CNN –
“We will never give up.” Those were the words of the parents of Madeleine McCann earlier this month, who disappeared without a trace while vacationing in Portugal as a toddler in 2007. Madeleine’s family was born in May 2003 and celebrated their 20th birthday this month.
Now, just weeks later, police are raiding a remote reservoir about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the resort town where Madeleine disappeared 16 years ago. It is the latest in a long-running, highly publicized and often controversial search for the missing child from Leicestershire, England.
The mystery of what happened to Madeleine has captivated people around the world in a way few other disappearances have. For years, many have watched every turn of their detailed case with rapt anticipation. Was she kidnapped? where did she go Her parents have said from the start that they believe she was kidnapped and that she is still alive somewhere.
Her regular inquiries as to her whereabouts have led to alleged sightings of numerous girls around the world matching Madeleine’s description of her telltale rare eye condition, but none of the leads have been proven correct. And while many suspects have been investigated – some were later acquitted while others are still under investigation – the search for Madeleine continues.
João Matos/AP
Police in Portugal are conducting a new search for Madeleine McCann based on a recent tip.
Madeleine was just days away from her fourth birthday when she disappeared while on a family holiday in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz May 3, 2007.
The journey had started well as the family enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine during their stay at the Ocean Club Resort in the Algarve. But five days into the escape, tragedy struck.
On that fateful evening, Kate and Gerry McCann tucked Madeleine and her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie into bed before enjoying dinner with friends at a local tapas restaurant not far away. The group had developed a system to screen all children every half hour.
Melanie Maps/AFP/Getty Images
The McCanns speak to the media a day after their daughter’s disappearance on May 4, 2007 in Praia da Luz.
Kate McCann sounded the alarm at around 10pm as she was about to complete her round of check-ins, only to find her child’s bedroom shutters open and Madeleine’s bed empty.
“All I can say is that it just felt so safe. It’s a family resort,” Kate McCann later said.
The police were called and in the hours that followed, they escorted Madeleine’s parents, friends and associates around the complex in search of the little girl. In the days and months that followed, hundreds of police officers, supported by volunteers, combed the area without success.
Vasco Celio/AFP/Getty Images
A poster of the missing child in 2007.
The disappearance immediately garnered worldwide attention, bolstered by a huge publicity campaign by the McCanns.
A huge reward has been announced for information on Madeleine’s whereabouts, including contributions from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell and billionaire CEO Richard Branson. Football stars like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo also called for help in finding the missing girl.
The McCanns traveled widely to publicize the search for their daughter, even meeting then-Pope Benedict XVI. in Rome to ask him to pray for Madeleine’s safe return.
Less than two weeks after the investigation began May 14thPortuguese police named Robert Murat, a Brit living in Portugal, as the “arguido” or official suspect in the case. Murat denied the allegations and protested his innocence. Suspect status was subsequently revoked and no charges were ever brought.
Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images
A picture of the missing youth being shown on a big screen at Wembley Stadium.
Pressure on local police to handle the case quickly mounted while the once sleepy seaside town was in the global media spotlight. Questions have been raised about her behavior on the night Madeleine went missing with the Portuguese police chief In June Granted, forensic clues may have been destroyed since the crime scene in the apartment was not securely secured.
In SeptemberAlso, Portuguese police have labeled Kate and Gerry McCann as “arguido” suspects in connection with their daughter’s disappearance The move came after suspicious DNA was reportedly found in a car the family rented 25 days after her disappearance. The Sunday Mirror newspaper quoted Kate McCann as saying the Portuguese police tried to get her to falsely admit that Madeleine died in an accident and that the couple panicked and dumped the body . The couple vehemently denied any wrongdoing or involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
That’s what Gerry McCann said in a Spanish TV interview October that he was “confident” the couple would be “disqualified” from the investigation. “I’m convinced of that, because we haven’t done anything.”
Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Gerry McCann visited a Portimao police station on 7 September 2007 to question him about the disappearance of his daughter.
In March 2008The McCanns accepted $1.1 million in damages for defamation and front-page apologies in London’s Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers over reports alleging the parents were involved in their daughter’s disappearance or death been involved. The money was to go to Madeleine’s Fund, a non-profit organization set up to find the girl and bring everyone involved in her disappearance to justice.
Four months later, in July 2008, Portugal’s Attorney General ended investigations into Madeleine’s disappearance. A spokesman for Portugal’s prosecutors told CNN the 14-month investigation has found no evidence of a crime by the three people once named as official suspects: the McCanns or Murat.
After the case was actually closed, the police turned over their file, which contained up to 30,000 pages, to lawyers and private investigators who worked for Madeleine’s family and promised to go ahead.
Kate McCann said they were “leaving no stone unturned” as they continued their private hunt and she believes being named a suspect by Portuguese police was having a devastating impact on the case.
A month laterA spokesman for the McCanns said the couple still believed their daughter was alive, partly due to a review of Portuguese police files which found no evidence of their daughter’s death.
The files also showed that a senior British forensic scientist said it was impossible to conclude whether a DNA sample came from Madeleine’s family’s Portugal rental car, the family spokesman said. “You have to wonder what the police were trying to achieve by presenting too much evidence that they didn’t have and obviously couldn’t claim,” the spokesman told the BBC at the time.
In May 2009The McCanns appeared on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and revealed a digitally enhanced image showing what their daughter might look like when she was 6 years old. Kate McCann said during the performance that she had Madeleine’s room ready for her and visited her daily. “Just (to) say hi…just tell her we’re still going…doing everything we can to find her.”
Two years laterthe McCanns published their own account of their daughter’s disappearance, simply titled “Madeleine”. They expressed hope that the book would encourage others to submit information and that profits from the book would go towards advancing the investigation.
Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation to go through details of the case.
After an annual reviewPolice released a new computer-generated image of the girl, showing what Madeleine might look like when she was 9 years old. “Based on the evidence uncovered during the review, they now believe there is a possibility that Madeleine is still alive and are appealing to anyone who can provide direct information as to her whereabouts to contact the team,” it said a statement from the police, without giving details about the possibility of new leads.
Anthony Devlin/PA Images/Getty Images
Kate and Gerry McCann deliver a press conference for their book Madeleine, about their daughter’s disappearance in 2007, in central London.
Hope for the family was renewed October 2013 as British police released new police sketches of potential suspects in the case. An appeal on the BBC’s Crimewatch television program prompted more than 1,000 public calls, with two callers naming the same suspect.
In the same month, the Portuguese police said they would reopen the case. Police in the UK and Portugal would work together in their investigations to follow up any new leads.
In January 2014Authorities in Portugal received a letter from British prosecutors asking them to question people there in connection with the 2007 enforced disappearance. British investigators flew out shortly afterwards, but no arrests were made.
Amid the renewed urge for answers, in march It emerged that officers were looking for a man who had assaulted five other young British girls on holiday in Portugal while investigating 12 potentially related crimes at resorts near where Madeleine disappeared.
In the years that followed, little progress seemed to have been made. In September 2015It turns out the UK police investigation – known as Operation Grange – cost more than £10million ($12.4 million) since launching in 2011.
June 2020 A major breakthrough came when British and German authorities announced they were investigating a 43-year-old German man in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance. He was later referred to as “Christian B” in the German media. The British authorities described the development as a “significant new direction of investigation”.
The suspect – who had lived in Portugal’s Algarve region between 1995 and 2007 and lived in a house in Praia de Luz – was a convicted rapist and child abuser who is currently serving a prison sentence over an unrelated matter.
Ole Spata/dpa/picture Alliance/Getty Images
Hans Christian Wolters, spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig in the state of Lower Saxony, told CNN his agency assumed McCann was dead
In an interview with CNN in the weeks that followed, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said there were “results” showing the new suspect had murdered McCann, but not enough evidence to charge the suspect in court.
Following the new developments, the McCanns thanked the two police forces for their continued efforts to locate their daughter.
“All we’ve ever wanted is to find them, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice,” they said. “We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive, but whatever the outcome, we need to know because we need to find peace.”
In JulyPortuguese authorities conducted searches of three wells in connection with the investigation, but a local law enforcement source said no new information had been uncovered.
In April 2022, Portuguese and German officials designated the new suspect, now identified as Christian Brückner, as an official suspect. It was the first time since Kate and Gerry McCann were released that Portuguese prosecutors have identified a formal suspect in the case.
The following monthWolters reiterated his position that he was “certain” that Brückner killed Madeleine.
At May 22, 2023, German authorities told CNN that the police investigating Madeleine’s disappearance will conduct a new search in Portugal, based on a recent tip. The new quest started the following day at the Arade reservoir near the Portuguese town of Silves, around 50 kilometers from Praia da Luz.
According to CNN affiliate CNN Portugal, police divers and speedboats have been sighted at the scene and are expected to remain there for around two days. The waters were checked back in 2008, but little of value was found.
Filipe Amorim/AFP/Getty Images
Portuguese authorities during a new search operation at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, on May 23.
Sources told CNN Portugal that the focus was not underwater this time and that while some dives could take place, surface surveys would be prioritized. Police were looking for evidence of Brückner’s activities in the area, the source added.
Earlier in MayThe McCann family celebrated the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance. Her parents said in a statement that their daughter is “still greatly missed.” They added that “the police investigation is ongoing and we are awaiting a breakthrough.”