’

The reservoir was searched by divers hired by a Portuguese lawyer in February and March 2008. Back then, the diving team leader described the ‘long process’ his team faced navigating the ‘black’ waters.

Marcos Aragao Correia organised the privately-funded operation after claiming he had been tipped off by underworld contacts that Madeleine had been murdered and her body thrown into the reservoir within 48 hours of her disappearance.

Two bags containing small bones were found during the second search after divers had earlier recovered several lengths of cord, some plastic tape and a single white cotton sock.

Portuguese police were alerted following the discovery but subsequently ruled out the possibility the bones were human because of their size.

Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann had previously dismissed Mr Correia as a self-publicist and said there was no evidence suggesting any link between their daughter and the reservoir.

The dam, near the town of Silves where a lorry driver says he saw a woman handing a child like Madeleine over to a man two days after she went missing from her Praia da Luz holiday apartment on May 3 2007, is not thought to have been searched since March 2008 as part of the ongoing investigation into her disappearance.

The search is the first major operation of its kind since June 2014 when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

The Scotland Yard digs nearly nine years ago in Praia da Luz were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.

The searches failed to find any trace of the missing youngster.

In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her.

The abandoned wells are a 15 minute drive from a cottage Brueckner rented on the outskirts of Praia de Luz, on a narrow road leading down to a beach where the paedophile used to park his VW camper van.

German prosecutor Wolters has consistently said he is convinced Madeleine is dead and caged paedophile Brueckner has been named as the sole suspect.

The deviant, currently serving time for the September 2005 rape of an American OPA in the resort where Madeleine vanished, has yet to face any formal accusation over the youngster’s disappearance.

Last April he was made an official suspect or arguido in Portugal over Madeleine’s disappearance, although his defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher labelled it a ‘procedural trick’ linked to statute of limitations legislation at the time.

Last autumn Bruecker was charged in Germany with several sex crimes on the Algarve against women and children including the rape of an Irish holiday rep in 2004 and the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl on a beach near Praia da Luz in 2007.

Brueckner’s lawyer revealed in April those charges had been dropped against him in a bombshell development after successfully arguing prosecutors had no jurisdiction over him in Braunschweig where the Madeleine case was being brought.

The case could end up with prosecutors in Saxony-Anhalt instead but an appeal lodged by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has yet to be decided.

Braunschweig prosecutor Mr Wolters has insisted they are still in control of the Madeleine McCann investigation and Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, remains in custody.

The Arade Dam, the Barragem do Arade in Portuguese, is fed by the watercourse of the Arade River whose source lies to the southwest of the Serrra do Caldeirao mountain range and runs through the municipalities of Silves, Lagoa and Portimao before reaching the ocean.

Construction was completed in 1955 and it began operating the following year.

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann locked down a remote Algarve reservoir with a no-fly zone overhead today as they began to search for signs of the missing British girl.

Police divers were seen entering the water early on Tuesday morning, and a fire department motor boat has also been sent into the water with two officers on it – marking the start of the two-day search of the area.

The first major search for Madeleine in nine years comes after German police discovered photos of prime suspect Christian Brueckner at his self-described ‘little paradise’ in the Portuguese region, it is understood.

Roads leading into the Arade Dam, a 40-minute drive from Praia da Luz where the youngster vanished 16 years ago, were sealed off yesterday as part of a ‘preparation’ day ahead of the search operation, which will see detectives comb scrubland near the water. Much of the work will be done by hand, officials said.

And overnight a no-fly zone covering the whole of the man-made dam was put in place, leaving the airspace above the water and land near the water’s edge – where today’s search will focus on – open to police drones only.

The ring of steel meant journalists and curious onlookers were kept more than a mile back from two white tents put up yesterday by a secluded hilltop area on a peninsula jutting into the reservoir Portuguese police are planning to comb until nightfall following a scheduled 9am local time start.

Senior Policia Judiciaria officer Helena Monteiro led the first Portuguese police to reach the Arade Dam near the town of Silves around 45 minutes before digs began.

A convoy of five vehicles, including two off-road vehicles and a large logistics van, followed close behind.

German police arrived ten minutes later just after 8am local time, in two people carriers and a Ford Ranger.

They were spotted getting out of the vehicles with balaclavas covering their faces.

Ground penetrating radar, of the sort often used to detect buried explosive devices, was brought in by the Portuguese GNR police force which is working alongside the Policia Judiciaria.

Although police sources said overnight they did not think sniffer dogs would not be used on day one of the search, a dog was spotted on site early on this morning.

Meanwhile, a boat provided by firefighters in Silves – which local media are saying will be used to search parts of the reservoir with a police-provided sonar equipment, – was filmed by the water’s edge and appearing to await instructions before being taken out some 300 metres offshore just after 9.30am local time.

The search started around 8.40am local time, some 20 minutes earlier than scheduled, after three Portuguese police pick-ups went into a clearing behind trees by two white tents which today’s search is expected to focus on.

A fourth vehicle belonging to a GNR subsoil unit was also at the scene.

The German police headed directly to a meeting zone after arrival but as the search commenced they were seen grabbing tools including spades and shovels to put in their vans before heading to the dig area.

A group of around 10 police officers were sighted walking close by on the edge of the peninsula jutting out into the dam, looking at hand-held tablets and pointing towards the ground with their fingers as if they were comparing photos on their screen with what they were seeing beneath their feet.

Shortly after 9am the GNR put a single drone up into the air.

Officials have been tight-lipped about the search. This morning in a statement, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: ‘Criminal proceedings are currently taking place in Portugal as part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case.

Wolters said German officers are investigating in Portugal ‘on the basis of certain tips.’

He said he was unable at this stage to give more detail on what prompted the search, and what officials were hoping to find, but said that such details would be released ‘if we… think the results are publishable’.

‘Yes, the measures in Portugal are connected with the Madeleine McCann proceedings, which means that we are investigating there in Portugal on the basis of certain tips (tip-offs),’ Wolters said today.

‘There is a major search operation taking place that is being implemented by the Portuguese authorities. But there are also German officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office on site who are supporting the whole thing.’

He added: ‘I can’t disclose the background at the moment, i.e. why we are searching there and what we hope to find there. That shall remain our secret for the moment.’

‘If we find something and we think the results are publishable, then we will certainly inform you about it. But give us a little bit of time. The action itself will also take a bit of time. It will not be completed within two hours or so. And whether we then find something and what we find, of course, we have to see that first.’

Sources close to the investigation said they had evidence the clearing in the trees – where tens have been set up – was the spot Brueckner used to spend time at after parking up his camper van nearby.

A local who asked not to be named, but knows the area well, said: ‘It’s pretty well-hidden by the trees and you don’t realise it’s there until you’re almost upon it.

‘People wild camp there overnight from time to time which is why you’ll find the remains of fires inside small walls of stone.

‘It’s got old sun loungers in it and makeshift benches that visitors use to rest on. It’s very out-of-the-way and very peaceful but at the same time it’s got a slightly eerie feel about it.’

A well-placed police source said: ‘Portuguese police are going to carry out a thorough and very careful search of the area today.

‘Policia Judiciaria officers are going to be divided into four teams who will focus on a land search. It will be very meticulous and exhaustive.

‘Forget the idea of big trucks and large machinery. A lot of the work that’s going to be done here today will be done by hand with backup technology.’

High-tech equipment used to detect human remains buried under the earth, as well as underwater if required, is expected to be used.

No heavy machinery was taken to the area yesterday and council officials were spotted carrying a ‘lorryload’ of wheelbarrows to the zone by the hidden leisure area clearing, suggesting police will rake and dig it by hand using the likes of pickaxes rather than excavate earth with diggers in an attempt to preserve any evidence.

Local Portuguese reports, partly confirmed by police sources, claimed the searches were requested and authorised after German police obtained videos and photos of Brueckner by the planned dig site.

They are thought to have been found buried in the paedophile’s ‘secret lair’ in a dilapidated factory site in the German village of Neuwegersleben 65 miles south-east of Hanover.

Police raided the site in February 2016 in search of the body of missing five-year-old Inga Gehricke, who vanished while on a family outing in Saxony-Anhalt in May 2015 and has been dubbed the ‘German Maddie.’

Reports at the time said German detectives had discovered more than 8,000 images and videos on USB sticks and hard drives filled with child abuse images.

They were said to have been buried under the body of Brueckner’s dead dog.

Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria force, whose officers are doing most of the dig work today, has confirmed the searches were requested by their German counterparts the BKA.

The request was made via an international letter of request sent to Portugal’s Attorney General’s office and passed on to prosecutors in Portimao.

Portuguese officials have not yet said when it was received but it is believed to have been about two months ago.

Although this week’s operation has been initiated by German police, Portuguese detectives are showing with the manpower and logistical support they are providing that they are fully on board.

Carlos Farinha, the PJ’s deputy director, travelled from Lisbon yesterday to the reservoir to view the preparation work ahead of the start of the searches and meet German counterparts.

He is believed to have attended a briefing meeting with German police, who arrived at the scene around 6.30pm local time in four vehicles including three VW people carriers and left two hours later.

Today Algarve PJ chief Fernando Jordao who is normally based in Faro and Helena Monteiro, tasked with an ongoing Portuguese police ‘cold case’ review from the northern city of Porto, are due to spend time at the search area in another show of the importance attached to this week’s operation by the Portuguese force’s upper hierarchy.

Operational coordination will be in the hands of a chief inspector who has not yet been named.

Scotland Yard representatives will be in the area for what has been described as a ‘watching brief.’

Respected Portuguese broadcaster SIC has said the searches, due to last for at least two days and longer if anything of relevance is found, will be 80 per cent land-based and 20 per cent water-based.

In a lunchtime broadcast yesterday it said: ‘Investigators know suspect Cristian Brueckner used to come to this dam regularly.

‘He would call it his little paradise and would often spend the night here. He was seen here often.

‘The German authorities considered this reservoir to be an area of interest and ended up sending an International letter of request or letter rogatory.’

No police divers have yet been spotted and there are conflicting reports about whether underwater searches will take place or if they will occur in shallows near the edge of the reservoir where water levels are currently much lower than normal because of the ongoing drought.

In a statement issued yesterday evening, the first so far by authorities in Portugal, Germany or UK after news of the new operation broke, the PJ said: ‘In view of the news made public, the Judiciary Police confirms that, regarding the investigation into the disappearance of an English child, which occurred in the Algarve in 2007, steps are still being taken to fully clarify the situation.

‘Within the scope of international cooperation, in the next few days in the Algarve region, new searches will be carried out, coordinated by the Judiciary Police, at the request of the German Authorities (BKA) and with the presence of the British Authorities.

‘Information will be provided in due course on the outcome of the proceedings.’

The force made its statement shortly before German police arrived at the reservoir for a briefing meeting.

They were travelling in three Volkswagen vans, two black and one dark-blue, and a Ford Ranger with a Portuguese police escort in front.

The meeting took place in one of two blue tents put up yesterday lunchtime just under a mile from the land set to be examined today, one for the police and one for civil protection workers.

It was the first time all day any German officials had been seen at the reservoir, which was searched by divers hired by a Portuguese lawyer in February and March 2008. Back then, the diving team leader describing the ‘long process’ his team faced navigating the ‘black’ waters.

Marcos Aragao Correia organised the privately-funded operation after claiming he had been tipped off by underworld contacts that Madeleine had been murdered and her body thrown into the reservoir within 48 hours of her disappearance.

Two bags containing small bones were found during the second search after divers had earlier recovered several lengths of cord, some plastic tape and a single white cotton sock.

Portuguese police were alerted following the discovery but subsequently ruled out the possibility the bones were human because of their size.

Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann had previously dismissed Mr Correia as a self-publicist and said there was no evidence suggesting any link between their daughter and the reservoir.

The dam, near the town of Silves where a lorry driver says he saw a woman handing a child like Madeleine McCann over to a man two days after she went missing from her Praia da Luz holiday apartment on May 3 2007, is not thought to have been searched since March 2008 as part of the ongoing investigation into her disappearance.

The search is the first major operation of its kind since June 2014 when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

The Scotland Yard digs nearly nine years ago in Praia da Luz were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.

The searches failed to find any trace of the missing youngster.

In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her.

The abandoned wells are a 15 minute drive from a cottage Brueckner rented on the outskirts of Praia de Luz, on a narrow road leading down to a beach where the paedophile used to park his VW camper van.

German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has consistently said he is convinced Madeleine is dead and caged paedophile Brueckner, 45, has been named as the sole suspect.

The deviant, currently serving time for the September 2005 rape of an American OPA in the resort where Madeleine vanished, has yet to face any formal accusation over the youngster’s disappearance.

Last April he was made an official suspect or arguido in Portugal over Madeleine’s disappearance, although his defence lawyer Friedrich Fulscher labelled it a ‘procedural trick’ linked to statute of limitations legislation at the time.

Last autumn Bruecker was charged in Germany with several sex crimes on the Algarve against women and children including the rape of an Irish holiday rep in 2004 and the sexual abuse of a 10-year-old girl on a beach near Praia da Luz in 2007.

Brueckner’s lawyer revealed in April those charges had been dropped against him in a bombshell development after successfully arguing prosecutors had no jurisdiction over him in Braunschweig where the Madeleine case was being brought.

The case could end up with prosecutors in Saxony-Anhalt instead but an appeal lodged by the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has yet to be decided.

Braunschweig prosecutor Mr Wolters has insisted they are still in control of the Madeleine McCann investigation and Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, remains in custody.

Kate and Gerry are expected to be kept informed of any developments as a result of the new search through Scotland Yard liaison officers.

The Arade Dam, the Barragem do Arade in Portuguese, is fed by the watercourse of the Arade River whose source lies to the southwest of the Serrra do Caldeirao mountain range and runs through the municipalities of Silves, Lagoa and Portimao before reaching the ocean.

Construction was concluded in 1955 and it began operating the following year.