Major new Madeleine McCann search under way in Portugal

Portuguese and German authorities have started a new search into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal nearly two decades ago.

Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from an apartment complex in the town Praia da Luz in Algarve during a family holiday on 3 May 2007. Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world.

On Monday, Portuguese police confirmed they were carrying out the search on warrants issued by German prosecutors.

Portuguese police say the search - which covers the municipality of Lagos near Praia da Luz - is due to continue until Friday.

Four vehicles carrying German police have arrived on the search site, the roads to which have been closed off.

German investigators have taken the lead in the case since they identified Christian Brückner as their prime suspect in 2020.

The 48-year-old is currently serving a sentence in Germany for a separate crime - the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He is due to be released later this year.

German authorities suspect him of murder but have not found enough evidence to bring charges, while Brückner repeatedly denies any involvement.

Portuguese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they would hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German authorities.

The team of German and Portuguese investigators have been given permission to search 21 plots of land between the Ocean Club resort Madeleine disappeared from and where Brückner had been staying at the time.

German authorities told the BBC on Monday that "criminal proceedings are currently under way in Portugal" with the support of Portuguese police.

The previous search was two years ago, focussed around a reservoir where Madeleine was last seen.

Brückner, who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the reservoir.

The night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor apartment.

Her mother, Kate, discovered her was missing at around 22:00.

A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against him.

Madeleine's parents last month marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".

The Metropolitan Police - which this week said it was "aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal" - continues its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.

The case, known as Operation Grange, has been going since 2011.