Police to examine two more sites in Madeleine search

Forensic teams involved in the search for Madeleine McCann are expected to move to two other sites after investigators finished their search of an area of scrubland in Praia da Luz.

The operation has been halted for two days to coincide with a Portuguese national holiday and will restart on Wednesday.

Read: Madeleine McCann police end scrubland search in Portugal

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have finished their first search of an area of scrubland in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Read: McCann search 'catastrophic' for Portugal resort

Specialist teams used ground-penetrating radar equipment, examined drains and dug holes as they hunted for clues into what happened to Madeleine, who went missing when she was three-years-old from the nearby Ocean Club resort apartment in May 2007.

Cordons around the area of land in the Algarve holiday resort were removed last night.

Read: McCanns 'encouraged' by investigation in Portugal

A Portuguese paper, Correio da Manha, has speculated today that Scotland Yard has been granted permission from the Portuguese authorities to question three subjects about the case.

The paper also reported that intelligence involving phone calls between three drug dealers when Madeleine disappeared led officer to search the area currently under investigation.

Scotland Yard has declined to comment.

British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. from Rothley in Leicestershire, have focussed their attention on a new patch of scrubland in Praia da Luz.

The search, which has entered its fifth day, is close to where Madeleine went missing in Portugal seven years ago. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, said in a statement earlier that they are 'encouraged' by the progress police have made.

As Police continue to carry out investigations on an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal seven years ago, her parents have released the following statement on their Facebook page:

"We would like to ask people to refrain from spreading rumours and speculation based on inaccurate press reporting. We are kept updated on the on-going work in Portugal and are encouraged by the progress...

...Thank you for continuing to stand by us and supporting our efforts to get Madeleine home.

Gerry and Kate"

The parents of Madeleine McCann have said they were feeling "encouraged" by this week's events, as British police carry out investigations on an area of scrubland close to where she went missing in Portugal.

Read: Image beneath soil at Madeleine McCann search site 'worth close attention'

Writing on their Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page, the McCanns said: "We are kept updated on the on-going work in Portugal and are encouraged by the progress", the message said.

They added: "We would like to ask people to refrain from spreading rumours and speculation based on inaccurate press reporting".

More: Madeleine McCann police apply for extra days on search site

Tourists and locals in the Praia Da Luz holiday resort in Portugal have described the negative impact of the latest search for Madeleine McCann, as police have applied to extend their examination of wasteland near where she vanished in 2007.

One hotelier said many of her guests had cancelled this week and called the case "catastrophic" for business.

Lucilia Matos, who has run the Aurora Sol guest house for the past 12 years, said only four of her 20 rooms were occupied, and three of those were taken up by journalists.

Read: Image beneath soil at Madeleine McCann search site 'worth close attention'

"I know other people with the same business I have and it's the same," she said. "It's a shame the investigations always start at the same time - always in May, June.

"It's a case that's very complicated, I know, we understand. But it's a little village and we need so much work for the summer. It's always the same. We are not happy."

Longtime tourist to the resort Eileen Berry, 65, said: "We are frequent visitors to Luz and you can sense the atmosphere here that things are not good."

More: Madeleine McCann police apply for extra days on search site

Police investigating an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007 have removed the tent that had protected one "location of interest" yesterday.

More: Image beneath soil at Madeleine McCann search site 'worth close attention'

A pile of earth suggests substantial excavation there, while today's investigations are focused in another spot a few yards away.

There is no suggestion as to what, if anything, they may have found.

Read: McCann police apply for extra days on search site

Police officers searching scrubland in Portugal in the hunt for Madeleine McCann have sent cameras into drain systems under the wasteland.

More: McCann police apply for extra days on search site