“It’s now or never.”

Police have unearthed bone shards and clothing fragments while searching an area in Portugal last week in the latest hunt for missing British toddler Madeleine McCann.

Search teams scoured through bushland and an abandoned building in the southern Algarve region, near the former home of prime suspect Christian Brückner.

The German national is currently behind bars for sexually assaulting a pensioner in Praia da Luz, Portugal – the same area where three-year-old Maddie vanished from in May 2007.

While it was first reported that the search yielded no results, Portuguese and German media are reporting that a number of items have since been sent off for forensic testing

Maddie was three years old when she vanished. (Credit: AAP)
“Several objects have apparently been discovered, which are now being examined in more detail by the police in the laboratory,” a source told Berlin Morning Post.

“As Portuguese media reports, clothing debris and bones were found, among other things. The investigators have not officially commented on whether the findings could have anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance, but that is clearly their hope.”

Detectives first linked Brueckner to Maddie’s disappearance in 2020. He has strongly denied any involvement.

With Brueckner set to be released from jail in September, German police have reportedly appealed to their international counterparts to reopen their investigation into him before he is freed.

Last week’s search saw Portuguese police team up with around 25 German investigators to cover several hectares of land.

It’s thought that the scale of these searches could be the most extensive since the initial investigation was closed in 2008.

An investigation source told The Sun that police were equipped with radars that can scan 15 feet below the surface.

“German cops know it is now or never, so they need to push ahead with every credible tip they have,” the source said.

“Following Brueckner’s trial last year, someone contacted them with theories on where anyone who took Madeleine might have dumped her, or her clothes.”

With his release date pending, Christian Brueckner could be out on day release from jail within weeks. (Credit: Getty)
The source added: “They told cops about trenches that were dug in Praia at the time Madeleine disappeared — and the house where Brueckner had lived on the edge of the village.

“Of course, all these places have been searched over and over again — but now they have a new weapon in their ground-scanning radar. With running out, they are praying they get a breakthrough.”

A previous search of a lake near the Ocean Club resort, where the McCanns stayed, in 2023 yielded no results.