A new search underway for Madeleine McCann has turned up potential ‘evidence.
German police had requested a new search be carried out on wasteland and properties near where the British toddler went missing back in 2007.
Authorities are racing against time, as they try to find proof to connect prime suspect Christian Brueckner to the case before he is released from jail in September for other offences.
Brueckner has denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
He is currently in jail for r**ing a 72-year-old woman in 2005.
Teams have been seen investigating properties and scrubland over the last few days.
They are also searching five derelict farmhouses, pumping water out of a well, and investigating a reservoir.
Emergency services are working together to trawl through potential evidence, with Portuguese police collaborating with German officers and firefighters.
They have been using pickaxes, shovels, and chainsaws to hack their way through overgrown plants and vegetation to try and make the search easier.
The center of the search is some abandoned properties close to the area where Madeleine disappeared while her parents were out enjoying dinner, and she remained in their apartment with her twin siblings.
Police have confirmed that Brueckner was staying on a ‘wild camping ground’ on the land which is now being searched, as well as at least five derelict farmhouses and barns near where he is believed to have set up camp.
They are also examining waterways and trenches which were dug nearby around the time she went missing.
A white tent was pitched on the land in the days after Madeleine disappeared.
The area being searched is based in the middle of where Brueckner used to live, and the apartment the McCanns were staying in at the time of the mystery.
The Sun shared a satellite photo dating from June 22, 2007, featuring a white tent pitched inside the walls of a derelict building.
It was taken seven weeks after the toddler went missing.
The search teams are also using radars which can penetrate the ground, and can detect human remains up to 15 feet below the ground.
Locals have said the spot used to be a favorite place for couples, until the early 2000s, when it turned into a ‘wild camping’ ground.
A Portuguese police source said last night: “This really is a last ditch effort – search teams here are hoping they get lucky.
“Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.”
Police have until Friday to search the land, so are having to work quickly.
It has now emerged that teams have found samples of potential ‘evidence’ in one of the properties.
It is believed that somebody provided a tip-off to German police, sending pictures of the sites where they claim Madeleine may be buried.
There are more than 20 privately-owned pieces of land which will be searched.
According to a police insider: “The search will take place on 21 privately-owned pieces of land which in some cases are open and not fenced off. Wells, ruins and water storage tanks will be searched.”