A police officer who worked on the original investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has claimed German police "clearly know something."
New searches for missing Madeleine have begun in Portugal, where she went missing, 16 years ago. Child safety expert Jim Gamble said: "I absolutely believe that during my lifetime we will find out what happened to Maddie."
Portuguese police were seen searching near the Arade dam, around 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where Maddie was last seen in 2007. The cops were carrying out the search on behalf of German investigators.
Convicted German rapist Christian Brückner, who is the number one suspect in her murder, is said to have frequented the area.
Child safety expert Gamble led the UK's own review of the disappearance. He told the Mirror that the German Police statements suggest they are certain she is dead, based on the language used.
He said: "From my point of view, the German police clearly know something. They have a level of confidence when they talk about their suspect and Madeleine's death.
"But they haven't shared specific reasons with the public, as you don't want to give your suspect any more information than you have to until you're ready to charge them."
Brückner is currently locked up in a German prison for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in the resort Maddie vanished from. He has also been charged with the rape of an Irish holiday rep. He has always denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.
Gamble said: "It's really important that everyone keeps an open mind. Yes, he's an excellent suspect. But up until he's charged people need to be consciously aware that it could be someone else.
"Anyone that was in Portugal at the time 16 years ago, or who was in the vicinity of the reservoir in the days that followed Madeleine's disappearance, really does need to think back and think ‘Did I see anything?’"
Portuguese news channel SIC said: “Investigators know suspect Christian Brückner used to come to this dam regularly. He would call it his little paradise and would often spend the night here. He was seen here often."
The area was already searched twice in 2008 by divers hired by a lawyer. Gamble said this search is different, however, as it is being led by police.
"The German police now have active lines of inquiry and advancement of technology. Any land-based searches or indeed anything found in the water can be forensically interrogated in ways that might not have been quite so easy 16 years ago", he said.
It would be very difficult to "completely and comprehensively" dispose of a body if Madeleine's body has been dumped in the area.
SIC said: "Any biological traces have likely disappeared because of the waterways in the area, but investigators could be looking for other elements, such as objects or clothes that could serve as evidence.
"It is really difficult to say whether there will be any preserved evidence, but as I've said, there's every likelihood that the bones may well be intact.
"You always feel hope when something else breaks, having been involved in the start I am fuelled by hope... hope that something will happen that gives the parents peace that exposes the truth about what happened to Madeleine."
Kate and Gerry McCann said on the 16th anniversary of her disappearance earlier this month that they have not given up hope.
The couple, from Leicestershire, said on Maddie's 20th birthday on May 12: "We love you and we're waiting for you. We're never going to give up."
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