New search in Madeleine McCann case to get under way in Portugal

Police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance are set to begin a major new search in Portugal this morning.

German officers will scour more than 20 plots of land in the east of Praia da Luz, near the cottage where suspect Christian B lived and close to where Madeleine disappeared. Radar equipment that can scan beneath ground will reportedly be used.

Portuguese police said they were carrying out a European investigation order from German authorities. The UK's Metropolitan Police said it wouldn't be present but would "support our international colleagues where necessary".

Madeleine disappeared on holiday in Praia da Luz in 2007, in what has become one of the world's most high-profile missing person cases. The three-year-old was asleep with her younger siblings in an apartment before their mother Kate discovered her missing.

Her parents were dining with friends nearby on the holiday complex and taking turns to check on their children every half hour. German authorities last carried out searches in 2023 near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.

It was previously searched in 2008 after Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia paid divers following claims Madeleine's body was there. Police sources told Sky's partner in the country, SIC Noticias, the new search was expected to start on Tuesday morning.

It said authorities were looking for Madeleine's body or an indication she may have once been there. Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under German law, is coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.

He has not been charged or indicted over Madeleine's appearance and denies any involvement. In October, he was acquitted on rape and indecent assault charges in a trial in Germany - which also heard references to his status as the main suspect in the McCann case.

However, a German prosecutor told Sky News in January he wouldn't face charges in the foreseeable future. Read more from Sky News:Mount Etna erupts, sending tourists fleeingPersonal trainer jailed over 'first date' chase 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.".