Madeleine McCann Update: Cops Send Samples of 'Clothing and Bones' Found For Testing During New Hunt For Missing Toddler — As Walls On Prime Suspect Close In
A new search for evidence in the Madeleine Mccann case has been stopped.
June 10 2025, Published 5:12 p.m. ET
Authorities looking for answers into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann haven't given up hope, RadarOnline.com can reveal, after a new search for the little girl's body was called off after just three days.
While initially believed to have been fruitless, officials have finally sent some samples of fragments off to a lab for analysis.
Small fragments of evidence have been sent to a lab for analysis.
A search of longtime prime suspect Christian Brueckner's Portugal home was initially deemed unsuccessful.
Authorities had been combing scrubland near Praia da Luz, Portugal, near where the three-year-old child vanished, with JCBs, radar, and fingertip searches, in hopes of finding vital clues.
But now, with the search called off, any chance of solving the decades-old case could lie in tiny fragments of clothes and animal bones that have been sent to Germany for testing.
According to the Berlin Morning Post, a source said: "Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory.
"As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things.
"The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance, but that is clearly their hope."
Race Against Time
Cops are working on theories Maddie or her pyjamas might have been dumped in trenches like this.
Authorities trying to establish a link to Brueckner are in a race against time, as he is due to be released from prison in September after serving time for raping a U.S. woman in 2005.
Brueckner has never been charged over the toddler's disappearance, 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.
Crushing Blow
Top suspect Christian Brueckner has long denied any involvement.
"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.
However, all of these places have been searched repeatedly through the years, and word that the latest search had been called off devastated Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.
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."
New Secrets Revealed
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Brueckner has long been considered the prime suspect in McCann's disappearance.
Meanwhile, a new documentary offers even more fresh clues, detailing how Brueckner was obsessed with small children.
According to the program, cops found a mask, guns and stories in which Brueckner described using chemicals to kidnap a mother or young child outside a preschool.
Details have also emerged about the existence of an 80GB hard drive containing images and a laptop key, which may be key in persuading investigators of Madeleine’s death.
And the documentary placed Brueckner at the key Maddie search location in Portugal.
