crime
Third day of the new search operation in the Maddie case
A police search team is combing the banks of the Arade reservoir. photo
© Joao Matos/AP/dpa
16 years after his disappearance without a trace, the Portuguese police are looking for the British girl again. The officials were accompanied by colleagues from Great Britain and Germany. Are there any new clues?
The new search operation in the Maddie case continued on Thursday for the third day in a row in southern Portugal. Portuguese police officers, accompanied by colleagues from Germany and Great Britain, resumed their work at the Arade reservoir near the municipality of Silves in the morning, according to the state news agency Lusa. The search was started on Tuesday – a good 16 years after the disappearance of the then four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann in the Algarve holiday region – at the request of the German investigators.
As on the previous day, forest workers were again on duty on Thursday to remove vegetation, as Lusa reported and could be seen on television pictures. There was also no information as to whether clues could be found that could help clarify the mysterious disappearance of the girl. The Portuguese police emphasized that possible results would only be communicated after the end of the action.
So far, primarily soil samples have been collected for later analysis, the Portuguese state TV broadcaster RTP reported the day before. Dozens of vehicles and specialists were involved in the operation, and blue tents served as the coordination center. The search is expected to end on Thursday.
This new search is taking place about 50 kilometers north-east of the holiday resort of the seaside resort of Praia da Luz, from which little Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007 without a trace. The public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig is investigating the case against a German with a criminal record. It is believed that Christian B., now 46, kidnapped and killed the girl. But a body was never found. Authorities spokesman Hans Christian Wolters only told the German Press Agency that the action was based on “recent developments”.