Madeleine McCann: Police divers seen in water at remote reservoir– live updates

Searches are expected to begin on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, police in Portugal have confirmed.

A Policia Judiciaria statement said it is co-ordinating searches in the Algarve at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers.

An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, around 50km from Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing in 2007, was being sealed off ahead of searches according to Portuguese news website SIC.

It said the prime suspect in her disappearance, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017.

Investigators believe the 45-year-old killed Madeleine, then aged three, after abducting her from a holiday apartment.

Brueckner, who has denied involvement in the youngster’s disappearance, was identified as a suspect by Portuguese officials in June 2020.

He is facing charges in Germany over a number of separate sex offences allegedly committed in Portugal during that time.

German authorities were expected to release a statement about the search on Tuesday.

Images of Portuguese officers walking along dry tracks near the reservoir and sealing off areas with police tape emerged on Monday.

It is not the first time the reservoir has been searched.

In 2008, Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to check the waterway after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was in the reservoir.

The most recent search in Portugal in relation to her disappearance was in 2014, when British police were given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished.

Earlier this month, Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry issued a short statement on their Find Madeleine Campaign website to mark the anniversary of her disappearance.

They said: “Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction.

“Still missing… still very much missed.

“It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.

“The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough.”

The Madeline McCann case lay dormant for years before suddenly exploding back into life in June 2020 when German media revealed that Christian Brueckner, a 43-year-old prisoner with a track record of child abuse and drug trafficking, had been identified as a new suspect by the public prosecutor of the German city of Braunschweig.

He had reportedly been living in a Volkswagen camper van in the Algarve at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance and one woman has since come forward to suggest she saw a girl that might have been Madeleine speaking German in a supermarket in Portugal in 2017.

German investigators classified their probe into his movements as a murder inquiry, saying they were working on the assumption that Madeleine is dead and reporting in July 2021 that they had found an abandoned cellar beneath his former allotment near Hanover where she could, theoretically, have been held captive.

Hans Christian Wolters, the prosecutor leading the investigation into Brueckner, has said he was “very confident” the inmate is responsible for kidnapping her. “If you knew the evidence we had you would come to the same conclusion as I do but I can’t give you details because we don’t want the accused to know what we have on him – these are tactical considerations,” he told the BBC.

Brueckner was formally made a “arguido” in relation to the case on 21 April 2022.

My colleague Joe Sommerlad has more in this timeline around Madeleine’s disappearance:

Portugal’s judiciary police have issued a new statement officially confirming that a search is set to take place.

It said: “In view of the news being made public, the Judiciary Police confirms that steps are still being taken to fully clarify the situation regarding the investigation into the disappearance of an English child, which occurred in the Algarve in 2007.

“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.”

This time last year, lead investigator Hans-Christian Wolters claimed to have found evidence in Christian Brueckner’s camper van potentially linking him to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

He told Portuguese TV show Sabado last May: “We have found new facts and new evidence. It’s not forensic evidence but evidence.”

When asked about rumours fibres from the youngster’s pyjamas had been found inside the German’s campervan, the prosecutor said: “I’m not going to comment on the details of the investigation.”

But pressed by host Sandra Felgueiras, who asked: “But you can’t deny it”, Mr Wolters responded: “I don’t want to deny it”, later adding: “Because the suspect has not yet been informed.”

Brueckner has never been charged in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance and has always denied any involvement.

In allegations not directly linked to Madeleine McCann’s case, German prosecutors said last year that they had charged Christian Brueckner with several sexual offences they believe he committed in Portugal between 28 December 2000, and 11 June 2017.

He had been due to go on trial for an alleged rape in Portugal, but his lawyer said last month that a court in the city of Braunschweig threw out the case, Bild newspaper reported.

The case was reportedly dropped after a German court said it did not have jurisdiction over it.

It is not the first time that the reservoir – one of several in the Algarve – has been searched.

In 2008 Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to check the waterway after he claimed to have been tipped off by criminal contacts that her body was in the reservoir.

The most recent search in Portugal in relation to Madeleine’s disappearance was in 2014, when British police were given permission to examine scrubland near where she vanished.

Here are more images emerging from the site of the expected search:

Just a fortnight ago, Madeleine McCann’s sister spoke publicly for the first time since her sibling’s disappearance 16 years ago.

At a vigil marking the anniversary, Amelie, now aged 18, said: “It’s nice that everyone is here together but it’s a sad occasion.”

The informal prayer meeting, attended by about 70 people, took place in the family’s home village of Rothley in Leicestershire on Wednesday evening. Parents Kate and Gerry McCann took part, although Sean, Amelie’s twin brother, did not.

They wrote: “Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction. Still missing .. still very much missed. It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.”