At the request of German investigators
Reports: Portuguese police plan new search operation in “Maddie” case
Maddie disappeared more than 16 years ago
© Luis Forra / DPA
According to media reports, German investigators have asked Portuguese authorities to start a search for the missing Madeleine “Maddie” McCann. For this purpose, divers should search a reservoir.
The “Maddie” case continues to stir people’s minds. It has been more than 16 years since then three-year-old Madeleine “Maddie” McCann disappeared from a holiday resort in Portugal. As reported by the Portuguese media on Monday, the Portuguese police are now reportedly planning a new search operation, which will take place at the request of German investigators. For this purpose, a reservoir is to be searched from Tuesday, which is about 50 kilometers from the holiday resort where the British girl disappeared in 2007. Police cordons could already be seen on television pictures on Monday.
Maddie disappeared from her family’s apartment at a resort in Praia da Luz, on southern Portugal’s Algarve coast, on May 3, 2007, just before her fourth birthday, while her parents were having dinner at a restaurant. Despite large-scale international searches, the case was never solved, and there is still no trace of Maddie.
In 2020 there was a surprising turn in the Maddie case
After years of investigation, there was a surprising turn in the case in June 2020: the Braunschweig public prosecutor announced that they were investigating the murder of the German Christian B. He has a criminal record for sex offenses and lived regularly in the Algarve from 1995 to 2007. However, the authorities have not yet filed charges in this case.
According to the Portuguese weekly “Expresso”, B. had often been to the Arade dam near the small town of Silves during his stay in Portugal. According to reports from the Portuguese media, divers had already searched the area in 2008, but only found remains of animals.
B. is currently serving a several-year prison sentence after a final conviction for a rape in Portugal in 2005. At the same time, the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office accused him last year of several other sex crimes that he is said to have committed between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal.