The Metropolitan Police say they are “aware” of the searches set to be conducted by German federal police in Portugal – where Madeleine disappeared while on holiday with her family in the resort of Praia da Luz 18 years ago.
A spokesperson for the force said: “We are aware of the searches being carried out by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is not present at the search, we will support our international colleagues where necessary.”
German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters also said in a statement that as part of the investigation, “criminal proceedings are currently taking place in Portugal”.
It comes as Portuguese police sources told Sky’s partner in the country, SIC Noticias, that the search was expected to start on Tuesday morning.
The three-year-old British girl was asleep with her younger twin siblings in the family’s Portuguese rented holiday apartment before their mother Kate discovered her missing at around 10pm on 3 May 2007.
Kate and Gerry McCann were dining nearby on the complex with friends and taking turns to check on all their sleeping children every half an hour.
Officers are set to scour more than 20 rustic plots of land in the easternmost part of Praia da Luz – near the house where suspect Christian B lived at the time and close to where Madeleine disappeared.
SIC Noticias also reports that German and Portuguese authorities are looking for either Madeleine’s body or for an indication that she may have been there at the time.
Her disappearance is one of the most high-profile cases of a missing person in British history.
Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under Germany’s privacy law, is currently in jail and coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in the resort.
He has not been charged or indicted in relation to the disappearance of Madeleine, and he denies any involvement.
A German prosecutor told Sky News in January that he will not face any charges in the foreseeable future.
In October, Christian B was acquitted on a series of rape and indecent assault charges after a non-jury trial in Germany, in which several references were made to his status as the main suspect in the Madeleine case.
German authorities last carried out searches in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
It had previously been searched in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid for specialist divers to search it over claims her body was there.
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Last month, Madeleine’s parents marked the 18th anniversary of her disappearance, vowing they would keep searching.
“No matter how near or far she is, she continues to be right here with us, every day, but especially on her special day,” they said ahead of her 22nd birthday.
“We continue to ‘celebrate’ her as the very beautiful and unique person she is. We miss her.”
