Madeleine McCann search ends after just three days as police pack up
The for missing toddler has been officially ended after just three days.
German and Portuguese police descended on several properties in an area of southern Portugal close to Praia da Luz - where Madeleine went missing in 2007. Cops were pictured packing up their equipment - which included a digger and ground-penetrating radars - and they are believed to have not found any trace of the missing girl. Investigators were pictured at several homes linked to prime suspect and convicted paedophile - who used to live in the area during the time the toddler vanished, while on holiday.
A group of German and Portuguese officers stood around for a debrief as the search officially stopped - which ended in a round of applause and the teams shaking hands. The officers involved also hugged each other after the three day operation.
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Despite this, nothing related to the missing girl appeared to have been found during the operation, police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been discovered.
Police initially had a warrant until Friday, June 6, to investigate areas of interest in southern Portugal. Earlier today, investigators indicated that they were expected to end their search on Thursday if nothing was found.
The operation kicked off on Tuesday, June 3, with teams scouring through more than 20 plots of land east of Praia da Luz. This included places between the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine vanished and the cottage where German authorities' prime suspect Christian Breuckner lived.
Search teams discovered animal bones and pieces of adult clothing at these sites, according to Portuguese TV reports.
The huge operation saw more than 60 officers involved in the latest search. Police were pictured using a JCB digger and cutting-edge ground-penetrating radar scanners.
One of the places searched was a cottage once lived in by prime suspect Brueckner. The fresh search was reportedly prompted by new information about their suspect.
Convicted paedophile Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman at her Praia da Luz home, has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.
He is due to release in September and has previously made it clear that he plans to flee Germany when he is out of prison. Authorities fear that he could disappear when he walks free if they can't tie him to the toddler's disappearance before then.
The last time authorities conducted a search related to Madeleine's disappearance around this area was in 2023. German cops spent a week looking through the reservoir, around 30 miles from where Madeleine was last seen, after they got a tip-off.