Madeleine McCann search latest: Animal bones among limited findings as police hunt ends in Praia da Luz

The renewed search for clues in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance was spurred by the impending release from prison of the only current suspect, Christian Brueckner.

The convicted rapist was first named in connection with the toddler’s disappearance in 2020, and was made an official suspect in 2022, but police have so far not charged him. He has denied any involvement.

Currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, Brueckner is set to be released by September unless further charges are brought.

Earlier this year, German prosecutors confirmed Brueckner had applied for early release, after he was cleared in October last year by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.

In an interview with RTL, Brueckner said he planned to vanish after his release due to the intense attention he had received as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Neither German nor Portuguese police have released any formal statements since wrapping up the search last night, but a Portuguese officer told the Sun: “We have found nothing”.

The ghost of Madeleine McCann has returned to Praia da Luz 18 years later as German police mount fresh searches a mile away on top of dramatic volcanic cliffs overlooking the town.

The renewed search for clues in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann ended on Thursday, with no official comments from police about whether they found any significant evidence.

Neither German nor Portuguese police have released official statements since the renewed search began this week for solid answers over the disappearance of Madeleine McCann 18 years ago.

However, local media reported that some evidence has been collected over the past day for testing.

Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported that some material had been gathered on Wednesday and was being processed and analysed to see if it contained anything relevant to the investigation.

A local television station, SIC, reported that animal bones and clothing were among the limited findings of the large-scale investigation.

Dozens of police from Germany and Portugal spent three days scouring a 120-acre swathe of scrubland, just a couple of miles from where Madeleine was last seen alive.

Amy Clare Martin reports from Portugal

A neighbour of German suspect Christian Brueckner, who lived near Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, described him as an “angry” young man who she would hear having rows with his girlfriend.

Brueckner, who has denied any involvement in the McCann case, was living in the town around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance.

The neighbour said: “If I was riding past and he'd be standing outside, we'd say hello, you know, how are you,” she said. “Nothing more. Then we found out he was a really nasty piece of work.”

The resident, who used to ride her horse around the 120-acre search area, said the farmhouses and outbuildings on the site have been derelict since at least the 80s.

“It is the first time I've heard of Atalaia being searched,” she said. “I know the properties because I used go up there all the time with my horse. I know exactly where they are. Whether he'd been up there or done anything, no clue.”

The neighbour said locals were “exhausted” by the search operation - just the latest in a long history of investigations in the 18 years since Madeleine disappeared.

Dozens of police spent three days shifting rubble, digging with shovels and even drained a well among abandoned buildings in a 120-acre piece of countryside near Praia da Luz for evidence in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.