The Portuguese Judiciary Police have resumed investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Ten investigators, accompanied by members of the Fire Department of the Silves region, were at the Arade Dam, in the south of the country. German police from the BKA and English from Scotland Yard, who will have observation duties.
The Arade Dam is about 50 kilometers from the last place where the British girl, then 4 years old, was seen in 2007. The authorities set up a command post in the area, with the purpose of coordinating the new search operation in the place.
The reopening of the investigation and the resumption of the searches come after a request from the German authorities and should last two or three days. Monday was dedicated only to the logistical part.
The new operation took shape after a European investigation decision – the old rogatory letters –, directed by the German authorities to Portugal. In addition to the Arade Dam, several houses, wells and waterholes were also investigated in the Algarve, at the request of the German authorities.
The German police believe that the Arade Dam can hide clues left by the main suspect, Christian Bruckner. The site had already been the target of a private search in 2008.
By means of a report to CNN the Judiciary Police reported that “in the context of international cooperation, in the next few days in the Algarve region, new searches will be carried out, coordinated by the Judiciary Police, at the request of the German Authorities (BKA) and with the presence of the English Authorities”.
In 2008, the Arade Dam had already been the target of searches. However, this operation was not a police operation, but a private one. The steps were financed by a lawyer who was based on the theories of a clairvoyant. At the time, divers even recovered bones inside plastic bags, but later it was found that they were cat skeletons.
the case
Madeleine has been missing since May 3, 2007, when she disappeared from a resort apartment in the Algarve, Portugal, where she slept with her siblings while her parents dined a few meters away. She would turn 4 years old.
The case had great repercussions worldwide, mainly due to the huge publicity campaign carried out by the girl’s parents to try to discover her whereabouts. About 600 people were investigated and four were considered suspects but later acquitted.
In September 2007, Portuguese police classified Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents, as suspects in their daughter’s disappearance, after DNA was found in a car the family rented 25 days after reporting her disappearance. They denied all allegations and subsequently the case against them was dropped.
During all these years, there were several news about the whereabouts of Madeleine, both dead and alive, in different countries of the world. None of them, however, proved true. The most recent news on the subject occurred in February of this year, when the German Julia Faustyna, 21 years old, declared herself to be Madeleine McCann. The fact generated strong worldwide repercussions, but the police ruled out the possibility and the young woman’s family expressed themselves through a note, saying that she was always part of their family, and that there are photos and memories that prove it.
The Arade Dam gained relevance again in 2020, when Christian Bruckner was seen as the main suspect in the disappearance. The German lived in several rented houses in the Algarve, but Bruckner also had a motorhome and spent long periods of time in Arade.
Bruckner is currently 45 years old and is serving a prison sentence in Kiel, Germany, for another crime. The main suspect in the disappearance of Maddie MacCann was accused, in October 2022, of three crimes of rape and two of sexual abuse of children in Portuguese territory, committed between 2000 and 2017.
The Brunswick Public Prosecutor’s Office says, however, that the charges brought against Bruckner are not related to the case of the disappearance of the British girl while on vacation with her parents in Praia da Luz.
(With information from CNN Portugal)
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
