Investigators believe Madeleine McCann was 'alive for two or three days' after she was taken

Investigators searching a reservoir in Portugal for signs of Madeleine McCann as part of the case against convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, who is a suspect in her disappearance.

Brueckner is currently in prison for the rape of a woman in Praia du Luz, Portugal, and is suspected of further rapes and cases of child abuse in the area between 2000 and 2017.

German investigators believe he could be the culprit behind the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and prosecutor Christian Wolters said the decision to search the reservoir had been done on the basis of 'certain tips'.

Police have removed a number of items from the Barragem do Arade reservoir and extended their search of the area an extra day after allegedly receiving a 'credible tip off' about the spot Brueckner used to visit.

According to The Times a police informant has informed officers that Brueckner visited the reservoir 'some days' after McCann's disappearance in 2007.

PA/Alamy

They report that the informant told officers that the young child could have been alive for 'two or three days' after her initial disappearance.

"We have indications that we could find evidence there," said Wolters of the decision to search the reservoir.

"I don’t want to say what that is exactly, and I also don’t want to say where these indications come from. The only thing that I would clarify is that it doesn’t come from the suspect."

While German and Portuguese officers are taking the lead in the search, there are British officers present on a 'watching brief' who will convey any useful information discovered back to the McCann family.

A lorry driver from the area claimed he saw a woman handing a child matching Madeleine McCann's description to a man two days after she went missing.

Collect/Handout/Alamy Stock Photo

Investigators are also hoping to find evidence of other victims of Brueckner in the reservoir as well, and the area was previously searched following McCann's disappearance.

Teams have used sniffer dogs to seek potential scraps of evidence, while people with shovels and pickaxes have been excavating ground around the reservoir.

Divers have not yet been used as water levels have fallen significantly since the last investigation and much of the shoreline that is being investigated was previously underwater.

While it was originally supposed to last for two days the time officers spend at the reservoir can be extended if they find anything they believe might require further time to look into.

LADbible has reached out to The Metropolitan Police and Braunschweig Prosecutors Office for comment.