Police will conduct searches at a reservoir in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The Arade dam will be searched on Tuesday, 50 kilometers from where the toddler went missing in Praia da Luz in 2007.
Christian Brueckner, 45, was designated a “arguido” by Portuguese prosecutors in 2022.
German authorities ordered the search because Brueckner was in the area when Madeleine, then three years old, went missing.
Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, had gone missing on 3 May 2007 while on vacation with her family in Portugal’s Algarve.
The Portuguese media broke the story of the search. German authorities refused to confirm it, but said media reports were correct.
The German state prosecutor in Braunschweig, Hans Christian Wolters, informed the BBC that a brief statement of confirmation would be issued on Tuesday morning.
A timeline of the Madeleine McCann case
Police cordoned off a section of the reservoir’s peninsula immediately after midday on Monday, according to the Portuguese television network SIC.
It is believed that the search would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Police have set up blue tents and closed off roads leading to the man-made dam, with a total of 20 officers assigned to the hunt.
The reservoir has not been searched as part of the investigation for the first time.
After receiving information through criminal contacts that Madeleine’s body was in the reservoir, Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia arranged for professional divers to search the canal in 2008.
The most recent search for Madeleine in Portugal came in 2014, when British police were granted permission to inspect scrubland near where she vanished.
Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, attended a vigil earlier this month to honor the 16th anniversary of her disappearance.
In May, they also celebrated their daughter’s 20th birthday, pledging to “never give up” on locating her.
“Congratulations on your birthday, Madeleine.” Still unaccounted for. He is still sorely missed. I’m still looking. “For as long as it takes,” they said in a post on the Find Madeleine Campaign’s official Facebook page.
“We adore you and are looking forward to seeing you. We’re not going down without a fight.”
