New search underway for Madeleine McCann nearly two decades after disappearance
A new search, at the request of German authorities, is currently underway in Portugal for Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who vanished in Portugal in 2007.
Portuguese police are conducting a “broad range” of searches in the southern Algarve town of Lagos, near the resort of Praia da Luz where McCann was last seen.
According to NBC News, investigators were using pickaxes, shovels, and chainsaws to cut through thick vegetation and excavate the area around a run-down, abandoned structure. Meanwhile, firefighters were spotted draining water from a nearby well.
Although London’s Metropolitan Police was involved in past investigations, it confirmed in a statement that they are not participating in this week’s operation.
No additional details were provided regarding the nature or target of the search.
The latest search marks the first in two years for McCann. The previous search effort took place in 2023 when authorities from three countries examined an area near a dam roughly 30 miles from the resort.
McCann was 3 years old when she disappeared from an apartment while sleeping with her younger siblings as her parents dined nearby on the evening of May 3.
Despite widespread media coverage, public appeals, and numerous leads—including reported sightings as far away as Australia—the case has remained unsolved for nearly 18 years.
In recent years, German prosecutors named Christian Brueckner, a convicted sex offender who was in the Algarve region at the time of McCann’s disappearance, as a formal suspect. While he has denied involvement, authorities continue to pursue leads that could connect him to the case.
If no additional charges are filed, Brueckner is expected to be released by the end of this year.
In an interview with German broadcaster RTL, Brueckner stated that he intends to go into hiding once freed and refused to address questions related to the Madeleine case.
"Right at the beginning of the conversation, Christian B made it clear to me that he did not want to comment on the Madeleine McCann case at all. He had agreed to this with his lawyers,” the RTL journalist said.
