The case of Madeleine McCann, a British child who went missing at the age of three from a holiday apartment in Portugal 16 years ago, revived this week, dominating global media as Portuguese officials resumed their hunt for her.
The search, which began its third day on Thursday (May 25), was conducted by authorities in the Algarve region of Portugal, where the youngster went missing in 2007 while on vacation with her parents and siblings.
According to the police, the search was ordered by German officials and was being conducted in the presence of British authorities.
Officers are looking for the family in a region near the Arade Dam, around 30 miles from the seaside village of Praia da Luz, where they were vacationing.
According to local media, a German guy who has been named as a suspect in the case visited the spot. A German prosecutor, Hans Christian Wolters, told NDR that “we just have some indications that we might find evidence there,” according to the New York Times.
The searches have rekindled a case that has engulfed Europe for years, sparking a multinational search effort and inspiring books, front pages, and a Netflix documentary series, as well as endless speculation, false hopes, and suggestions.
What happened to Madeleine?
Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents, reported that they left Madeleine and her siblings, two-year-old twins, in their holiday apartment while they dined at a nearby restaurant.
When Madeleine’s father checked on the kids at 9 p.m., they were all present, but when his wife checked on them an hour later, Madeleine vanished. Soon after, a search began, but it produced few significant leads.
With Madeleine’s face displayed on “Missing” posters and T-shirts, the girl’s disappearance triggered an outpouring of public attention and anguish equal to the British national grieving following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
An initial investigation by Portuguese police found no substantial evidence but drew widespread censure since Madeleine’s parents were named as suspects. In 2008, they were formally cleared.
In 2020, German prosecutors announced explicitly that they did not expect to find Madeleine alive, and that new evidence led them to believe that she had been killed.
Who is the accused?
The reason for the additional searches was unknown, but German officials stated in 2020 that a German sex offender was being probed on suspicion of murder. They did not identify him, but German media identified him as Christian B.
The suspect lived in the Algarve region of Portugal on and off between 1995 and 2007. He has a criminal record for child sexual abuse and was already imprisoned in Germany at the time of his arrest for an unrelated sexual crime and narcotics offenses. According to a German prosecutor, the defendant profited not only from drug trafficking but also from working in restaurants, selling old cars, and stealing from hotel rooms and vacation homes.
Following a public appeal on the tenth anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction in 2017, British authorities announced they had received their first information on the suspect. He has never been charged in connection with her disappearance, and he has repeatedly denied any involvement. In 2022, the Portuguese police designated him an official suspect.
In recent years, interviews with people who knew the suspect have flooded the British media in an attempt to piece together useful information.
What about past search efforts?
Hundreds of individuals from all around the world have aided the family in their quest for Madeleine.
The collaborative operation by German and Portuguese officials is the first formal search in the dam zone; nevertheless, in 2008, Marcos Arago Correia, a Portuguese lawyer, unrelated to the case, engaged professional divers to explore the area after receiving some clues.
As part of Operation Grange in 2014, British police scoured scrubland near the resort where Madeleine went missing for many days but found no evidence.
Madeleine’s family gathered on May 3 to mark the 16th anniversary of her disappearance. “Still missing……….. still very much missed,” her family said in a statement. “We await a breakthrough,” it continued.
What’s the latest update?
According to Portuguese authorities, “material collected” during the three-day search for Madeleine McCann will be taken to Germany for testing.
It comes as the operation winds down, with tents and heavy equipment being removed.
Officers in the Algarve have been looking into the reservoir and surrounding scrubland after receiving “certain tip-offs.”
It is unknown whether anything significant was discovered in Portugal, however, a number of luggage were taken.
Police said the search “resulted in the collection of some material that will be subject to the competent expertise”, and that it would “be handed over to the German authorities”.
