Madeleine McCann case: Police launch new searches in Portugal

The police in Portugal, together with German and English authorities, began searching for the body of Madeleine McCann, who has been missing since 2007, this Tuesday (May 23). Most of the searches are taking place on the banks of the Arade reservoir, 50 kilometers from where the girl disappeared.

The site had already been the target of searches in 2008, but according to the police, divers only found animal remains. This time the manhunts will be concentrated inside and outside the reservoir, with the police using sniffer dogs and a fire brigade speedboat.

The Portuguese police also announced in a statement that they were “continuing to try to fully clarify the situation”, but the German judiciary did not disclose any further details on the searches in this case.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese firefighters work aboard a boat during a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, May 23, 2023.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ) authorities are working on a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, 23 May 2023.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ) authorities are working on a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, 23 May 2023.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ) authorities are working on a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, 23 May 2023.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ) authorities are working on a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, 23 May 2023.

FILIPE AMORIM / AFP Portuguese Criminal Police (PJ) authorities are working on a new search operation as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Maddie) at the Arade dam in Silves, near Praia da Luz, 23 May 2023.

The missing

Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007. She and her family were vacationing at a beach resort in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve tourist region. During these 16 years of investigations, several theories about the disappearance have been analyzed by the police. In 2020, German Christian B., a 45yearold repeat pedophile, was considered the prime suspect in the young woman’s disappearance.

When Madeleine disappeared, Christian was living just a few kilometers from the hotel where the family was staying. In addition, the suspect spent time near the reservoir where the search for Madeleine was returned this Tuesday (23).

Christian B. is currently serving a sevenyear sentence in a German prison for raping a 72yearold American woman. He is also accused of five other crimes and sex offenses committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

*With information from Agence FrancePresse