'Material collected' by Madeleine McCann investigators to be sent for testing as reservoir hunt ends

25 May 2023, 21:39 | Updated: 26 May 2023, 02:51

Material collected in the latest search for Madeleine McCann will be sent for testing in Germany, Portuguese police have said.

German police renewed search efforts at a remote reservoir and surrounding scrubland in the Algarve on Tuesday, shortly after receiving “certain tip-offs” related to the location.

It comes after the operation came to an end with heavy machinery removed and tents being taken down.

It's not known whether anything significant was discovered, but several bags were taken away.

Police said the three-day search had "resulted in the collection of some material that will be subject to the competent expertise", and would "be handed over to the German authorities".

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Holes, which are believed to have been dug by the search team to collect soil samples were found in the search area after it reopened.

A source close to the operation told the Reuters news agency that was "nothing to report" following the search, which saw a vast area of undergrowth cut back with rakes and pickaxes, and sniffer dogs used.

German prosecutor Christian Wolters said: "Of course there is a certain expectation, but it is not high."

He added that it was important to show that authorities were investigating the case.

The search was conducted approximately 30 miles from Praia da Luz, the resort where three-year-old Madeleine went missing in 2007.

"Of course we are still looking for the body," Mr Wolters said. "We're not just looking for that, of course. There are other things too.

"Any discovery of clothing could help the investigation."

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Last year German prosecutors named Christian Brueckner as an official suspect in Madeleine's disappearance.

It is claimed the convicted child abuser and drug dealer used to visit the reservoir, and allegedly referred to it as "his paradise".

Brueckner, who dies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, is currently in prison in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve where Madeleine went missing.

He has not been charged with any crime related the missing British girl.