Maddie McCann suspect buried USB with child abuse images next to dead dog
Madeleine McCann has been missing for 16 long years, but her parents have recently been given fresh hope thanks to a new investigation into her disappearance.
Police in Germany ordered the search of an area of woodland on a peninsula at the Barragem do Arade in Portugal, and this week a digging operation commenced.
But today, it is understood that Portuguese police have been told they will no longer be needed after 4pm, signalling a likely end to the operation which started on Tuesday morning.
The fresh probe into the death of the British toddler - who would now have been 20 - began after police received a series of 'tips' about prime suspect Christian Brueckner.
Back in 2020, authorities announced that they had found a collection of USB sticks linked to Brueckner, that were filled with child pornography and buried next to a dead dog in a rubbish dump.
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Police found a sickening cache of images when searching Brueckner's "secret lair" (REX/Shutterstock)
Officers combed the site near Hanover (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)The disturbing stash was found when police searched the site of an abandoned box factory where it is believed Brueckner once lived.
It has been reported that he had a caravan on the site near the village of Neuwegersleben, 65 miles southeast of Hanover.
Police were searching for clues relating to the disappearance of five-year-old Inga Gehricke, who was last seen while on an outing with her family in 2015.
Madeleine McCann hasn't been seen for 16 years (PA)More than 100 officers took part in the search in 2016, and they used dogs, diggers, and underground radar equipment to scour the land.
No body was found in the search, but they made another grim discovery.
Police claimed they found 8,000 pieces of potential evidence, including a cache of child abuse images on USB sticks that were found under a pile of animal bones.
Brueckner was prosecuted in relation to the images.
Police then started their latest search of the reservoir after finding a clue in Brueckner's lair that they hoped could crack open the case.
Police found the sick images buried under a dead dog (Getty Images)Barragem do Arade reservoir is around 31 miles from the Praia da Luz in Portugal, where the McCann family were on holiday when Maddie was last seen in May 2007.
The reservoir is said to be a favourite spot of convicted German rapist Christian Brückner, who allegedly referred to it as "his little paradise".
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It emerged that authorities found photographs of the reservoir when Brueckner was arrested six years ago.
An insider has said that police may be looking for "rags", which could be the pink Marks & Spencer pyjamas worn by Maddie on the night she went missing, reported The Times.
Throughout the search, a team have focused on a small peninsula jutting into the water, as a group walked in a line and scoured the area, as Sky News reports.
Police said they found 8,000 pieces of evidence (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)They were joined by a dog and a trainer, and a member of the group was consulting a device he carried.
A Portuguese source close to the investigation told The Sun: "The search is being taken very seriously and is being controlled totally by the Germans.
"They asked Portuguese officers assisting them to look for any evidence - but especially rags."
Brueckner's "secret lair" was located in these grounds (Phil Harris)High-tech equipment used to detect human remains buried under the earth, as well as underwater if required, was expected to be used.
German prosecutors released a statement, confirming they are working with the Portuguese law enforcement authorities with the support of officers of the [German] Federal Criminal Police Office after several tip-offs.
German prosecutor Christian Wolter said: "We are investigating in Portugal on the basis of certain tips (tip-offs)."
Speaking to the Mirror hours after the searches began, a cop who worked on the original case said: "I absolutely believe that during my lifetime we will find out what happened to Maddie."
Brueckner is currently in a German jail for a rape he committed in Portugal two years before Madeleine disappeared in the country, and separately he is under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn't been charged.
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