Officials reported on Tuesday afternoon that the first day of searches for the British girl last seen in a reservoir in the Algarve region of Portugal proceeded cautiously, with limited information released to the public.
Operations, slowed by a storm and heavy rain at the Arade dam, paused at midday and were set to resume the following day. A substantial police presence was deployed around the reservoir, which is situated roughly 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz, where the main suspect linked to the girl’s abduction and disappearance is believed to have been based at the time.
Dozens of soldiers are taking part in the inquiry. The operation was conducted by the Portuguese Police with supervision from British authorities and at the request of German officials, aiming to compile any possible leads in the long-running case.
The scene showed police equipment arrayed near the water, while investigators coordinated efforts to gather evidence and monitor the area. A number of officers were seen mobilizing resources as part of the search plan. Dogs assisted the agents, performing searches on land and around the water, and divers’ teams were prepared to inspect the lakebed, with boats positioned for operations in the water.
From a distance, observers saw authorities collecting various items around the site. Journalists from multiple countries followed the unfolding events, while official statements remained sparse. There was little information released to the public at the time.
Portugal’s Judicial Police issued a brief statement noting that they could only confirm ongoing proceedings and would not disclose new information until there was something substantive to report. The German Prosecutor’s Office in Braunschweig stated that in Portugal, criminal proceedings are conducted with the support of federal investigators, but for tactical reasons further background details were not being released at that moment.
Previous inquiries in 2008 at the Arade dam yielded a bag containing bones that were later identified as animal remains, not human evidence.
missing since 2007
Maddie vanished on May 3, 2007, from the room she shared with her younger siblings in a tourist complex. Years of investigation have focused on a German citizen named Brueckner, who lived in the Algarve area at the time of the disappearance and has a history of sexual abuse and pedophilia convictions. His case has attracted significant scrutiny in Portugal and beyond.
Questions about Brueckner intensified after he was extradited from Portugal to Germany in 2017 and charged in a separate sexual abuse case in Greece. He remains incarcerated in Germany after multiple convictions for various crimes. Movement records traced via his mobile phone placed him near the resort where the McCanns were staying on the night Madeleine was abducted, raising further speculation about his involvement.
Local media reported that Brueckner spent extended periods in the vicinity, sometimes living in a trailer, and that his personal computer reportedly contained images from the reservoir site. The case has remained one of the most widely publicized missing-child investigations in recent history, gripping audiences worldwide for over a decade and a half, as authorities continue to seek answers and closure for the family and supporters.