Live updates: Police drain a well in search for Madeleine McCann
3 June 2025, 13:00 | Updated: 3 June 2025, 15:56
Search teams have been seen draining a well and clearing areas of dense vegetation near abandoned buildings as the latest search for Madeleine McCann continues in Portugal.
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German investigators along with Portuguese police officers and firefighters are working in a little-developed area of countryside a few miles from Praia da Luz where Madeleine was last seen in 2007.
Madeleine, then aged three, disappeared while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings.
Journalists were being kept a distance away from the search sites on Tuesday and a no-fly zone was imposed that stopped the used of drones, although some activity could be seen as teams used strimmers, pick-axes, shovels and chainsaws to clear the undergrowth and debris surrounding an abandoned building.
Personnel wore safety gear such as gloves and hard hats as they worked in the dense vegetation, and firefighters and police were seen using a yellow hose to drain a well.
Around a dozen officers focused on one abandoned building where digging was taking place, while another member of the search team cleared large rocks.
The Sun reported that investigators are also planning to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground.
TV footage showed two Portuguese police officers guarding the end to a narrow lane that leads through an area of fields and scrubland with a few houses and a vineyard.
It has been variously reported that investigators will look where trenches were dug near the resort at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance, at wells, ruins and water tanks, and that there are plans to examine 21 pieces of land.
The search is being carried out at the request of the German federal police as they look for evidence that could implicate prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought.
Who is Christian Brueckner?
The 'prime suspect' of Maddie's case is Christian Brueckner, born Christian Fischer, in Bavaria in 1976.
He has more than a dozen previous convictions for burglary, theft, and sex offences.
He moved to Praia da Luz, Portugal, where Maddie disappeared, in 1995 - after fleeing a youth custody sentence for sexual abuse in Germany
Brueckner was identified as a suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance in June 2020.
In October 2022, Brueckner was charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Maddie's disappearance.
Brueckner then goes went on trial at a court in Brunswick, Germany, in February 2024, for three counts of rape and two counts of child sexual abuse in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, unrelated to the McCann case.
In October 2024, Brueckner was acquitted of all five offences.
The acquittal means Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, is due to be released in September 2025 if no further charges are brought.
Media reports suggest new evidence, including a hard drive of child abuse images, has emerged from a disused factory in Neuwegersleben, East Germany, that Brueckner bought for £20,000 in 2008.
Maddie's family 'determined' to find her
On her 22nd birthday in May, Maddie's parents gave an emotional tribute to their daughter who disappeared 18 years ago.
Kate and Gerry McCann thanked their "faithful supporters" for "never forgetting" about her.
The couple said that "no matter how near or far" their "beautiful and unique" Madeleine was, she "continues to be right with us".
Posting on their 'Find Madeleine' website, the McCanns maintained that their determination to track down their missing daughter was "unwavering".
Search lasting until Friday
Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the search, along with Portuguese officers, for Madeleine McCann.
The Metropolitan Police said it is aware of the operation but that British officers will not be present.
The search due to last until Friday.
Firefights seen draining well in search for evidence
It has been reported that investigators will look where trenches were dug near the resort at the time of Maddie's disappearance, at wells, ruins and water tanks.
Firefighters and police were seen using a yellow hose to drain a well.
The Sun reported that investigators are also planning to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground
What are the police looking for?
Police are scouring the countryside near Christian Brueckner’s old farmhouse.
The focus of the search:
- The farmhouse where Brueckner lived at the time Maddie went missing.
- Evidence Maddie was brought to the area, from the holiday apartment where her family stayed.
- Two wells, officers are taking water out to see what is inside, local media reports.
- Toys or any objects that have DNA on them.
It is not yet clear what sparked the search.
Journalists were being kept a distance away from the search site and huge areas are cordoned off combined with a no-fly zone.
What has happened this year in search for Maddie?
- February 20: A Polish woman claiming to be Madeleine is arrested at Bristol Airport. Julia Wandelt is charged with stalking Gerry and Kate McCann, as well as their two children. She is due to appear at Leicester Crown Court on October 2.
- April 17: Scotland Yard receives an additional £108,000 in their search for Madeleine, taking the total to more than £13.2 million since 2011.
- May 6: Media reports suggest new evidence, including a hard drive of child abuse images, has emerged from a disused factory in Neuwegersleben, East Germany, that suspect Christian Brueckner bought for £20,000 in 2008.
- June 2: Police announce that they will commence new searches of more than 20 sites between Praia da Luz and the Algarve home of Brueckner.
- June 3: Searches get under way around 3.5 miles from Praia da Luz, in the Atalaia area, with teams expected to use radar equipment that can scan beneath the ground. Around 30 German police officers, including forensic experts, are expected to take part in the search along with Portuguese officers, with the activity due to last until June 6.
Search teams clear undergrowth near abandoned buildings
German and Portuguese search teams are examining an area a few miles from Praia da Luz that is largely fields and scrubland, with a few buildings.
Search teams have used strimmers, pick-axes, shovels and chainsaws to clear the undergrowth and debris surrounding an abandoned structure.
Search turns to dilapidated farmhouse
Police are now focusing their search on a dilapidated farmhouse.
Officers have been seen digging around the hillside overlooking Atalaia and using radar equipment to examine the former home of prime suspect Christian Brueckner.
The German national lived in the Portuguese countryside until 2006 but is thought to have returned to the area around the time that Madeleine McCann went missing in May 2006.
Prime suspect brags about freedom from behind bars
The prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance has said he is "not aware of any guilt" as he gave a bombshell interview.
Christian Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the Algarve in 2006.
It is around his house that German police are currently looking for evidence into him.
He told German media that he is looking forward to getting out of prison to enjoy a steak and drink beer. Brueckner did not comment on Madeleine's disappearance.
Read Jacob Paul's full story here.
