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Madeleine McCann: police begin fourth day of Praia da Luz scrubland search Madeleine McCann: police investigate sewerage system in Praia da Luz
(about 1 hour later)
Detectives using sniffer dogs have begun a fourth day of searches in dense scrubland a short walk from where Madeleine McCann was last seen alive seven years ago. Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have opened manholes and begun searching drains in the Portuguese holiday resort where she went missing in 2007.
Officers continued scouring the patch of overgrown land on Thursday morning using two springer spaniels that were deployed in the search for murdered schoolgirl April Jones. A team of British and Portuguese police officers lifted off three manhole covers and used a micro-camera on a long stick to search the underground sewerage system in Praia da Luz on Thursday.
As detectives returned to the 15-acre site in the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz, more details emerged about two key search sites that have become the focus of the investigation over the past three days. The manholes are around 20ft from a grave-like hole discovered on Wednesday by officers using ground penetrating radar. Around two dozen journalists, holidaymakers and residents looked on as the work was carried out on a road that borders the 15-acre area of scrubland where the search began on Monday.
One of the sites is a concealed shaft in the ground discovered by detectives beneath a sheet of corrugated iron. Forensic officers wearing protective clothing and face masks examined the site for several hours on Wednesday, erecting a white tent to shield their work from the glare of the world's media. Officers continued scouring the patch of overgrown land on Thursday, using two springer spaniels that were deployed in the search for murdered Welsh schoolgirl April Jones.
Portuguese newspapers reported on Thursday that this site was a disused storage box where children used to play. The shaft, measuring around 5ft by 3ft (150cm by 90cm), was covered by mounds of earth and a corrugated iron sheet, which is thought to have concealed the hole for years. More details have emerged about two key search sites that have become the focus of the investigation over the past three days.
Another key area of interest for detectives was said to be a grave-like hole, where officers used ground penetrating radar before erecting a white tent and carrying out digging work. One of the sites is a concealed shaft in the ground discovered by detectives beneath a sheet of corrugated iron. Forensic officers wearing protective clothing and face masks examined the site for several hours on Wednesday, erecting a white tent to shield their work from the media.
Portuguese newspapers reported on Thursday that this site was a disused storage box where children used to play. The shaft, measuring around 150cm by 90cm (5ft by 3ft), was covered by mounds of earth and a corrugated iron sheet, which is thought to have concealed the hole for years.
Another key area of interest for detectives was the grave-like hole, where officers used ground penetrating radar before erecting a white tent and carrying out digging work.
Under the headline "False grave deceives geo-radar", the newspaper Correia da Manhã reported that a site "with characteristics similar to a grave" was discovered but officers later concluded that it was "not compatible with that of a body".Under the headline "False grave deceives geo-radar", the newspaper Correia da Manhã reported that a site "with characteristics similar to a grave" was discovered but officers later concluded that it was "not compatible with that of a body".
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the Scotland Yard officer leading the operation, spent about an hour at this site with British officers and Faro's Polícia Judiciária director, Mota Carmo, on Wednesday, inspecting the discovery himself from inside the police tent. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the Scotland Yard officer leading the operation, spent about an hour at this site with British officers and Faro's Polícia Judiciária director, Mota Carmo, on Wednesday.
Detectives will on Thursday examine the sewerage system below the hilly scrubland using micro-cameras and fibre-optic cables, according to Correia da Manhã. Redwood and his team of British investigators arrived at the search site at 9.30am on Thursday, declining to speak to journalists as his accreditation was checked by armed Portuguese police officers guarding the perimeter of the site.
Redwood and his team of British investigators arrived at the search site at 9.30am on Thursday, declining to speak to journalists as his accreditation was checked by armed Portuguese police officers guarding the parameter of the site. Scotland Yard has formally applied to extend the ground-level searches into next week. The operation was initially expected to end on Friday but progress has been slow in the meticulous search a short distance from where the then three-year-old girl was last seen. The work is being delayed by a need to clear the sites using strimmers and chainsaws.
Scotland Yard has formally applied to extend the ground-level searches into next week. Madeleine's parents, Kate, 46, and Gerry, 45, are being kept informed of developments in the first ground-level search since those conducted immediately after their daughter's disappearance on a family holiday in May 2007.
The operation was initially expected to end on Friday but progress has been slow in the meticulous search a short distance from where the then three-year-old girl was last seen in 2007.
The painstaking investigative work, which began on Monday, is being delayed by a need to clear the sites using strimmers and chainsaws.
It is expected that the searches will now stretch into a second week, after Scotland Yard applied to extend the operation as they await formal approval from Portuguese police.
Madeleine's parents, Kate, 46, and Gerry, 45, are being kept abreast of developments in the first ground-level search since those conducted immediately after her disappearance in May 2007.