Madeleine McCann Hunt Takes Huge Twist as Cops Put Up Tents Beside Suspect's Former Home — With Huge New Search for World's Most Famous Missing Girl Starting Again in Hours
German police have launched a new search in the Portuguese town where Madeleine McCann went missing.
June 2 2025, Published 2:58 p.m. ET
A new search of the town Praia da Luz has been launched in the ongoing investigation of the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
German police are reportedly combing through the town in Algarve, where Madeleine went missing while on vacation with her parents Gerry and Kate McCann in May 2007.
Police have narrowed in on 21 privately owned homes and land, which they plan to investigate this week.
The Search
Madeleine went missing while on vacation with her parents Kate and Gerry in May 2007.
Madeleine went missing from her parents' vacation apartment in the middle of the night on May 3, 2007.
Now, German police are reportedly returning to the small town in Algarve in search of new evidence. The new area of focus will consist of the rural areas between the Ocean Club resort, where the McCann family was staying at the time Madeleine went missing, and Brueckner's previous home.
A German authority said of the newly-defined search radius: "The search will take place on 21 privately-owned pieces of land which in some cases are open and not fenced off.
"Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched.
"The landowners haven't had to be asked for permission and they can't stop the searches from continuing if they turn up because police will be acting with a judicial warrant."
Portuguese authorities will be assisting German investigators with the search.
Another German official said: "Around 30 German police officers have already arrived in Portugal and will be starting the search tomorrow (June 3). Portuguese police will also be on the ground.
“We are talking about a rural area with a lot of waste ground. Some of the areas that are going to be looked at have already been searched before.”
While the Metropolitan Police are not involved in the new search, they said they are aware of German authorities' investigation.
UK authorities announced: "We are aware of the searches being carried out by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann."
The Prime Suspect
Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for rape in a separate case.
German police have been heavily involved in Madeleine's case since Christian Brueckner, a German citizen, was named as the prime suspect in 2020.
Portuguese police have also named Brueckner as a prime suspect.
Brueckner, 48, has not been charged with any crime in relation to Madeleine's disappearance and has denied any involvement.
The case's prime suspect has been serving a prison sentence for rape in a separate case in Germany. Brueckner was convicted of sexually assaulting a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005.
Previous Searches
Police previously searched a reservoir where Brueckner frequented while living in Portugal.
The last time authorities searched Algarve was in 2023, when investigators honed in on a remote dam that was about a 40-minute drive from the McCann's rental apartment.
Brueckner, who lived in Portugal from 2000 to 2017, was found to spend a lot of time at the reservoir after photos and videos placed him at the location.
In addition to living in Portugal near the area Madeleine went missing from, Brueckner was also found to be a handyman at the Ocean Club resort.
Dive teams searched the waterway while investigators combed through the surrounding wooded areas.
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The Disappearance
The UK investigation, Operation Orange, has been ongoing since 2011.
Madeleine went missing from her bed while her parents were at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short distance from the rental apartment.
While the children slept, the adults took turns checking on the apartment. During one check, it was discovered the toddler had vanished.
Kate reported her daughter missing at around 10 P.M. local time.
The UK investigation, dubbed Operation Orange, has been ongoing since 2011.
Gerry and Kate McCann have never given up hope about finding out what happened to their daughter. In May, the McCanns said their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering."
