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MADELEINE McCann cops have sent samples from their crunch search in Portugal for testing, reports in Germany claim.
The three-day search had widely been labeled a flop after police appeared to leave the site next to Praia da Luz empty-handed last week.
PA
Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz in Portugal[/caption]
Dan Charity
Christian Brueckner is believed to be the lead suspect in the girl’s disappearance[/caption]
Dan Charity
Officials recently went on a renewed search for DNA evidence in Portugal[/caption]
But eagle-eyed police did find tiny fragments, which they are speculating could have links to Maddie after prime suspect Christian Brueckner, 38, wild camped at the site.
The samples have now been sent to Germany for testing amid hopes they could finally reveal the forensic link cops are missing on the case.
A source said: “Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory.
“As Portuguese media report, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things.
“The investigators have not officially commented on whether the finds could have anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance but that is clearly their hope.”
The search took place around an area of scrubland which is located close to where the British toddler was staying with her parents back in 2007.
The dossier of overwhelming circumstantial evidence includes exclusive images of kids’ swimming costumes, a toddler bike and toys found at his property.
We also reveal how cops found a mask, guns and child kidnap stories where Brueckner describes using kidnap chemical ether to take a mum and tot outside a preschool.
Our documentary on the police files represents the biggest leap forwards in understanding of the case since German police revealed Brueckner as a suspect in 2020.
It contains an interview with Irish holiday rep Hazel Behan, 41, who Brueckner was cleared of raping in 2005 at trial in Germany last year.
Hear from experts at The Sun and in Germany about the ongoing race against time to stop dangerous Brueckner being released in as little as three months.
Christian Brueckner refuses to answer police questions or provide an alibi, but has never been formally charged over the disappearance of murder of Madeleine McCann.
He has insisted his innocence in letters while his lawyers continue to maintain he had nothing to do with the taking or killing of Maddie.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
HERE’S a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.