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In a chilling twist in the long-running mystery of Madeleine McCann, investigators have uncovered what may be their most disturbing find yet — clothing fragments and bone remains buried deep in remote Portuguese scrubland, about 30 miles from where the toddler vanished in 2007

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The breakthrough came during a high-stakes dig carried out last week, reigniting global attention to the 18-year-old unsolved case. German and Portuguese authorities, racing against time, are desperate to secure evidence linking prime suspect Christian Brueckner before his prison term expires this September.

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The intense three-day search operation wrapped up on Thursday (June 5), covering 120 acres near the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Lagos. It’s here that investigators made the potentially crucial discovery: pieces of clothing and bone fragments, now being analyzed in a laboratory.

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While officials have not confirmed a link to Madeleine, some sources are calling this the strongest lead in years, possibly the final chance to keep Brueckner behind bars.

The 47-year-old convicted r*pist has been under suspicion since 2020, though no formal charges related to Madeleine have been filed against him. He’s currently serving time in Germany for an unrelated sexual assault in Praia da Luz in 2005

Despite German prosecutors citing a “mountain of circumstantial evidence,” legal attempts to convict Brueckner in other abuse cases collapsed last year, with judges dismissing much of the material as “almost worthless.”

That has left investigators scrambling to tie him directly to Madeleine’s disappearance — something this latest find might help achieve.

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German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters told the media: “We have strong evidence that Madeleine is dad and that our suspect klled her. We don’t have the body, but we have enough proof.”

That “proof” may now be bolstered by the newly discovered remains — should they test positive for human DNA or yield any connection to the missing child.

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Authorities are also relying on more than 20,000 pages of evidence collected from Brueckner’s abandoned factory in Neuwegersleben, Germany — purchased by him in 2008.

During a 2016 raid on the property, investigators reportedly uncovered a disturbing collection of materials: over 70 children’s swimsuits, a toddler’s bike, inflatable toys, handwritten fantasies involving abduction, and an 80GB hard drive filled with graphic images and videos believed to be taken in Portugal.

All materials — including the recently uncovered biological evidence and clothing — have now been sent for forensic testing, a process that may take several weeks or longer.

But as police push forward, online reactions have been mixed. Some netizens speculate that the remains are “probably animal bones,” while others dismiss the investigation entirely.

“They’re desperate,” one user commented. “Just grasping at straws.”

Another posted a more sinister theory: “The parents went to bury her?”

One person wrote: “Why didn’t they search this area 18 years ago?” while another added: “Strange how they suddenly found bones after so many years of nothing.”

Despite skepticism, others hold on to hope. “Closure,” one comment read. “Maybe now we’ll finally know what really happened.”

As of now, no official identification has been made regarding the remains — and the case continues to develop.