
Madeleine McCann search ends after just three days as police pack up
- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:

Madeleine McCann search ends after just three days as police pack upA renewed search into missing Madeleine McCann, 18 years after her disappearance, has been called off - the search came to
an end a day earlier than expectedThe latest Madeleine McCann search has come to an end (Image: PA)ByMartin Fricker in Praia da LuzElizabeta Ranxburgaj17:15, 5 Jun 2025Updated18:10, 5 Jun
2025
The renewed search for missing toddler Madeleine McCann has been officially ended after just three days.
German and Portuguese police descended on several properties in an area of southern Portugal close to Praia da Luz - where Madeleine went missing in 2007. Cops were pictured packing up their
equipment - which included a digger and ground-penetrating radars - and they are believed to have not found any trace of the missing girl. Investigators were pictured at several homes
linked to prime suspect and convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner - who used to live in the area during the time the toddler vanished, while on holiday.
Investigators leaving one ofthe sites close to Praia De Luz (Image:PA)
A group of German and Portuguese officers stood around for a debrief as the search officially stopped - which ended in a round of applause and the teams shaking hands. The officers involved
also hugged each other after the three day operation.
Despite this, nothing related to the missing girl appeared to have been found during the operation, police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been discovered.
Police initially had a warrant until Friday, June 6, to investigate areas of interest in southern Portugal. Earlier today, investigators indicated that they were expected to end their search
on Thursday if nothing was found.
Police using a digger during their search on Wednesday (Image:Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)The operation kicked off on Tuesday, June 3, with teams scouring through more than 20 plots of land east of Praia da Luz. This included places between the Ocean Club holiday resort where
Madeleine vanished and the cottage where German authorities' prime suspect Christian Breuckner lived.
Search teams discovered animal bones and pieces of adult clothing at these sites, according to Portuguese TV reports.
Police also used ground-penetrating radar in their search(Image:Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
The huge operation saw more than 60 officers involved in the latest search. Police were pictured using a JCB digger and cutting-edge ground-penetrating radar scanners.
One of the places searched was a cottage once lived in by prime suspect Brueckner. The fresh search was reportedly prompted by new information about their suspect.
Cops searching anabandoned home on Wednesday (Image:Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
Convicted paedophile Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman at her Praia da Luz home, has denied any involvement in
the disappearance of Madeleine.
He is due to release in September and has previously made it clear that he plans to flee Germany when he is out of prison. Authorities fear that he could disappear when he walks free if they
can't tie him to the toddler's disappearance before then.
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is set to be freed from jail in September (Image:Phil Harris)The last time authorities conducted a search related to Madeleine's disappearance around this area was in 2023. German cops spent a week looking through the Barragem do Arade reservoir,
around 30 miles from where Madeleine was last seen, after they got a tip-off.
Top Stories Don't Miss FollowMirrorFacebookX (Twitter)MORE ONMadeleine MccannBreaking NewsPoliceMissingpersons
Get email updates with the day's biggest stories
Sign upInvalid EmailSomething went wrong, please try again later.We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include
adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribingWe have more newslettersShow meSee ourPrivacy NoticeStory SavedYou can find this story in
My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.