‘Shrine’ found at Algarve reservoir launched police search – latest (2023)

What are the accusations against Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner?

Christian Brueckner was declared a prime suspect in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine by Portuguese police in April 2022.

Already in prison in Germany for the rape and murder of a 72-year-old woman, he has now also been charged with multiple sex offences which are alleged to have taken place between 2000 and 2007.

Police in Germany claim to have “concrete evidence” that the British girl is dead though this has not been proven.

A spokesperson from the Braunschweig prosecutor’s office previously said: “The accused is the same person against whom charges were brought in connection with the disappearance of the then three-year-old British girl Madeleine Beth McCann.

“Specifically, the accused is charged with three offences of aggravated rape and two offences of sexual abuse of children.

“The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann continues.”

The charges mentioned do not relate to the McCann case. But in May German police claim to have found new evidence linked to Madeleine inside a van belonging to Brueckner.

Brueckner has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Martha Mchardy28 May 2023 15:00

ICYMI: Footage shows holes in the ground in Portugal as search ends

Police flattened a concentrated area of woodland and dug a number of holes near a remote reservoir in Portugal as part of their three-day hunt for evidence in the Madeleine McCann case.

Huge piles of soil and broken rock were left next to the 160 sq ft area close to the banks of the Barragem do Arade, where officers were seen with shovels for a number of hours on Wednesday afternoon (24 May).

Portuguese police confirmed the search concluded on Thursday, and said materials had been sent to Germany for testing.

Martha Mchardy28 May 2023 13:50

Other cases Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has been linked to

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann Christian Brueckner has been linked to other disappearances of children, including a boy, six, in Portugal in 2000, a five-year-old girl in Germany in 2015 and a number of others.

In 2020, he was being investigated over the rape and murder of Tristan Brübach, a 15-year-old boy from Germany.

Belgian authorities have also linked him to the murder of teenager Carola Titze, 16. She went missing while on holiday in De Haan, Belgium on July 5, 1996 and her body was discovered among sand dunes severely mutilated on July 11.

Other cases believed to be linked to Brueckner include that of Inga Gehrike who went missing from Saxony-Anhalt in Germany on May 2, 2015, René Hasee, six, who vanished while on a family holiday in Aljezur, Portugal on June 21, 1996 and Jair Soares who disappeared in August 1995.

Peggy Knobloch’s case has also been linked to Brueckner after she went missing in May 2001.

Brueckner has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Martha Mchardy28 May 2023 12:50

Who is Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner?

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has puzzled detectives for more than 15 years – but in 2020 a new potential suspect emerged.

German prisoner Christian Brueckner was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery that summer, and officially named as a suspect last year. His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near to the Praia da Luz resort in Portugal where the young girl went missing on May 3, 2007.

German prisoner Christian Brueckner is a prolific burglar and has been previously convicted for sex crimes against young girls.

He was born in Germany in 1976 and moved to Portugal in his late teens.

It is believed he lived there between 1995 and 2007 working in the food industry.

Brueckner is described as being about 6ft tall, slim and white with short blond hair.

Lucy Skoulding reports:

Martha Mchardy28 May 2023 11:50

'Shrine’ found at Algarve reservoir searched by police

A British couple has claimed they found a makeshift shrine to missing Madeleine McCann at the Portuguese reservoir searched by police last week.

The couple, named only as Ralf and Ann, told the Mail on Sunday they found the “strange” shrine seven months after the toddler vanished 16 years ago.

The shrine consisted of a row of stones pointing to a picnic site which was dug up by police last week, a bouquet of white lilies and a photograph of the missing toddler.

The retired couple, who regularly visit their holiday home near the Algarve reservoir, took photographs of the shrine and sent them to Portuguese police in 2007, but never heard back.

The couple then reported the shrine to police after suspect Christian Brueckner was identified by German police in 2020, and were contacted by German detectives to give a formal statement.

Ralf, 66, said German police “wanted to know everything that we had seen and then they asked me to send them the pictures and they sent a map of the reservoir, asking me to point out where the stones were.

“The German police were very interested in what we had.”

The 66-year-old described the shrine as “very strange”.

Ann, 67, said: “Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps because when we saw where the police were searching the past few days you could see that’s where the row of stones was pointing to.”

“Back then when we found it the whole thing was just so weird. At the time I thought, ‘has someone dumped Madeleine in the water and then come back to make a shrine in her memory?’ It was so odd.”

Officers concluded their search of the Algarve reservoir on Thursday, where Christian Brueckner reportedly visited “some days” after the three-year-old vanished on May 3, 2007.

Brueckner has denied any involvement.

Martha Mchardy28 May 2023 08:49

How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost?

The fresh search at the reservoir – one of six in the Algarve – is the first in Portugal since 2014, and comes as the Metropolitan Police were granted a further £110,000 by the Home Office to fund their search for Madeleine, who would turn 20 this month.

It brings the total amount spent on the search for the Leicestershire-born girl, codenamed Operation Grange, to just shy of £13.1m since 2011, and is significantly less than the more than £300,000 approved by the Home Office the year prior.

While the costs incurred by German and Portuguese authorities are unknown, Lisbon’s then-attorney general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro said in 2012 that the search for Madeleine had been the most expensive in the country’s history.

Sam Rkaina27 May 2023 21:37

Investigators downplay hopes of breakthrough after search

As police concluded their three-day search on Thursday, they confirmed “materials collected” had been sent to Germany for analysis.

But a source close to the investigation told Reuters there was nothing tangible to report, while German prosecutor Christian Wolters played down hopes of a breakthrough, saying: “Of course, there is a certain expectation, but it is not high.”

He added that the investigators were looking for a body, but also for anything that could help the investigation, such as clothing.

Mr Wolters said he did not expect the results of the studies of the collected samples to be announced any time soon.

Sam Rkaina27 May 2023 20:29

Timeline of the search part 3: The 2020s

2020

– June 3: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.

– June 4: Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange, which had received £12.3 million in funding up to April 2020, is still a missing person inquiry as detectives have no “definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead”.

2021

– May 4: Kate and Gerry McCann post a statement on the official Find Madeleine campaign website saying they still cling to the hope of seeing their daughter again as they prepare to mark her 18th birthday on May 12.

2022

– April 21: Christian Brueckner is made an “arguido”, a formal suspect, by Portuguese authorities.

– May 3: The McCann family say it is “essential” they learn the truth of what happened to their daughter on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance.

– October 11: Brueckner, now 45, is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine’s disappearance.

2023

– May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance by saying she is “still very much missed” and that they “await a breakthrough”.

– May 22: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching on May 23.

– May 23: Searches begin with police divers in the water, and teams including officers with sniffer dogs and rakes and metal poles seen working on the banks. Media and onlookers are kept a mile away from the main search area and a no fly zone is imposed over the water.

– May 25: Police end their three-day search and say materials unearthed during the hunt for evidence over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann at the remote reservoir in Portugal are being sent for analysis.

Sam Rkaina27 May 2023 19:32

Timeline of search part 2: the 2010s

2011

– May 12: Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance, on Madeleine’s eighth birthday.

Scotland Yard launches a review of the case after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May, supported by then-prime minister David Cameron.

2012

– April 25: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look as a nine-year-old, and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, but Portuguese police say they have found no new material.

2013

– July 4: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation, Operation Grange, into Madeleine’s disappearance two years into a review of the case. It has “genuinely new” lines of inquiry and has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.

– October 24: Portuguese police confirm that a review of their original investigation has uncovered new lines of inquiry, and they reopen the case.

2014

– January 29: British detectives fly to Portugal amid claims they are planning to make arrests.

– June 3: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.

– December 12: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.

2015

– September 16: The Government discloses that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine has cost more than £10 million.

– October 28: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.

2017

– April 30: The McCanns prepare to mark 10 years since their daughter’s disappearance with a BBC interview in which they vow to do “whatever it takes for as long as it takes” to find her.

2019

– May 3: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.

Sam Rkaina27 May 2023 18:35

Timeline of main events since Madeleine McCann disappeared: part 1

As the three-day hunt for evidence in and around a reservoir in Portugal has ended, here is a timeline of key events since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

2007

– May 3: Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters just after 9pm, but when his wife goes back at about 10pm she finds Madeleine missing.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends dining with the McCanns, reports having seen a man carrying a child earlier that night.

– May 14: Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an “arguido”, or formal suspect, but this is later withdrawn.

– August 11: Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

– September 7: During questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both “arguidos” in their daughter’s disappearance.

– September 9: The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

2008

– July 21: The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the “arguido” status of the McCanns and Robert Murat.

Sam Rkaina27 May 2023 17:27