Madeleine McCann: Police dig at a campsite near the Arade Dam, Portugal

Police investigators have left behind 60cm-deep holes at a campsite in Portugal as they search for evidence of British girl Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the European country in 2007.

Investigators have been searching the camp near the Arade Dam in southern Portugal, around 50km from where the three-year-old went missing, after prime suspect Christian B referred to the area as his “little paradise”.

Piles of soil were seen next to the digging area which officers have now left, The Sun reports.

The surrounding woodland showed pathways had been cut by heavy machinery, leading to the flattened 15sq m excavation area.

Broken rocks were also scattered around the site in Portugal, after pickaxes were seen being used by personnel over the course of three days.

Search teams also appeared to have been directed to a second smaller abandoned area 50m from the main campsite.

The remains of a fridge and plastic bottles were strewn around a dense thicket which appeared to have been cleared by machinery.

More bore holes in the ground appeared to have been made by officers tasked with collecting soil samples.

As the operation drew to a close at 4pm local time, German officers were seen waving to Portuguese counterparts as they left the site.

The search could yet yield vital clues, as samples were taken away along with soil which will be forensically analysed in Germany.

Experts said tell-tale traces could link Madeleine McCann to Christian B – who is feared to have snatched her and taken her to the reservoir in 2007.

But it may take weeks – or even months – of painstaking lab work to unearth any significant clue.

Police sources in Portugal have also discounted previous claims that officers were searching for a camcorder and a gun tossed into waters at the dam.

The claim was based on reports from witnesses Manfred Seyferth and Helge Busching, who claim they found a weapon and a camera at the isolated house in Floral where Christian B lived after breaking in.

Footage on the video camera was said to allegedly show Christian B torturing and raping an American woman – and police hoped it may hold Madeleine clues.

But a source in Portugal said last night: “It’s true that it was alleged these items were thrown into a dam – but that dam was the Santa Clara a Velha Dam about 30 miles [50km] away.”

By lunchtime, teams began pulling down white tents which had been set up in the search area on Monday and vehicles were seen being packed up.

Head of the investigation in Portugal Helena Monteiro was also seen leaving, along with a sniffer dog team and machinery used to clear undergrowth.

When the police cordon was lifted at 4.30pm yesterday, the search area was revealed to have focused on a small area of scrubland.

Police teams had methodically chopped down trees and hacked away undergrowth to expose an area close to the shore line.

There appeared to be the remains of a camp at the spot with broken furniture, a torn ship’s buoy and even what appeared to be a makeshift toilet fashioned from a chair.

Ground levels appeared to have been lowered in a square area which was pockmarked with a bizarre moonscape of at least eight holes.

Experts speculated that the holes could have been to remove soil samples for analysis – but could also have been used by officers using ground penetrating radar.

A source at the scene said: “It seems clear that the teams were directed to this spot by information received.

“It was obvious from the afternoon of day two that police were looking very closely at one specific area.

“Around six officers raked over and took samples from the same spot early on Friday and the damage to the sight shows their determination.”

Exclusive Sun drone footage and still images obtained after no-fly zone restrictions were lifted showed work being stepped up in the frantic final hours of the search.

Teams in overalls and rubber gloves were directed by a senior German officer and a photographer logging snaps.

A core team of around six searchers returned to a narrow strip of scrubland which appeared to have first been identified as an “area of interest” yesterday.

However, police have not revealed any information about what was found.

Activity was stepped up as Portuguese sources claimed an informant who knew Christian B gave police a tip-off – and claimed he had been to the spot days after the British girl vanished.

The tip-off – plus geolocation clues found in the convicted rapist and paedophile’s stash of 8000 of videos and images – is understood to have sparked the search.

The Sun’s drone showed police clearly sifting earth for clues as soil samples were removed for closer inspection.

Soil was taken away in wheelbarrows as sources revealed it would be ferried back to Germany for painstaking forensic analysis.

The ground would have been virtually at the water’s edge in May 2007 when the drought-hit reservoir was at normal levels.

The search later widened to a hillside and the exposed reservoir bed where at least 20 officers with digging tools and equipment formed a line to comb the ground.

But by lunchtime, word spread that the hunt was being wound up.

Portuguese “Forest Sappers” were yesterday drafted in to help scour nearby woodland at the site.

The sappers – who usually specialise in clearing scrubland to prevent forest fires – used rotavator-style machine to power through dense undergrowth.

It is understood search crews were asked to look for cloth and fibres – amid claims traces of Madeleine’s pink pyjamas were being sought.

Christian B, 45, is currently in jail for the 2005 rape of an American pensioner in Praia da Luz, just metres from the apartment where the McCanns holidayed in 2007.

He also faces a string of other sex charges.

More Coverage

German police believe he killed Madeleine, but three years after announcing him as a suspect they are no nearer to bringing charges.

His lawyer Freidrich Fulscher has insisted he had no involvement in the McCann case and is attempting to have it thrown out.

This article was originally published by The Sun and reproduced with permission

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7y6Kdnqukrrmme9GemKVlnJ6zpnvNnq6sZZyes6Z7z6ijopuVYrmmrdWeZKaxo6mys7XOrqpmoJ%2BhsrR5wJ%2Brnqpdma6uedKemKubmGKzsL6MppidnZyatq%2BxjKaanJmeo3yvsdasZKysn6fGcITCbptpnGVtgHGuxG2YcnFgmX91hJVump%2BclWivdIXA