Police in Portugal Search Wells For Madeleine McCann in Renewed Effort to Find British Toddler
The naming of a prime suspect in Germany has led to new information and a renewed effort to find the British toddler who disappeared from a resort in 2007.
Hugo Correia/Reuters
Officials in Portugal have confirmed to The Daily Beast that they have searched three deep wells near a campground where the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann stayed. Authorities are currently examining forensic evidence taken from the wells, though the wells contained lime which can lead to a faster disintegration of human remains. Additional searches in the area are expected this week.
Prime suspect Christian Brueckner is a convicted child rapist who is currently in a German prison on drug charges. He is also fighting charges that he raped a 72-year-old woman at the same resort where McCann disappeared.
Brueckner was named as the chief suspect in McCann’s disappearance in June after a cache of child pornography and littel girls’ swimsuits were found in a residence where he lived after McCann’s disappearance.
His camper van was seen at Vila do Bispo near the site of the three wells during the time of McCann’s disappearance. The area is about 10 miles from the Praia da Luz resort where McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment while her parents dined at a tapas bar with friends nearby.
McCann’s parents Kate and Gerry have not commented on the new line of investigation.