German detectives face ‘race against time’ to find evidence to link Madeleine McCann’s disappearance to prime suspect.

Madeleine McCann who disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal. Made (Image: PA)

A fresh police search to find missing Madeleine McCann is set to begin in hours close to the Portugese holiday spot where the little girl was last seen alive. German police are said to have requested 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.

Detectives fear they face a race against time to pin Maddie’s disappearance on convicted sex monster Brueckner as he is currently due for release from prison in September when he would likely flee the country. A Portuguese source confirmed this week’s operation is scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning but said some preparation work may 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 McCann suspect Christian Brueckner leaves Lehrte District Court (Image: -)

Gerry and Kate McCann Madeleine McCann’s parents. (Image: -)

The Daily Express understands the searches will take place on more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land near to a ramshackle rented cottage on the outskirts of Praia da Luz where Brueckner spent several years living before 2007.

A police insider said: “The search will take place on 21 privately-owned pieces of land which in some cases are open and not fenced off. Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched.”

Portuguese police are understood to have agreed to cooperate with the 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 and around 30 German officers are understood to be on the ground in Portugal.

It will be the first search 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.

However British police will not be involved.

02-10-2024 Madeleine McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner (Image: Phil Harris)

Previous search teams looking for clues to the disappearance of Madeleine (Image: Phil Harris)

A Met Police spokesman said: “We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

“The MPS is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.”

The previous searches in May 2023 at Arade Dam, an “area of interest” that Brueckner reportedly called his “little paradise”, came to nothing.

German police are convinced the rapist abducted and killed Madeleine when she disappeared, but he has always denied any involvement.

The latest move comes just weeks after Brueckner’s obsession with young children was exposed by a Channel 4 documentary.

But it is not clear if detectives are now acting on a new tip-off following the broadcast about where Madeleine’s body could be.

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 carry out digs in Praia da Luz that involved sniffer dogs trained in detecting bodies and ground-penetrating radar.

Those digs were linked to the leading UK police theory at the time Madeleine died during a break-in and burglars hid her body nearby.

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.

Brueckner is currently serving a seven year term for rape. The 48-year-old convicted paedophile is scheduled for release in September but this could be scuppered by allegations of new offences against prison guards being committed behind bars.

He remains under investigation on suspicion of abduction and murder in the McCann case but whilst German investigators made the unusual move of naming him as a suspect in the case, he has not been charged.

With Brueckner’s release looming, pressure is mounting on prosecutors to charge him following explosive revelations in a Channel 4 documentary and evidence found in a former factory, which authorities believe may link him to Maddie’s abduction.

The materials, unearthed at a disused box factory in Germany, include a vile catalogue of depraved documents, children’s clothing, small bikes, and more than 75 swimsuits and toys believed to belong to young girls.

Some were reportedly buried beneath the body of Brueckner’s dead dog, which was exhumed during the police search.