MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a “wild camping” ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal.
Search teams have concentrated their efforts on the scrubland located between Brueckner’s former residence and the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, from where Maddie vanished in May 2007.
Brueckner has never been charged over Madeleine’s disappearance and denies any involvement.
The German police, who are spearheading the investigation, are hopeful that the convicted child sex offender and rapist might have left crucial evidence that could ultimately link him to Maddie’s murder.
Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least five derelict farmhouses and barns where Brueckner camped at the time the British tot was taken.
An analysis by The Sun of a satellite image from June 2007, showing a building being searched yesterday, uncovered what seems to be a white tent erected within its confines.
The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 – seven weeks after Maddie was taken from her family’s Ocean Club apartment a five minute drive away.
Recent pictures of the same spot show the building’s massive deterioration – and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking elusive scraps of DNA evidence.
The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls.
It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time.
But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the march of time yesterday.
Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings.
And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops.
Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner’s old house.
Ground penetrating radar scanners – capable of finding bodies 15 feet below ground – were also drafted into the grim search.
Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars.
But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign “wild camper” set – believed to include Brueckner.
Police are believed to have launched their “last throw of the dice” search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware.
Local man Joao Pedro, 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: “It used to be a romantic spot – I used to take my girlfriends there.
“But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you’d see camper vans and tents there all time.
“It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.”
A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings.
One officer said: “We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.”
The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner’s single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction.
Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby.
He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched.
A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year.
Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday.
Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area – which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates.
The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie’s body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate.
Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing – like the missing tot’s pink Eeyore pyjamas – might be found are also remote.
German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would “go to ground” when he is released in September.
The vile pervert – who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie – is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
A Portuguese police source said last night: “This really is a last ditch effort – search teams here are hoping they get lucky.
“Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.”
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Here’s a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of non-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
June 3, 2025
Fresh search for Madeleine’s body begins.
September 17, 2025
Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken.
Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year – or over the McCann case.
