After three days of research, excavations around the Arade River reservoir in the Algarve have today concluded in search of new leads into the disappearance of Maddie McCann, the three-year-old English girl who mysteriously disappeared from his bedroom in May 2007, in a Residential complex where he spent his holidays with his family. In a statement, the Portuguese criminal police limited themselves to the statement that the procedures demanded by their colleagues in Germany had been completed and that the collected material would be handed over to the German investigators.
The latter, in turn, maintain the strictest confidentiality. Although it is known that they are in fact leaning towards the hypothesis of the murder of the little girl, it was never stated that her body was searched on the Arade River, nor can it be ruled out that these searches could provide clues as to all of Christian’s other crimes Brueckner, the man suspected of kidnapping and killing Maddie and who is currently in prison in Germany for various crimes of sexual violence, some of which were also committed in Portugal, a country where he lived for many years.
The area around the Arade Dam, about fifty kilometers from the place where “Maddie” disappeared, was combed by divers in 2008, among others, who only found animal remains. According to local media, Brückner was a regular visitor and described the place as his “little paradise”.
Between Tuesday and Thursday, investigators combed the area with dogs, a drone and a caterpillar brush cutter. Some parts of the site were combed with probes, shovels and rakes. According to local media, investigators have been collecting soil samples since the excavation began, bringing together several scraps of fabric found at the site. According to reports in the Portuguese press, the police were looking for a pink blanket or the pajamas Maddie was wearing the night of her disappearance. According to the Portuguese weekly Expresso, it was the statement of an informant that the German investigators classified as “very credible” and prompted the location to investigate further.