Madeleine McCann cops say 'a number of items' were recovered during Algarve ... trends now
German cops investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance have said a 'number of items' which may be connected to the missing girl were recovered during their search of a reservoir in the Algarve.
Investigators last week searched the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in the Algarve, which prime suspect Christian Brueckner referred to as a 'little piece of paradise' and is located 30 miles from where Madeleine was taken in 2007.
Detectives cleared a large area of woodland at the reservoir and dug eight deep holes to collect samples of soil, which have been sent for forensic and DNA testing in Germany.
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: 'A number of items were seized as part of the investigation. These will be in the evaluated in the coming days and weeks.
'Whether individual items actually have a connection to the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be said. The investigations conducted here in Braunschweig against the 46-year-old suspect are expected to continue for a long time.'
Investigators last week searched the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in the Algarve (pictured)
Authorities gather at a makeshift base camp in the Arade dam area during the search operation amid the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance on May 23
After the dig police left behind two-foot deep holes and the soil they took from them is being forensically analysed in Germany.
It was thought that this analysis, which could result into vital clues about Maddie's disappearance, could take months.
It still remains unclear exactly why investigators decided to search the land near the dam so closely.
Police teams were seen methodically taking down trees and hacking at the undergrowth to expose an area just a short distance from the water.
Photographs appear to show the remains of a camp at the mysterious spot with broken furniture, a torn ship's buoy and even what looked like a makeshift toilet made from a chair.
Portuguese sources point to an informant handing police a specific tip-off that Brueckner visited the site just days after Maddie disappeared from her room in Praia da Luz.
This tip-off is believed to have been matched with geolocation clues found in Brueckner's collection of 8,000 videos and images.
Together it is thought that these clues combined triggered the search at the remote site.
It was claimed they were looking for a camcorder and a gun tossed into the water but Portuguese police sources were quick to dismiss this.
Madeleine (left) was aged three in May 2007 when she vanished from her bedroom in the apartment her family were staying at in the Praia da Luz resort on the Algarve coast. German prosecutors believe Christian Brueckner (right) is behind her disappearance
German criminal profiler Axel Petermann says the cops were right to dig at a place Brueckner is so fond of.
He told The Mirror: 'The criminal perpetrators who I got to know over the years tend to hide their victims in places where they feel safe and can assess danger.
'These are places which are secluded and secret and where they can stop and assess various risks.
'They can also be places where they feel good, and where there is a certain private memory of a certain act.
'So, I think the search activity may have been going in this direction.'
He added: 'My recommendation when dealing with suspects in the case of missing people is always to find the places where these suspects spent time, where they had secrets, where they could assess risks, so from this point of view I think the investigators' current search was very important.
'You must always delve into the life of the suspect so you can find out about their preferences, their tendencies, their favourite locations where they liked to spend time.
'And I don't think you can really find any better possibilities than to look in secret, confidential locations.'
Bruecker is now behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve region from where McCann went missing. He has always said he has nothing to do with Maddie's disappearance.
He is currently due for release in 2026 and argues that police and prosecutors are 'attempting to create a monster' to 'divert and let people think that I am the right one'.
However, chief public prosecutor Hans-Christian Wolters, who is pursuing the case against Brueckner, has said in the past they have 'concrete evidence' that Maddie is dead and believe Brueckner killed her.
Wolters confirmed that they will be making an announcement about the results of the dig soon.
Yet he suggested that his investigation team may not have discovered any crucial evidence just yet.
Speaking to The Mirror, Wolters said: 'We will issue a short press release. But please don't expect too much, especially nothing spectacular.'
Investigators leading the search for Madeleine McCann reportedly believe there are two other areas in Portugal they can scour for clues.
When investigators last week searched the remote Barragem do Arade reservoir in the Algarve, police said they found a 'relevant clue' during their search of the beauty spot after an informant was able to match photographs showing Brueckner close to the reservoir.
It is now understood there could be other areas
