The strange sanctuary of Madeleine McCann found by a couple in Portugal, near where the girl disappeared

In December 2007, a retired couple from the United Kingdom who was on vacation in Portugal noticed a kind of sanctuary, which they linked to the disappearance of madeleine mccann. The little girl was last seen on May 3 of the same year, while she was enjoying a family vacation in the European country. Although tourists reported their discovery immediately, the authorities paid no attention to the find and, recently, a new line of inquiry led to an excavation at the site.

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Last week, the authorities of Portugal and Germanywhere a suspect was identified in 2020, collaborated to carry out a search on the shoreline of the reservoir Barragem do Aradewhere McCann disappeared 16 years ago, in the Algarve.

Members of the criminal investigation unit of the Portuguese Judicial Police work in the area of ​​the Arade dam, in Silves, on May 25, 2023. (Photo by FILIPE AMORIM / AFP). (PHILIP AMORIM /)

A British retired couple, from 66 and 67 years and who asked to identify himself as Ralph and AnnHe was on vacation in the area. seven months after Madeleine’s disappearance. On one of his routes, warned a kind of sanctuaryformed by a row of “arrow-shaped” rocks heading towards the water and towards a picnic area, where they found a bouquet of flowers and a photo of the little girl; as stated Daily Mail.

“Remembering it gives me goosebumps”, pointed out the woman, who reported that a bouquet of white lilies and a photograph of the three-year-old British girl perched on one of the stones. According to the couple, after communicating their discovery to the portuguese policeThey took testimony from them but got no response.

The tribute to the little girl had a bouquet of white lilies, according to the couple. (Daily Mail).

Later, after the arrest of Christian Brueckner as the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, the German authorities opened a new line of research and they asked any tourist who observed something in the vicinity to report it. “Back then, when we found him, everything was very strangeRalf warned. And he noted: “I thought, ‘Someone threw Madeleine in the water and then came back to make a shrine to her memory?’”

The “sanctuary” found in honor of Madeleine.

An exhaustive search operation

According to the aforementioned newspaper, the largest search operation in recent years was carried out, in the vicinity of the place where Madeleine McCann disappeared, for three days. The material found will be analyzed by the researchers, although they also reported that the scenario they described Ralf and Ann had disappeared: both the photo of the little girl and the bouquet of flowers. While, soil samples were taken in the area and sent to Germany for analysis by the authorities.

In general terms, the search results did not provide much hope for the little girl’s parents kate and gerry. “Of course there is some expectation, but it is not high,” said the prosecutor. Christian Wolters. And he added: “We’re still looking for the bodyand not only there are also other things”.

For her part, the director of the Association of Missing Children, Patricia de Sousa Ciprianosaid: “If these new searches in the Arade dam confirm flagrant errors in the investigation, then the portuguese police have to justify themselves and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Source: Elcomercio