Madeleine McCann: The police start digging the woods as the search will continue for the third day

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As police conclude their second day of investigations into Barragem do Arade, ITV News’ Emma Murphy has got the latest news from the scene

Police have been spotted digging up a new area of ​​woodland as the search continues for Madeleine McCann on the banks of a remote reservoir in Portugal.

Excavators and heavy machinery were brought in, as the research team focused on two specific areas around Barragem do Arade in the south of the country.

Officers spent hours cutting bushes on the peninsula adjacent to the water on Wednesday, before using shovels to dig up part of the area.

This comes as it was confirmed that the search within the framework of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will continue until the third day.

After his arrival on Tuesday, police took several bags from the search area and were seen combing the banks of the reservoir.

On Wednesday, sniffer dogs were used to patrol the area, while officers continued to search for clues.

Emergency service divers were also seen on a rigid rubber boat in Barragem do Arade – about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where the three-year-old disappeared in 2007.

The officers also pitched white tents on a hill on the banks.

Near the water, emergency services and officials from Portugal, Germany and the United Kingdom were seen giving briefings near blue police tents.

In the search area, uniformed and plainclothes officers spent hours scouring the banks—knocking the ground with picks and combing small rocks with cubes and spades.

Police erected tents around the search site for the dam on Tuesday. Credit: A.P

The path to the search area was cordoned off with police tape and signs from the Portuguese National Republican Guard.

The new searches come as the Home Office awarded an extra £110,000 in funding this financial year to the Metropolitan Police to help find Madeleine, down from £300,000 last year.

Total funding for Operation Grange has been just under £13.1m since 2011.

Portuguese police confirmed Monday that they are coordinating searches in the Algarve at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers.

The Metropolitan Police said officers would be there to inform Madeleine’s family if there were any developments.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said: “The Met continues to work with and support colleagues in Portugal and Germany, through their investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

“The meteorological officers of Portugal and I will be grateful to the Policia Judiciaria and the Bundeskriminalamt for allowing us to be present while their work continues, so that we can inform Madeleine’s family of any developments.”

A brief statement issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the German city of Braunschweig confirmed the search, but did not disclose the reason for conducting it.

Braunschweig’s public prosecutor, Christian Wolters, told reporters that investigators were acting on “certain advice” but gave no further details.

Portuguese news agency SIC said four teams of Portuguese Judiciaria police officers are involved in the operation, along with at least 20 German counterparts.

The prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance, 45-year-old convicted sex offender Christian Bruckner, reportedly spent time in the precinct between 2000 and 2017.

Investigators believe he killed Madeline after kidnapping her from a vacation apartment.

In 2020, German police said they were investigating a man linked to the case named Christian Bruckner. Credit: Police Bulletin

Bruckner, who denied involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, was first identified as a suspect by German investigators.

The Sun reported that the search was launched after video and photos of Bruckner were discovered near the reservoir.

A no-fly zone was placed over the water and the media and other onlookers were kept within one mile of the search site.

Bruckner faces charges in Germany over a number of separate sexual offenses allegedly committed in Portugal during that time.

This is not the first time the reservoir area has been searched.

A timeline of events since Madeleine McCann’s disappearance 16 years ago

In 2008, Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragão Correa paid specialized divers to search her after claiming he had been tipped off by criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was there.

The last search in Portugal in connection with her disappearance was in 2014, when British police were granted permission to examine the woods near where she disappeared.

Earlier this month, Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, posted a short statement on the Find Madeleine campaign website to commemorate the anniversary of her disappearance.

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

“I’m still missing…still missing a lot.

“It’s hard to find the words to express how we feel.” The police investigation is ongoing, and we await a breakthrough. “

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