Sniffer dogs join search for Madeleine McCann at Portuguese reservoir

SILVES, Portugal, May 24 (Reuters) – Police deployed heavy equipment and sniffer dogs on Wednesday, the second day of a search at a remote reservoir in Portugal for evidence linking a German suspect to the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 16 years ago.

Emergency services brought in a remote-controlled tractor-mounted tree cutter to clear what appeared to be a new search area, a few hundred metres (yards) away from a temporary camp set up on Tuesday on the shores of the Arade reservoir by Portuguese police, assisted by German and British counterparts.

Dozens of officers focused their search on the reservoir’s shoreline and a hill above, and it was unclear if they would use divers to search the water.

McCann was three years old in May 2007 when she vanished from her bedroom in the apartment her family were staying at in the Praia da Luz resort on the Algarve coast. The reservoir is about 50 km (30 miles) inland.