Investigators investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are reportedly set to wrap up their final search efforts after three days of scouring bushland and abandoned buildings.
Officers armed with pitchforks could be seen searching the area on the outskirts of Lagos in Portugal on Thursday.
Search teams made up of German and Portuguese police and firefighters used picks and shovels to dig out some of the undergrowth, while an excavator was again used to remove debris from one of the abandoned buildings at the scene.
The operation took place 18 years after three-year-old Madeleine went missing in 2007 in the nearby town of Praia da Luz while on holiday with her family.
The British girl disappeared after being left to sleep while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Workers spent two days surveying one particular abandoned building, using ground penetrating radar on the paved surface after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using an excavator and chainsaws.
British officers were not present during the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said.
Police are expected to complete their search efforts on Thursday.
The Find Madeleine campaign said Madeleine's parents were not commenting due to an “active police investigation”.
German authorities requested the search as part of their ongoing efforts to gather evidence pointing to the possible involvement of prime suspect Christian Bruckner, who is serving a sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
