Timeline of events since the disappearance of Madeline McCann

A new headway has been made in the case investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann with officers now searching an area close to the hotel where she was last seen.

Madeleine was only three when she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007. She would now be nearly aged 20.

Since then investigations and inquiries involving different national police agencies have taken place with no definitive evidence yet surfacing. Now, officers are searching an area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir with divers being spotted entering the waters.

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The fresh search in the Algarve is being made at the request of German police and in the presence of British officers, a Policia Judiciaria statement said. It said the prime suspect in her disappearance, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017.

Investigators believe the 45-year-old killed Madeleine, then aged three, after abducting her from a holiday apartment. Portuguese officials identified him as a suspect in June 2020 although Brueckner denies involvement in the youngster’s disappearance.

To understand all the events that have led up to this search, we've broken down all the key moments involved in Madeleine's disappearance...

Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Lux, southern Portugal. When his wife returns at 10pm she notices Madeleine is missing.

Detectives take Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an arguido - a formal suspect. But this is later withdrawn.

100 days after Madeleine's disappearance. Investigating officers publicly acknowledge she could be dead.

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