World

Madeleine McCann: Police in Portugal begin new search

In the first formal development in the case in years, Portuguese police are carrying out a search at remote dam as they probe the 2007 disappearance of UK toddler Madeleine McCann.

Parents of Madeleine McCann holding up a her photo (DW)
Parents of Madeleine McCann holding up a her photo (DW) DW

Police in Portugal on Tuesday resumed the search for Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who disappeared in 2007.

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The search operation began at the remote Arade reservoir, in the southern region of Algarve, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) inland from a beach resort where the then 3-year-old girl went missing from a rented apartment while on a holiday with her family.

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Local television footage showed a blue police tent, with the area around the dam cordoned off to the media and public.

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Reports said that authorities had also combed the area in 2008 but divers had found only animal remains.

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Why is the new search being conducted?

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According to news agency Reuters, the new search was being carried out at the behest of German authorities, who last year formally identified a German man, Christian B., as an official suspect in McCann's disappearance.

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He is under investigation on suspicion of murder but hasn't been charged.

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In June 2020, German prosecutors said they had "concrete evidence" he killed the British girl.

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The 45-year-old was in the Algarve in 2007 but has denied any involvement.

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In October, the suspect was charged by prosecutors in the German city of Braunschweig in several separate cases involving sexual offenses allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

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What were the circumstances of Madeleine McCann's disappearance?

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On May 3, 2007, McCann disappeared from her bed in the tourist resort of Praia da Luz.

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The toddler was in the same room as her 2-year-old twin brother and sister while her parents were dining with friends at a nearby tapas bar.

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British, Portuguese and German police have since tried to piece together what happened.

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McCann's disappearance had gripped attention worldwide amid public claims of having spotted her stretching as far away as Australia.

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There have also been several books and television documentaries about the case.

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dvv/rt (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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