Search in Madeleine McCann Case Turns to Derelict Buildings

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.

• Sources tell the Telegraph that 30 German police officers have arrived in Portugal to search 21 private plots of land for signs of Madeleine's body. "Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched," one source says. This is the first search of the area in two years and it's not clear whether police are acting on new information.
• "We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann," the Metropolitan Police in London said in a statement. "The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, (and) we will support our international colleagues where necessary," it added.
• Investigators in the UK, Portugal, and Germany are still piecing together what happened on the night Madeleine disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister—2-year-old twins—while their parents, Kate and Gerry, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.

(More Madeleine McCann stories.)