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THE MADELEINE McCann dam search was extended by another day after police received a "very credible" tip from an informant about the case.

Portuguese sources said a German informer gave detectives details being taken “very seriously” relating to the movements of prime suspect Christian B.

The search at the remote site has entered its second day
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The search at the remote site has entered its second dayCredit: PA
A remote-controlled robot rotavator pictured at the site
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A remote-controlled robot rotavator pictured at the siteCredit: Dan Charity
The spot is 31 miles from where Madeleine McCann vanished
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The spot is 31 miles from where Madeleine McCann vanishedCredit: Dan Charity
Kate and Gerry McCann holding pyjamas similar to those Maddie was wearing the night she vanished
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Kate and Gerry McCann holding pyjamas similar to those Maddie was wearing the night she vanishedCredit: Getty
Maddie was three when she disappeared in 2007
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Maddie was three when she disappeared in 2007Credit: PA

German probe chiefs declined to comment on the reports - but confirmed they were acting on “indications” that vital evidence may be at the Arade Dam.

And dozens of German, Portuguese and British cops scheduled to scour the waterside beauty spot for two days were granted more time to complete their work.

The search will tomorrow extend for a third day - if not longer as cops probe the key new lead.

Specialist remote-controlled machinery was drafted into the search site, 31 miles from the Praia da Luz holiday apartment where three-year-old Maddie was snatched in May 2007.

More on Madeleine McCann

The green rotorvator-style machine was piloted by a cop walking behind it with a hand-held transmitter and was used to power through dense undergrowth.

Officers cleared ground to enable them to extend the area as hopes rose that the tip-off could lead to a breakthrough - and finally nail convicted sex fiend Christian B.

A Portuguese source told The Sun: "It's clear that they believe there may be something very important here - because they've been given more time to search for it.

"The area is also being extended to include an area covered by vegetation which is being cut back so the ground can be examined.

"Indications are that the operation will continue into Thursday and possibly longer."

It comes as divers are expected to join the hunt at Portugal's Arade Dam for traces of the pink pyjamas the three-year-old was wearing the night she disappeared.

Images and videos found during a previous raid on Christian B's "secret lair" in Germany have been linked to the desolate site.

It is claimed the search at the lake was prompted by a tip-off to Germany's FBI.

Expresso, a flagship weekly publication of Portuguese media group Impresa, claimed today: "Rainer Grimm is among the investigators who are carrying out searches at Arade Dam on the Algarve.

“Expresso knows that these searches have their origin in a tip from a BKA informant who that police force considers very credible.

"This informant told investigators details that the German police took very seriously."

Cops raided Christian B's “secret lair” in a ramshackle factory in the village of Neuwegersleben in February 2016 while searching for the body of missing five-year-old Inga Gehricke, who vanished in May 2015.


It comes as...


Detectives discovered more than 8,000 images and videos on USB sticks and hard drives filled with vile child abuse images, and some have now been linked to the dam site.

It comes as expert teams continued combing Arade Dam today.

Shortly before midday, a sophisticated remote-controlled robot mower was spotted trundling towards the search area.

Police teams loaded it from a trailer and its operator was seen walking behind it, controlling it with a hand-held transmitter.

It was unclear whether the machine was being used to excavate ground or reduce vegetation as the search progressed.

Meanwhile, what appeared to be a large brown evidence bag was seen being loaded into a police vehicle within an hour of the search’s resumption.

Portuguese police sources - assisting German detectives who requested the dam search - said officers had been specifically asked to look out for any signs of cloth or fibres.

And the revelation heightened unconfirmed speculation that teams were looking for remains of the pink pyjamas the British tot was wearing the night she vanished.

Cops are working on a theory that German prime suspect Christian B snatched Madeleine, killed her and dumped her body at the beauty spot.

Any trace which could be linked to Madeleine found at the site could provide a crucial link to photographic evidence which placed Christian B close to the dam in 2007.

Work at the start of day two focused on cutting back vegetation near the shoreline using strimmers to clear an area for search teams.

Officers later appeared carrying rakes as strimming work continued near a Ford Ranger pick-up parked just above the pre-drought water line.

Two more cops - one with a Nikon camera and another with a clipboard - logged photographic evidence in bright sunshine near the azure water.

A police dog also joined the search and was directed to a spot close to the shoreline.

Frogmen face the grim task of feeling their way through near-pitch black water in the search for evidence or human remains if they are deployed today.

A drought has lowered the water levels at the reservoir, with the worst dry spell in years seen as key to the cops securing a breakthrough.

Christian B, 45, is known to have regularly parked his yellow and white VW camper van in a car park close to the water’s edge — a 45-minute drive away.

Cops - one with a Nikon camera and another with a clipboard - logging photographic evidence
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Cops - one with a Nikon camera and another with a clipboard - logging photographic evidenceCredit: Dan Charity
Two white tents have been pitched at the site
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Two white tents have been pitched at the siteCredit: Dan Charity
Cops are said to be searching for fibres from the tot's pyjamas
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Cops are said to be searching for fibres from the tot's pyjamasCredit: EPA
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A Portuguese source told The Sun: “The search is being taken very seriously and is being controlled totally by the Germans.

“They are so sensitive about this information they did not even disclose the exact location of the search area until shortly before work started.

“They asked Portuguese officers assisting them to look for any evidence — but specifically rags.”

Jim Gamble was the UK’s top child protection officer and oversaw a review of the Madeleine case that led to the creation of the Met Police’s current probe, Operation Grange.

He told The Sun: “I think we are looking at the best chance we’ve had in 16 years to find out what happened to Madeleine.

“They must have something definitive.”

But lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia, who organsied the original dive search of the reservoir, says he thinks it will be a "miracle" if they find Maddie.

Mr Correia, 47, claims he received a tip off from a contact in the "underworld" who told him that Maddie had been dumped in a "deserted lake with murky waters".

He organised a team of British divers to wade into the desolate reservoir - which is as much as 150ft deep - in a private search, but the operation quickly ran out of cash back in 2008.

Christian B is in jail for the 2005 rape of a US pensioner in Praia da Luz. 

Read More on The Sun

His lawyer Freidrich Fulscher insists he had no involvement in the McCann case.

Asked about the latest events, he scoffed: “Let them search — it’s good weather down there.”

Teams returned to the site today after a day of searching on Tuesday
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Teams returned to the site today after a day of searching on TuesdayCredit: Dan Charity
Divers are expected to join the search today
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Divers are expected to join the search todayCredit: Dan Charity
Officers are combing through the land
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Officers are combing through the landCredit: Dan Charity
Christian B is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine
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Christian B is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine
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