Madeleine Police Set To Dig As Area Sealed Off
The investigation takes a new turn as police in Portugal prepare to dig at a site in Praia da Luz.
7:35am UK, Monday 02 June 2014
Tom Parmenter
Police searching for Madeleine McCann have sealed off an area in Praia da Luz, where they are expected to begin digging.
A team of Portuguese police officers and at least four vehicles have been stationed on a mound to the west of the town since early this morning.
They are expected to work in the area for days, rather than hours.
The development marks a significant new phase of the investigation into her disappearance while she was on holiday with her family in the Portuguese resort in May 2007.
Madeleine McCann search area sealed off An area in the Praia da Luz resort has been sealed off
Several parts of the town have been identified as potential search sites including an area of scrubland close to the apartment where the McCanns had been staying.
The land which had been earmarked for development is now fenced off but was an open area on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.
Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann have not travelled to Portugal but will be kept up to date with any developments.
Portugal Various potential dig sites have been identified in Praia da Luz
British expat residents in Praia da Luz confirmed to Sky News that they had recently seen a military aircraft flying for long periods possibly conducting aerial reconnaissance.
Former Metropolitan Police search adviser Keith Farquharson told Sky News: "They wouldn't just be identifying that part by plucking it out of thin air they have obviously got hard information and the evidence trail is leading to that particular area."
Mr Farquharson explained what is likely to happen next: "The area will be properly mapped with GPS coordinates for each one of those sites.
Madeleine McCann missing Kate and Gerry McCann have not travelled to Portugal for the search
"Those areas will then be broken into smaller areas which will be easier to search, then you would send in the ground penetrating radar which will look for anomalies below the surface.
"Once those anomalies are identified then in my experience you would deploy victim recovery dogs to those particular areas."
As they are working alongside the Portuguese authorities the Metropolitan Police are giving out very few details about the new phase of the investigation or how long it will last.
