Madeleine McCann: Abandoned farmhouse at centre of search as cops seen digging

An eerie, long-abandoned farmhouse on the outskirts of Praia da Luz has become the latest focus in the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of British toddler

Madeleine, then aged three, vanished in 2007 while on holiday in the Portuguese resort with her family. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were out to dinner with friends just yards away and left the toddler sleeping in a room at their holiday let with her twin siblings - before returning to find her gone.

This morning, search teams armed with shovels and strimmers descended on an area between Praia da Luz and a house close to where principal suspect used to live.

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Investigators were clad in gloves and hard hats as they focused their attention on the farmhouse, surrounded by partially collapsed outbuildings. They have since begun methodically clearing debris, rubble and thick vegetation from the grounds surrounding the neglected structure. The remote location is close to where Madeleine vanished in 2007.

German police, who are leading the search, were spotted inside the main part of the abandoned farmhouse this morning. They returned back outside every so often to empty buckets of rubble. Two other detectives were seen photographing various partly-collapsed outbuildings surrounding the structure.

Ground workers then arrived at the farmhouse and were using strimmers to cut back the undergrowth. Police have also been seen using a shovel and pick-axe to penetrate the ground between the outbuildings

A well-placed Portuguese source confirmed this week’s operation would be a land search "to look for any signs of Madeleine’s body". Police were reportedly told last year about possible new evidence in the Praia area from around the time Madeleine went missing.

German national Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the case, and is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005. He is currently being investigated on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn’t yet been charged. He spent many years in Portugal, including in Praia da Luz, around the time of the child’s disappearance - but has denied any involvement in the tot's disappearance.

The Braunschweig Public Prosecutor's Office in Germany said in a statement: "Criminal proceedings are currently under way in Portugal, as part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case. These measures are being implemented through mutual legal assistance by the Portuguese law enforcement authorities with the support of officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office.

"Further information on the background is not currently being released."