THE last-gasp search for Madeleine McCann has been called off at the end of the third day – dashing hopes of nailing Christian Brueckner to the case with DNA evidence.

Scores of cops painstakingly combed scrubland near Praia da Luz with JCBs, radar and fingertip searches, believing the tot or her pyjamas could have been buried there

Around 60 cops scoured the area but found nothing
Credit: Dan Charity

The search was focused on a handful of derelict buildings
Credit: Dan Charity

Madeleine McCann went missing while on holiday with her family in 2007
Credit: PA

Christian Brueckner appears in court in Germany last month
Credit: Dan Charity

There was an option to extend the search until tomorrow if any clues had been found – but cops turned up “nothing of consequence”.

Despite initial suggestions samples collected during the search would be sent to Germany for analysis, Portuguese sources this afternoon confirmed that would not happen.

Animal bones and adult clothing were unearthed, but no traces linked to Madeleine McCann, so there is no cause for further inspection.

A Portuguese police officer told The Sun: “We have found nothing. There is nothing worth being sent to Germany for testing. We are finishing today.”

A group of 30 officers was seen searching scrubland on foot before dismantling the cordon tape around 4pm.

Attention now turns to prime suspect Brueckner’s impending release from jail, when he is expected to flee from Germany and slip away for good.

Prosecutors have until September to rustle up an extension to his sentence to guarantee the opportunity to bring him to justice in the event of conclusive evidence.

At least five abandoned stone farmhouses and barns were scoured in the area, where Brueckner is known to have lived in a “wild camp”.

Particular attention was paid to a farmhouse where 2007 satellite images showed what appeared to be a white tent.

A trench was dug out with an excavator and officers returned today to conduct a close fingertip search.

This week’s search – the first since May 2023 – deployed special radar technology which can scan the ground and detect buried objects.

Plans to scour the whole area were scrapped yesterday – and cops focused all their efforts on at least five abandoned buildings.

The Sun revealed that this search was ordered after key figures in the case were flown back to Germany to again give statements on the claims Brueckner kidnapped and killed the toddler in 2007.

He has never been formally charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and denies any involvement – but German cops are convinced he is guilty.

The Sun revealed in a documentary last month that German police uncovered a cache of disturbing evidence revealing Brueckner’s obsession with young kids.

There was also a hard-drive of pictures, which German investigators continue to keep secret, that is believed to indicate why they are sure Madeleine is dead.