The German-led investigation linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann carried out last week resulted in the collection of a “number of items”. But, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters warned that it may take weeks before the outcome of the first major probe in years into the vanishing of the British child is shared.
He said: “A number of items were seized as part of the investigation. These will be evaluated in the coming days and weeks.
“Whether individual items actually have a connection to the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be said.
“The investigations conducted here in Braunschweig against the 46-year-old suspect are expected to continue for a long time.”
In his statement, Mr Wolters referred to German native Christian B. the prime suspect in Maddie’s case, who reportedly referred to the reservoir as his “little paradise”.
The convicted sex offender is currently behind bars in Germany for the rape of an elderly American tourist in 2005, carried out in the same Algarve region where the McCanns were holidaying at the time of their daughter’s disappearance.
He has denied any involvement in this case.
But Mr Wolters, who is pursuing the case against the man, has said in the past German police have “concrete evidence” that Madeleine has died, and believe the sex offender killed her.
Officers from the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) led a three-day investigation at the Arade Dam in late May, working jointly with police in Portugal.
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Detectives were seen searching the ground with sniffer dogs and radar, and the operation was supported also by divers.
Others were photographed raking at the soil and using metal rods to penetrate into the earth, digging up holes as deep as two feet.
The search was reportedly sparked by a “very credible” BKA informant, a Portuguese publication previously claimed.
German criminal profiler Axel Petermann praised the BKA for carrying out the search given the main suspect is believed to have been fond of the area.
He told the Mirror: “The criminal perpetrators who I got to know over the years tend to hide their victims in places where they feel safe and can assess danger.
“These are places which are secluded and secret and where they can stop and assess various risks.
“They can also be places where they feel good, and where there is a certain private memory of a certain act. So, I think the search activity may have been going in this direction.”