Investigators in Portugal have ended their latest searches for Madeleine McCann after three days.Police have been scouring scrubland and abandoned structures near the town of Praia da Luz, where the three-year-old British girl went missing 18 years ago.
Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in the Algarve on Thursday.
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Criminal police investigators searching the area near a ruin. Pic: Reuters
Search teams involving German and Portuguese officers, as well as firefighters, used pickaxes and shovels to dig undergrowth, and a digger was again used to remove rubble from an abandoned structure at the site.They spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation.
British officers have not been present for the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said.Read more: What we know about new searches
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Pic: PA
German and Portuguese investigators could be seen shaking hands and embracing as the search drew to a close.The officers stood in a circle for a debrief before taking part in a round of applause.
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Pic: Reuters
Authorities have not yet commented on the ending of the latest searches.So far, officers have not announced they have found anything of significance.
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Madeleine McCann was three years old when she went missing
It comes 18 years after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from Praia da Luz while on holiday with her family in 2007.She vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant.This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.Please refresh the page for the latest version.You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.