Investigators looking into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance are conducting tests on soil samples which may be linked to their prime suspect’s camper van.
Detectives think they have a good odds of proving Christian Brueckner’s VW Westfalia was at Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal, at the same time as the Leicester girl went missing back in 2007, The Mirror reports.
Results are expected of samples held on file of the dirt taken from a 2ft-deep hole made during a three-day hunt in May.
Read More: Police give major Madeleine McCann update as 'number of items' found at lake
Brueckner, 45, was first connected to the remote reservoir near Silves by German investigators by photo evidence that still remains private due to operational reasons.
Proving he visited Barragem do Arade in May 2007 could be a key component of their case, sources have said.
One stated: “Photos led German police investigating Maddie’s disappearance to the reservoir. One of their focuses now is to close the net around Brueckner by showing through soil sample analysis that his van was there.
“A positive match of the soil they already have from the vehicle with the earth they removed during the search last week will be another important piece of evidence against him. It will be a slight setback if the forensics people don’t get a match but at this stage investigators remain hopeful."
The reservoir lies a 40-minute from Praia da Luz.
German and Portuguese search teams conducted searches over three days at Barragem do Arade in May, marking the first overseas-led search since British police dug for clues on waste ground in Praia da Luz in June 2014.
Brueckner’s pal Michael Tatschl said in 2020 that the prime suspect often visited a reservoir half an hour from Praia da Luz, after which the German was dramatically named as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in June 2020.
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