UPDATE
Jun 4, 2025 12:30 PM CDT
A new search is underway in the case of Madeleine McCann, and the Guardian reports authorities on Wednesday were focusing on "derelict structures" in a rural area a few miles from the Praia da Luz resort where the 3-year-old vanished in 2007. The Guardian describes the scene: vegetation, rubble, and debris have been cleared from the interior and exterior of dilapidated structures, and ground-penetrating radar is being used. Authorities are reportedly looking for evidence that can be tied to Christian Brueckner, the lead suspect in the case. The Independent notes the area being searched sits between the resort and a house Brueckner occupied when the toddler went missing. The search is slated to wrap up Friday.
Jun 2, 2025 12:42 PM CDT
German police investigating the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann are to carry out fresh searches near the Portuguese holiday resort she was last seen 18 years ago, UK police said on Monday. The 3-year-old disappeared from her bed while on vacation with her family in the Praia da Luz resort, in southern Portugal, on May 3, 2007. She has not been seen since.
- The main suspect in the case is Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005, the AP reports. He is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn't been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child's disappearance. Brueckner, a convicted pedophile, has denied any involvement in her disappearance.