Police probing Madeleine McCann disappearance begin reservoir search in Portugal

Fresh searches have begun in Portugal as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The missing child was just three years old when she disappeared from the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz, in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3, 2007.

It was confirmed on Monday that police investigating the case have been granted the authority to search a reservoir near to Praia de Luz.

Police divers were seen entering the water early on Tuesday at the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles away.

A Policia Judiciaria statement on Monday said they are co-ordinating searches in the Algarve at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers.

The operation is thought to be related to the movements of Christian Brueckner – who was made an “official suspect” in the case last year.

Convicted sex offender Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for rape in Portugal in 2005.

Prosecutors in the northern city of Braunschweig in October charged Brueckner in several separate cases involving sexual offences allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

However, the court decided not to hear the case because the region where it is located is not the last place where Bruckner lived in Germany.

He has never been charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and has denied any involvement.

Earlier this month, her parents Kate and Gerry McCann, from Glasgow, published a statement to mark her 20th birthday, 16 years after her disappearance.

They said: “Today marks the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction.

“Still missing… still very much missed.

“It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.

“The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough.”