A latest Madeleine McCann search carried out by German and Portuguese teams has taken place in scrubland and derelict buildings near to where she disappeared in Praia da Luz

A new search took place for Madeleine McCann near to where she disappeared in Praia da Luz in 2007 and images taken by the Mirror show inside the abandoned farm buildings where search teams scoured through thick scrubland and empty buildings.

German and Portuguese investigators wound down the operation in Atalaia, near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday, after three days of searching scrubland and abandoned structures. Their efforts focused on a 120-acre stretch of land, using equipment such as chainsaws, diggers and a ground-penetrating radar.

The operation comes 18 years after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from nearby Praia da Luz while on holiday with her family in 2007. But it was called off with no signs that the police had made any significant discoveries, although we will now have to wait to see what they have found.

The Mirror’s Phil Cardy, who visited the search site, said: “The four isolated plots, spread across a large area of overgrown clifftop coastline in Portugal, are covered from floor to ceiling with graffiti. Empty beer bottles and cans are scattered across the ground outside, showing they may have been popular meeting spots for the local youths.

“By the entrance of one of the buildings there were even four pairs of discarded women’s knickers. Approaching the derelict buildings, the day after the police ended their search, a few signs remain to show officers were there.”

He added: “They also cleared the area around an old drainage well, which holds a pool of stagnant water at the bottom, which clearly became part of their investigation. Walking into the shells of the building – with their collapsed roofs and flaking walls – shows the police have cleaned them out. There are no brambles or bottles inside.”

“It is unclear when the buildings were abandoned, but those who headed into the scrublands over the years would have had no idea that, one day, it would become the scene of a major police investigation,” he said. Police teams spent the first two days of the search focusing on one particular derelict building, using ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using a digger and chainsaws.

Then on the final day personnel could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed stretches of land. Pick-axes and shovels were used to dig some of the undergrowth and a digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the site.

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Crumbling buildings

Police spent three days searching through empty buildings (Image:Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

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Land near to where Madeleine disappeared

The search took place on waste land not far from where Madeleine disappeared in Praia da Luz (Image:Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)

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Visitors have left their marks on the buildings

Four buildings spread across a large area of overgrown clifftop have been visited by people who left graffiti on the walls (Image:Tim Merry/Staff Photographer)