EXCLUSIVE: Madeleine McCann's Parents 'Crushed, Frustrated and Devastated' After High-Profile Search for Youngster's Body Near Prime Suspect's 'Rat Run' is Officially Called Off
The latest search for missing British youngster Madeleine McCann, right – the first since May 2023 – has been called after just three days of searchers scouring land near a 'rat run,' left.
June 6 2025, Published 10:23 a.m. ET
Madeleine McCann's parents have been left "crushed, frustrated and devastated" after a new search for their daughter's body was called off after just three days.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Kate and Gerry McCann were kept very much kept up to date with developments and were informed about the search coming to an end before it was made public.
Hopes Dashed
Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann were hoping the search could lead to a vital discovery to finally reveal what happened to their little girl.
The decision to down tools also dashed German cops' hopes of nailing prime suspect Christian Brueckner to the case with DNA evidence.
Scores of painstakingly combed scrubland near Praia da Luz, Portugal, near to where the Brit tot vanished nearly nearly decades ago with JCBs, radar and fingertip searches, believing the tot or her pyjamas could have been buried there.
There was an option to extend the search until Friday if any clues had been found — but cops turned up "nothing of consequence".
Prime Suspect Let-Off
The search being called off also wrecked German cops' hopes of nailing Christian Brueckner to the case with DNA evidence.
An insider told RadarOnline.com: "It's another crushing blow.
"The McCanns were optimistic something may materialize from the search, but the fact it’s now over after just a short time is naturally frustrating and devastating.
"They will never give up hope of finding their daughter."
During the search, animal bones and adult clothing were unearthed, but no traces linked to Madeleine, so there is no cause for further inspection.
A Portuguese police officer said: "We have found nothing. There is nothing worth being sent to Germany for testing. We are finishing today."
Farmhouses And Barns Scoured
Brueckner is known to have lived in a 'wild camp' near the abandoned stone building that was newly searched.
A group of 30 officers was seen searching scrubland on foot before dismantling the cordon tape around 4pm.
Attention now turns to prime suspect Brueckner's impending release from jail, when he is expected to flee from Germany and slip away for good.
Prosecutors have until September to rustle up an extension to his sentence to guarantee the opportunity to bring him to justice in the event of conclusive evidence.
At least five abandoned stone farmhouses and barns were scoured in the area, where Brueckner is known to have lived in a "wild camp".
Particular attention was paid to a farmhouse where 2007 satellite images showed what appeared to be a white tent.
A trench was dug out with an excavator and officers returned today to conduct a close fingertip search.
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Special radar technology was used to can scan the ground and detect buried objects.
This week's search – the first since May 2023 – deployed specialist radar technology which can scan the ground and detect buried objects.
Plans to scour the whole area were scrapped on Wednesday June 4, and cops focused all their efforts on at least five abandoned building
The search was ordered after key figures in the case were flown back to Germany to again give statements on the claims Brueckner kidnapped and killed the toddler in 2007.
He has never been formally charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and denies any involvement but German cops are convinced he is guilty.
It was recently revealed German police uncovered a cache of disturbing evidence revealing Brueckner's obsession with young children.
There was also a hard-drive of pictures, which German investigators continue to keep secret, that is believed to indicate why they are sure Madeleine is dead.
