MADDIE CASE: EXTENSIVE SEARCHES CONTINUE IN ALGARVE, POLICE COMB ABANDONED HOUSES AND WELLS

ALGARVE, PORTUGAL • Eighteen years after Madeleine McCann's disappearance, police have returned to the Algarve, Portugal, for an intense search operation. Investigators are scouring abandoned houses and wells near Atalaia, hoping to find new clues before the prime suspect, Christian Brueckner, is released from prison in Germany.

Atalaia, Algarve – Police are currently back in a rugged, rural area near Atalaia, in the Algarve, characterized by small plots, numerous wells, and ruins. They are searching for new clues regarding the disappearance of Maddie McCann, the British girl who vanished in May 2007 from Praia da Luz, where she was on holiday with her parents.

Eighteen years after the case, the investigators' goal is to gather new evidence before Christian Brueckner, the long-time prime suspect, is released from prison in Germany.

The scope of the current searches could be the most extensive since the initial investigation was closed in 2008, a year after Madeleine's disappearance. Operations are focusing on areas not previously explored in such depth, in the hope of shedding light on one of the world's most well-known missing persons cases.