Police in Germany investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are to publish their findings from a secretive dig in Portugal, according to reports. Detectives from the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) spent days searching land next to the Arade Dam with sniffer dogs, radar and search teams.
The agency, which is the German equivalent of the FBI, scoured the location which prime suspect Christian Brueckner, 45, once referred to the location as his "little paradise". Arade Dam is situated 31 miles from the area in which Maddie who was three at the time disappeared in 2007.
The Mirror reports that cops left behind two-foot deep bore holes to allow them to take soil back to Germany to be forensically analysed. Results were originally not expected for months but it is believed that the results could be revealed on Thursday, June 1.
Investigators believe that the earth could contain vital evidence as Portuguese sources have revealed an informant who stated that Brueckner visited the site just days after the girls disappearance. This tip-off is believed to have been matched with geolocation clues found in the convicted paedophile's vile stash of 8,000 of videos and images.
Search teams were seen cutting down trees and clearing undergrowth to expose an area near to the water. Images appear to show the remains of a small camp with broken furniture, a torn ship’s buoy and a toilet fashioned from a chair.
Previous reports have suggested that officers were searching for a camcorder and a gun which had been thrown into the water but these claims were dismissed by Portuguese police sources.
Regardless of what is found at the site, top German criminal profiler Axel Petermann, says the cops were right to dig at a place so close to Brueckner's heart. He told The Mirror: “The criminal perpetrators who I got to know over the years tend to hide their victims in places where they feel safe and can assess danger.
“These are places which are secluded and secret and where they can stop and assess various risks. They can also be places where they feel good, and where there is a certain private memory of a certain act.
“So, I think the search activity may have been going in this direction. My recommendation when dealing with suspects in the case of missing people, is always to find the places where these suspects spent time, where they had secrets, where they could assess risks, so from this point of view I think the investigators’ current search was very important.
“You must always delve into the life of the suspect so you can find out about their preferences, their tendencies, their favourites locations where they liked to spend time. And I don’t think you can really find any better possibilities than to look in secret, confidential locations.”
Brueckner has always denied playing any part in Madeleine's disappearance. He is currently behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman at her Algarve home in 2005.
Due to be released in 2026, he has argued that prosecutors are “attempting to create a monster” to “divert and let people think that I am the right one”. But chief public prosecutor Hans-Christian Wolters, who is pursuing the case against Brueckner, has said in the past they have “concrete evidence” that tragic Maddie is dead and believe Brueckner killed her.
Wolters confirmed that they will be making an announcement about the results of the dig soon. Yet he suggested that his investigation team may not have discovered any crucial evidence just yet.
Mr Wolters said: “We will issue a short press release. But please don't expect too much, especially nothing spectacular.”
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