German police looking for Madeleine McCann’s body are about to begin a major search of a remote Algarve reservoir suspect Cristian Brueckner used to visit. Portuguese officers are soon expected to start closing off roads leading to the man-made dam near the town of Silves ahead of the official start of the search on Tuesday.
Several local council lorries were spotted on the piece of land as tents and other structures were erected.
Behind them in another area just under a mile away Portuguese Civil Protection workers were seen setting up a large blue tent alongside police who had mounted their own blue tent.
An onlooker said: “There are around two dozen Policia Judiciaria officers who seem to be supervising things at this stage.”
The search is set to last for at least two days and beyond that if anything of relevance is found. Portuguese officials have not yet made any official comment.
It was not immediately clear what had prompted this week’s operation, and whether it was hastily-arranged after police in Germany received a new tip-off or had been organised over time as prosecutors there continue to try to build up a picture of sole suspect Christian Brueckner’s life on the Algarve and the places he frequented.
One well-placed source described it as a German-led operation which was being coordinated with the help of Portuguese police and was linked to information the authorities had gleaned pointing to regular trips Brueckner had made to the dam.
The insider said: “Portuguese police will offer logistical support but the initiative is German and they were the ones that requested the work that is going to take place this week.
“Scotland Yard officers are due to travel to Portugal but theirs will be a watching brief.”
It will be the first major operation of its kind since June 2014 when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar. This time round expert divers are set to explore the murky depths of the dam but digs will also take place in woodland by the water.
The area which will be searched is the Barragem do Arade reservoir near Silves where a lorry driver says he saw a woman handing a child like Madeleine McCann over to a man two days after she went missing from her Praia da Luz holiday apartment on May 3, 2007.
It was searched twice in February and March 2008 by divers hired by a Portuguese lawyer.
Marcos Aragao Correia organised the privately-funded operation after claiming he had been tipped off by underworld contacts that Madeleine had been murdered and her body thrown into the reservoir within 48 hours of her disappearance.
Two bags containing small bones were found during the second search after divers had earlier recovered several lengths of cord, some plastic tape and a single white cotton sock.
Portuguese police were alerted following the discovery but subsequently ruled out the possibility the bones were human because of their size.
Madeleine’s parents Gerry and Kate McCann had previously dismissed Mr Correia as a self-publicist and said there was no evidence suggesting any link between their daughter and the reservoir.
It is not thought to have been searched since March 2008 as part of the ongoing investigation into her disappearance.
Earlier this month Kate and Gerry posted a poignant tribute to mark their daughter’s 20th birthday, telling her: “We love you and we’re waiting for you. We’re never going to give up.”
They added: “Happy Birthday Madeleine. Still missing. Still very much missed. Still looking. For as long as it takes.”
The message on the official Find Maddie Campaign Facebook page accompanied a cherished last photo of her as a three-year-old, beaming in a pink sunhat and clutching tennis balls.
Kate and Gerry are expected to be kept informed of any developments as a result of the new search through Scotland Yard liaison officers.
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