Two firearms were reportedly discovered during the search for Madeleine McCann last week, according to The Olive Press. These guns, along with fragments of bones and clothing previously reported, have been sent back to Germany for examination.
No additional details regarding the type of firearms found have been released. While the bones are believed to be animal remains, some smaller pieces will undergo analysis.
On Thursday, a team of German and Portuguese investigators concluded a three-day search across a 120-acre area in Lagos, Portugal, as part of their ongoing efforts to gather new evidence against main suspect Christian Brueckner.
Early reports indicated that the operation, which took place 30 miles from where three year old Madeleine disappeared in May 2007, had not yielded any fresh leads.
The team was observed celebrating and hugging each other, and officers involved in the recent searches held a debrief before departing the site. A round of applause was heard before a crate of German beer was removed from one of the tents in the designated base area, reports the Mirror.
British officers were not present during the latest searches, according to the Metropolitan Police. Madeleine’s parents have remained silent during this “active police investigation”, as stated by staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign.
During the first search since 2023, teams meticulously combed through scrubland and dilapidated buildings, including a crumbling farmhouse. In 2023, the investigation led to searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, situated roughly 30 miles from Praia da Luz, where Brueckner was known to frequent between 2000 and 2017. Photos and videos placed him in the vicinity of the reservoir.
A source disclosed to Berlin Morning Post: “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.”
German officials orchestrated the search as part of their ongoing efforts to gather evidence related to Brueckner, who is currently incarcerated for raping a 72 year old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is set for release this September unless new charges emerge.
Last October, a German court exonerated Brueckner of separate sexual offences purportedly committed in Portugal from 2000 to 2017.
Meanwhile, a recent documentary has unearthed unsettling circumstantial evidence at an abandoned warehouse previously owned by Brueckner in Neuwegersleben, Germany.
As reported by The Sun, police who searched the property found over 70 children’s swimming costumes, a toddler’s bicycle, inflatable toys, and a collection of images stored on an 80GB hard drive, purportedly taken in Portugal.
In addition, they discovered a laptop, masks and firearms, as well as a handwritten tale about drugging and abducting a woman and child from outside a nursery.