Searches of a reservoir for Madeleine McCann were sparked after police found pictures of the area on Christian Brueckner’s computer, it was claimed last night.
Portuguese media reported that detectives discovered snaps taken at the isolated Barragem do Arade on the suspect’s seized laptop. Another report said the material was found in 2016 on a USB stick buried in the German paedophile’s “secret lair” in a derelict factory.
Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann’s lawyer Rogerio Alves said cops are “looking for traces of the presence of her body”.
Read more: Best friend of woman missing for five years 'will not give up until justice is done'
British officers were on the ground as the search got underway at the remote Arade Dam near Silves in Portugal at 8.40am yesterday. It is 30 miles from the rented holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz from which then three-year-old Madeleine disappeared in 2007.
The McCanns will be “kept informed every step of the way of any development“ by Scotland Yard officers monitoring the German police-directed probe, their former spokesman Clarence Mitchell said. He added: “Until a body is found and it is proved to be Madeleine’s, Kate and Gerry are not giving up hope. It is another desperately difficult time for them.”
The Home Office yesterday pledged another £110,000 (€126,772) to keep Scotland Yard’s search for the youngster going for another year.
A German source told The Star : “This search really is credible. It’s based on information they discovered. It’s very specific. The German authorities wouldn’t send all their top teams unless they were confident it would help their investigation. It had been planned since early May but took time to organise due to all the co-operation needed.”
Officers armed with pick-axes and shovels started a fingertip search of a small peninsula at the reservoir yesterday. German and Portuguese search teams placed several items into paper evidence bags as they scoured the shoreline for clues.
It is believed Brueckner stayed at the reservoir in his campervan around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance. He reportedly told pals that the site, near the inland Algarve town of Silves, was his “little paradise”.
Police sealed off the only road leading to the “Parking Arade”, a wooded area overlooking Barragem do Arade, before dawn. Locals said it is popular with foreign travellers and “drifters” looking to experience the “off-grid” lifestyle. One local who knows the area well said: “It’s pretty well-hidden by the trees. You don’t realise it’s there until you’re almost upon it.
"People wild-camp there overnight from time to time, which is why you’ll find the remains of fires inside small walls of stone. It’s got old sun-loungers in it and makeshift benches that visitors use to rest on. It’s very out-of-the-way and very peaceful, but at the same time it’s got a slightly eerie feel about it.”
Brueckner (45) was named prime suspect in Maddie’s disappearance in June 2020, but denies any involvement.
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