MADELEINE: DIVERS START LAKE SEARCH

POLICE ENTER WATER AT PLACE SUSPECT CALLED 'PARADISE'

- Martin Bentham

POLICE divers working on the Madeleine McCann investigation today entered the water at a remote Portuguese reservoir as the hunt for evidence about her fate reached a potentially decisive new phase.

A motorboat was also being used in the search of the Barragem do Arade reservoir as officers from Portugal, Germany and Britain were seen next to large blue tents at a site overlooking a promontory on the western side of the water. Briefings were being held while other officers patrolled the area, which was sealed off overnight.

It has been claimed that the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance used to visit the lake regularly and would call it his “little paradise”. The police operation was taking place about 30 miles from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz where three-year-old Madeleine vanished in 2007. Shortly after the start of the searches, German prosecutors confirmed that they had requested them.