Camilla Jessen
Bones, clothing, and firearms discovered at a remote Portuguese site.
After years of frustration and dead ends, German police have called the latest search for missing British toddler Madeleine McCann “very constructive.”
The renewed search took place last week at a remote area near Praia da Luz, Portugal, where lead suspect Christian Brueckner is believed to have camped before McCann vanished in May 2007.
This time, investigators unearthed several potentially critical items, including clothing, bones, and two firearms.
All have now been sent for forensic analysis in Germany.
The New Clues
Initial reports suggested the bones found may be from an animal, but German authorities have opted for a detailed forensic investigation to rule out any human connection definitively.
“In total we found two guns, but we don’t know if they are related to Christian Brueckner or his offences,” a source told The Olive Press.
Bone fragments and clothing pieces were also uncovered during the meticulous search, which saw police deploy industrial machinery and ground-penetrating radar across rugged terrain locals have dubbed Brueckner’s “rat run.”
Hans Christian Wolters, the chief prosecutor in Braunschweig, described the joint German-Portuguese operation as “very constructive.”
Brueckner Remains the Prime Suspect
48-year-old Christian Brueckner remains at the center of the investigation.
Currently serving a seven-year sentence in Germany for raping a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, Brueckner has repeatedly denied involvement in McCann’s disappearance.
Nonetheless, German prosecutors maintain he is their prime suspect.
Complicating matters is the looming prospect of Brueckner’s release, expected in September 2025.
Without new forensic evidence directly tying him to Madeleine’s case, authorities may struggle to secure a warrant that would keep him behind bars.
A recent documentary, Madeleine McCann: Inside the Secret Evidence, sheds disturbing light on Brueckner’s past.
The program details a cache of troubling items reportedly found at his former factory hideout, including children’s swimwear, a toddler’s bicycle, toys, masks, and weapons.
Even more unsettling, Brueckner had reportedly written about using the chemical ether to abduct a mother and child, fueling further suspicion, though not yet providing definitive proof of his involvement in McCann’s disappearance.