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Madeleine McCann cops pinpoint 21 privately-owned pieces of land to search tomorrowGerman police have said the search area would extend from the house where the principal suspect lived,

comntinuing eastwards towards an inland area known as Atalaia in the direction of LagosCommentsNewsGerard Couzens and Kelly Williams Assistant News Editor (Live)16:36, 02 Jun 2025Updated

16:48, 02 Jun 2025The house is located around one mile away from the Ocean Club where the McCann's were staying(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror) Well-placed sources have said new

searches for Madeleine McCann would take place on more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land. They will be centred near to a ramshackle rented cottage on the outskirts of Praia da Luz where

principal suspect Christian Brueckner spent several years living.

German police are said to have requested the searches, expected to take place between Praia da Luz where the three-year-old vanished on May 3 2007 and a house near the holiday resort where

Brueckner used to live.

‌ They said the search area would extend from the house eastwards towards an inland area known as Atalaia in the direction of Lagos. One said: “The search will take place on 21

privately-owned pieces of land which in some cases are open and not fenced off.

‌The new search will last just a few days “Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched.

“The landowners haven’t had to be asked for permission and they can’t stop the searches from continuing if they turn up because police will be acting with a judicial warrant.”

Article continues below Another said: “Around 30 German police officers have already arrived in Portugal and will be starting the search tomorrow (June 3).

“Portuguese police will also be on the ground.

“We are talking about a rural area with a lot of waste ground. Some of the areas that are going to be looked at have already been searched before.”

‌The farmhouse where convicted paedophile and Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner lived(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror) The German police team is expected to include forensic

experts, who were also present for the May 2023 Arade Dam searches.

It is not clear if detectives are acting on a new tip-off about where Madeleine’s body could be.

‌ Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria police force and the country’s Attorney General’s office have yet to make any official comment and are not expected to do so until after the search work

begins.

The searches will be the first in Portugal for more than two years following a near-week-long operation involving Portuguese, German and police officers at a remote dam a 40-minute-drive

from Praia da Luz.

General view of the remote area next to the farmhouse on the outskirts of Praia da Luz, in Portugal(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)‌ The searches in May 2023 at Arade Dam, described at

the time as Brueckner’s ‘little paradise', came to nothing.

They were the first major searches in Portugal for Madeleine McCann in nine years following an earlier June 2014 operation when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da

Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.

‌Christian Bruckner, principal suspect(Image: PA Images) They also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster’s whereabouts. In a smaller operation in July 2020

Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her.

A well-placed Portuguese source confirmed this week’s operation was scheduled get underway tomorrow but said some preparation work may take place beforehand.

‌ He said: “They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body.”

Portuguese police are understood to have agreed to cooperate with the search after it was approved by the country’s judicial authorities following a formal request from German cops and

prosecutors.

The Ocean Club where Madeline McCann went missing(Image: PA)Article continues below The search is expected to last around three days unless anything relevant emerges.

Brueckner remains in prison in Germany where he is serving a seven year term for rape. The 48-year-old convicted paedophile faces having his hopes of being released from jail in September

scuppered after reportedly being accused of new offences against prison guards behind bars.