Madeleine McCann 'Crime Scene' Revealed: Cops Set to Deploy Radar Technology, Trawl Trenches and 'Rat Run' Used by Prime Suspect in Massive New Search For Missing Youngster's Body
The new search for Madeleine McCann is underway as tents are set up near to where the British tot vanished nearly two decades ago.
June 3 2025, Published 12:19 p.m. ET
Police have started the fresh dig for Madeleine McCann – with tents erected at the "crime scene" in Portugal.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the search for the missing British tot is currently focussed on a patch of scrubland very close to where she vanished almost two decades ago, when she was just three, and a property connected to the prime suspect in the case, Christian Brueckner.
Police Acting On 'New Theory'
German police officers and forensic experts have started digging in the search for the youngster.
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are investigating her disappearance and will be aided by radars which can scan 15ft underground.
They face a race against time to charge Brueckner, who is currently nearing the end of his prison sentence for raping a U.S. woman in 2005.
A source said: "It's now or never."
Cops are working on theories Maddie or her pyjamas might have been dumped in trenches like this.
The police are acting on a theory the three-year-old or her pyjamas might have been dumped in trenches near the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz where her family were staying in May 2007.
One area under scrutiny was a rat run for prolific thief Brueckner and leads to the property where carried out the rape he’s behind bars for in Germany.
Police were closing dirt roads and putting up tents in Atalaia, next to Praia, on Monday, June 2.
Race Against Time To Charge Prime Suspect
Christian Brueckner's current prison sentence is nearing its end and cops are running out of time to charge him.
The search comes weeks after new clues linking Brueckner to the Madeleine case were revealed.
He is due for release in September, has never been charged over the toddler, and denies involvement.
Investigators need forensic evidence to charge him.
An investigation source said: "German cops know it is now or never so they need to push ahead with every credible tip they have.
"Following Brueckner's trial last year someone contacted them with theories on where anyone who took Madeleine might have dumped her, or her clothes.
Cops were given a tip Brueckner may have dumped Maddie near his house.
"They told cops about trenches that were dug in Praia at the time Madeleine disappeared — and the house where Brueckner had lived on the edge of the village.
"Of course, all these places have been searched over and over again — but now they have a new weapon in their ground-scanning radar.
"It means they don't need to dig for the sake of it. But as soon as they spot anything of interest they are ready to excavate and check it.
"With time running out they are praying they get a breakthrough."
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Main Objective Is 'Signs Of Maddie's Body'
Cops are searching near Brueckner's cottage for the missing girl, seen here with a distinctive mark in her right eye, even though he didn't live there when Brit disappeared.
The search is the first official police action in Portugal since the Arades Dam, around 30 miles from Praia, was scoured in 2023.
Unconfirmed reports suggested a tipster had sent images to German detectives of the Praia sites where they believe Madeleine could be buried — or items, such as pyjamas, could have been dumped.
The source added: "Brueckner is still the only suspect and he still maintains silence with German cops. But they have been studying him closely and looking at the way he behaves
"They think his pattern of behaviour is to return to familiar places after he has committed a crime.
"That's why they want to search his cottage – even though he didn't live there in 2007 when Madeleine vanished."
A well-placed Portuguese source said: "These will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body."
