CNN
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Police investigating the loss of British toddler Madeleine McCann, are conducting a new search near Portuguese holiday resort, which was last seen 18 years ago, authorities said Monday.
The 3-year-old disappeared from bed on May 3, 2007 at Praiadal’s Resort in southern Portugal while on vacation with his family. She has not been seen since.
Detectives acting on demand from German prosecutors will conduct a “extensive” search this week in the Lagos region of southern Portugal, a statement from Portugal police said.
The main suspect in the case is a German citizen identified by the media as Christian Bruckner, who has been sentenced to seven years in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.
He is currently investigating alleged murders in the McCann case, but has not been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including Praia Dalz, at the time of his loss of children. Brueckner denied her involvement in the loss of disappearance.
According to the German DPA news agency, the prosecutor of Braunschweig, the head of the investigation, did not provide details of “judicial measures” taking place in Portugal. They said measures are being implemented by Portuguese authorities with support from officials of the Federal Criminal Police Station in Germany.
The British metropolitan police said “we know that Portugal’s BKA (German Federal Police) is searching as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.”
“The Metropolitan Police Service is not present in the search and will support international colleagues when necessary,” the Force added, without detailing.
The McCann incident attracted global attention for several years, reporting on sightings of stretches that are as far away as Australia, as well as books and television documentaries about her loss book.
Almost 20 years later, investigators in the UK, Portugal and German still stitch together what happened on the night she disappeared. She was in the same room as her brother and sister (two-year-old twins), but her parents, Kate and Jerry, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant.
Police resumed searching for the case in 2023, but detectives from three countries joined the search near a dam and reservoir, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Praiadal’s Resort.
Madeleine’s family has expressed their determination to continue their search as she celebrated the 18th anniversary of her loss last month.
