Police from Germany are launching a new search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared during a vacation with her family in Portugal nearly 20 years ago.
Madeleine was 3 years old when she was on a holiday with her parents, who were from the U.K., on May 3, 2007, The Telegraph reported.
She had been left in her bed at a resort in a room with her twin siblings while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, had dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant, The Associated Press reported.
Kate and Gerry McCann would take turns checking on their children every half hour, Sky News reported.
About 30 German police officers have received permission to search more than 20 plots of private property in Portugal, between Praia de Luz and the home where Christian Brueckner lived at the time.
Brueckner is a suspect in the child’s disappearance. He is in a German prison serving seven years for rape. He was scheduled to be released in September but has been accused of what The Telegraph described as “offences against prison guards.”
He has not been charged in connection with Madeleine McCann’s disappearance. Brueckner denied any involvement, the AP reported.
Police will be looking for signs of her body in the first major search in the country in nine years. Previous searches in the region turned up nothing.
The search is expected to start on Tuesday and last about three days, The Telegraph reported.
It will include Portuguese authorities with support from German officials from the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office, the AP reported.
Britain’s Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the investigation, but is not taking part, adding it will support the investigation, as necessary.
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