Police have issued an update about the current searches for missing Brit Madeleine McCann.
Fresh operations are continuing today (Tuesday May 23) as part of the investigation into her disappearance. 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, reports the Mirror.
An update from the prosecutor's office in the German state of Braunschweig reads: "As part of the investigation into the case of Madeleine McCann there are currently measures related to the criminal process taking place in Portugal.
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"The measures are being implemented... by the Portuguese law enforcement authorities with the support of officers of the [German] Federal Criminal Police Office." The statement concludes: "Further information on the background will not be released at this time."
An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, around 50km from Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing in 2007, was being sealed off yesterday ahead of searches according to Portuguese news website SIC.
And on Tuesday, divers were seen entering the reservoir, and appeared to be concentrating their search at a particular area of the reservoir. Officers had set up two white tents on the bank of the reservoir. A police motor boat has also been sent into the water with two officers on it, the PA news agency reports.
A ring of steel meant journalists and curious onlookers were kept more than a mile back from two white tents put up.
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.
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