Rainer Grimm, boss of the BKA, Germany ’s equivalent of the FBI, is in Portugal overseeing the search which ended yesterday. Before the searches began he expressed a lack of confidence in the operation to his friend

The four words a top German detective said before ‘last-ditch’ Madeleine McCann search

Rainer Grimm, boss of the BKA, Germany ’s equivalent of the FBI, is in Portugal overseeing the search which ended yesterday. Before the searches began he expressed a lack of confidence in the operation to his friend

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Paige Ingram

03:25, 06 Jun 2025Updated 03:29, 06 Jun 2025

The search cost an estimated £300,000 (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The head of the German force leading the fresh searches for Madeleine McCann confided in a friend before this week’s search and shared a candid four word statement.

This week German and Portuguese police descended on several properties in an area of southern Portugal close to Praia da Luz – where Madeleine went missing in 2007. The last time authorities conducted a search related to Madeleine’s disappearance around this area was in 2023. German cops spent a week looking through the Barragem do Arade reservoir, around 30 miles from where Madeleine was last seen, after they got a tip-off.

After three days searching the area this week detectives were pictured packing up their equipment, which included a digger and ground-penetrating radars, after three days searching the area in the estimated £300,000 operation.

One of the base camps close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, where searches were carried out(Image: PA)

Investigators were pictured at several homes linked to prime suspect and convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner – who used to live in the area during the time the toddler vanished, while on holiday. A group of German and Portuguese officers stood around for a debrief as the search officially stopped – which ended in a round of applause and the teams shaking hands. The officers involved also hugged each other after the three day operation

Search teams discovered animal bones and pieces of adult clothing at these sites, according to Portuguese TV reports. Police however have not shared an official statement on what could have been discovered.

The operation kicked off on Tuesday, June 3, with teams scouring through more than 20 plots of land east of Praia da Luz. This included places between the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine vanished and the cottage where German authorities’ prime suspect Christian Breuckner lived.

Rainer Grimm, boss of the BKA, Germany ’s equivalent of the FBI, is in Portugal overseeing the search which ended yesterday. His apparent lack of confidence in the operation to his pal echoed what many have seen as the ‘last throw of the dice’ for investigators. A friend of Mr Grimm wished him luck he responded: “Thanks, we need it,” reports MailOnline.

(Image: Phil Harris)

Convicted paedophile Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman at her Praia da Luz home, has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.

He is due to release in September and has previously made it clear that he plans to flee Germany when he is out of prison. Authorities fear that he could disappear when he walks free if they can’t tie him to the toddler’s disappearance before then.

The last time authorities conducted a search related to Madeleine’s disappearance around this area was in 2023. German cops spent a week looking through the Barragem do Arade reservoir, around 30 miles from where Madeleine was last seen, after they got a tip-off.