German police will lead the searches, expected to take place between Praia da Luz where the three-year-old vanished on May 3 2007 and a house near the holiday resort where prime suspect Christian Brueckner used to live.
They will be the first in Portugal for more than two years following a near-week-long operation involving Portuguese, German and police officers at a remote dam a 40-minute-drive from Praia da Luz in 2023.
Portuguese police on Monday erected police tents and sealed off dirt roads near the former home of Brueckner.
Photos showed white and blue forensic tents pitched in a remote scrubland area, close to a crumbling cottage where the convicted paedophile once lived.
Officers could be seen taping off dusty tracks ahead of the searches it is hoped could be a breakthrough moment in the 17-year-old case.
Sources said the new searches would take place on more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land near to the ramshackle rented cottage on the outskirts of Praia da Luz where Brueckner spent several years living.
They said the search area would extend from the house eastwards towards an inland area known as Atalaia in the direction of Lagos.
Chritian Brueckner
AP
“Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched. The landowners haven’t had to be asked for permission and they can’t stop the searches from continuing if they turn up because police will be acting with a judicial warrant.”
Another said: “Around 30 German police officers have already arrived in Portugal and will be starting the search tomorrow. Portuguese police will also be on the ground.
“We are talking about a rural area with a lot of waste ground. Some of the areas that are going to be looked at have already been searched before.”
The German police team is expected to include forensic experts, who were also present for the May 2023 Arade Dam searches.
They were the first major searches in Portugal for Madeleine McCann in nine years following an earlier June 2014 operation when British police were given permission to do digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.
The search in 2023
Getty Images
Those Scotland Yard digs were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars dumped her body nearby.
They also failed to produce any evidence pointing to the missing youngster’s whereabouts.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the latest searches but said they were not directly involved.
They said: “We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.”
Portuguese authorities from the Judicial Police (PJ) criminal investigation unit work onboard a boat during a search operation in 2023 in the Arade dam area, in Silves, near Praia da Luz
AFP via Getty Images
It is not clear if detectives carrying out the new seatches are acting on a new tip-off about where Madeleine’s body could be.
Portugal’s Policia Judiciaria police force confirmed: “The Polícia Judiciária is complying with a European Investigation Decision issued by the German authorities… with a view to carrying out a wide range of measures, specifically search warrants.”
The country’s Attorney General’s office have yet to make any official comment and are not expected to do so until after the search work begins.
In a smaller operation in July 2020 Portuguese police and firefighters searched three wells for Madeleine’s body but failed to find any trace of her. A well-placed Portuguese source confirmed this week’s operation was scheduled get underway on Tuesday and preparation work would take place beforehand.
He said: “They will be land searches only. The main objective is to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body.”
Madeleine was just three years old when she disappeared while on holiday in Portugal in 2007 (handout/PA)
PA Media
Madeleine vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz, after they left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends.
Portuguese police are understood to have agreed to cooperate with the latest search after it was approved by the country’s judicial authorities following a formal request from German cops and prosecutors.
The search is expected to last around three days unless anything relevant emerges.
Brueckner remains in prison in Germany where he is serving a seven year term for rape. The 48-year-old convicted paedophile faces having his hopes of being released from jail in September scuppered after reportedly being accused of new offences against prison guards behind bars.
Home Office sources said a request to provide up to £108,000 was approved for the probe, known as Operation Grange, for 2025-26.
