2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on How to Unlock Brad Pitt in F1 25 and Race as Sonny Hayes
How to Unlock Brad Pitt in F1 25: Play as Sonny Hayes in the Ultimate Racing Crossover The F1 25 video game has taken the gaming and motorsport world by storm, not only for its updated gameplay mechanics and visuals but for its unexpected cinematic twist: the addition of Brad Pitt as a playable character. ... Read more
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Jessie J opens up about breast cancer diagnosis in heartfelt video
Jessie J shared an Instagram video announcing that she has been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer. The singer will undergo surgery after the June 15 Summertime Ball 2025 concert in London, and she has received endless love and support. Watch the video to learn more about her raw and emotional mesage she...
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Popeyes ruthless reply after McDonald’s Snack Wrap date announced – but fans praise ‘we know who the real winner is’
POPEYES has issued a ruthless reply to McDonald’s after it dropped the Snack Wrap’s return date on Tuesday.
Fast food customers nationwide had been waiting for the arrival confirmation for around six months.
GettyPopeyes has fired back at McDonald’s amid the Snack Wrap return announcement (stock image)[/caption]
The Snack Wrap was discontinued nine years ago (stock image)Getty
McDonald’s had teased the Snack Wrap’s comeback in December.
Earlier this year, CEO Chris Kempczinski also noted a continued focus toward chicken-based offerings on menus.
“We’re excited about the significant opportunity we see within our chicken portfolio, and see the potential to add another point of chicken market share by the end of 2026,” Kempczinski told investors on an earnings call.
As part of that expanded portfolio, the Snack Wrap will finally return on July 10, as noted in a lengthy X post from the chain.
Along with the date reveal, McDonald’s social media manager wrote several humorous and heartfelt paragraphs thanking customers for championing the Snack Wrap.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you. today, i woke up with an even greater feeling of gratitude and pride. because finally after 9 years, i get to announce the day the Snack Warp returns,” a portion of the message read.
“It’s the honor of my lifetime to finally say… the Snack Wrap is back. because of YOU. see you 07.10.2025.”
Amid the excitement, top competitors like Popeyes are poking fun at McDonald’s as they attempt to sway consumers to opt for their chicken offerings instead.
“i ain’t reading all that,” Popeye’s wrote in a ruthless reply.
“i’m happy for u tho … or sorry that happened.”
Popeyes also asked “…y’all good?”
The post has since gotten over 10.7 million views and thousands of replies.
“Popeyes and McDonald’s beefing was not on my bingo card,” a foodie cried out.
Popeyes responded, “no beef, just chicken.”
McDonald's Snack Wrap Announcement
The announcement of the Snack Wrap's return was detailed an a heartfelt and humorous message from McDonald's social media manager:
“i don’t usually do this, and i didn’t run this by brian from legal (sorry brian). but i have something to say. not as mcdonald’s but as the person behind the mcdonald’s account.
i once posted, ‘social media managers don’t control the menu.’ as much as i hated admitting it at the time, it’s true. i even got a plaque made of it to put on my desk. i also don’t control the bitcoin price even though you think the McRib is responsible, but i digress.
yes, i could post about the Snack Wrap, tease you with tweets like “bring back ___” (knowing exactly what you’d say), and even manifest for its return. but i couldn’t bring it back.
you know who could bring it back? YOU.
YOU commented under every post. YOU made petitions. YOU asked for it back in the DRIVE THRU!? YOU tweeted every day for 100 days straight. YOU rallied. you organized. and i saw it all. thanks to you, the Snack Wrap will be back.
i cheered you on from behind the screen and made it my mission to never stop fighting for you. i made 486 decks on “reasons why to bring back the Snack Wrap” (i counted). your endless comments, tweets, and posts were the fuel i needed to keep on going.
you created a movement. a movement so powerful that you finally won. i know it’s cheesy, but i love my job. it’s a privilege to interact with you every day and a responsibility i cherish. you make me laugh (sometimes cry), but not today.
from the bottom of my heart, thank you. today, i woke up with an even greater feeling of gratitude and pride. because finally after 9 years, i get to announce the day the Snack Wrap returns. i know i posted 0x.14.2025 a few weeks ago but i wanted to see if they could come back even sooner. so i asked the boss and he said OKAY LETS DO IT?!?!!
It’s the honor of my lifetime to finally say… the Snack Wrap is back. because of YOU. see you 07.10.2025.”
“We all know [McDonald’s] brought it back because you came out with your own,” another customer said.
“Y’all have blackened chicken tender wraps … we know who the real winner is,” someone else remarked.
STAYING COMPETITIVE
Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, did note while speaking with ABC News that the Snack Wrap was coming back in part due to “competitive reasons.”
“It has a cult following,” he said of the Snack Wrap.
“I get so many emails into my inbox about this product.”
The Snack Wrap was discontinued in 2016, and was previously offered in grilled and crispy versions.
Some franchised McDonald’s locations held onto the Snack Wraps until 2020, but shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic later wiped them out for good.
STRIPS INCLUDED
International customers have still been able to get them.
This version of the Snack Wrap is set to include a McCrispy Strip as its protein base.
McCrispy Strips were tested last summer and officially introduced at McDonald’s over 13,600 restaurants in early May.
Some customers have mixed feelings about the Snack Wrap not including the grilled version this time around.
McDonald’s also faced backlash recently about an “absolutely insane” price increase on a meal, as it went from $10 to $25 after taxes and fees.
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Eerie Roswell crash memo holds key to cracking UFO mystery after ‘FOUR alien bodies found,’ expert insists
A BIZARRE memo about the Roswell UFO crash could unlock secrets and expose the truth about the “flying saucer” mystery.
A prominent ufologist made the startling claim after aliens were rumored as being spotted dead among the wreckage.
GettyThe mystery material was recovered from the Roswell site after a ‘flying disk’ apparently crashed in the New Mexico desert in 1947[/caption]
Kevin Randle and Philip MantleA Ufologist believes this photo of a memo may be key to cracking the case[/caption]
The so-called Roswell Incident happened on July 2, 1947, in a remote desert area in New Mexico.
Conspiracy theories and mystery swirling the alleged crash have fascinated UFO watchers for nearly 80 years.
Back in 1947, the 509th Bomb Group – based in Roswell – released a press release claiming a UFO had crashed in the area, and the United States Army Air Forces were in possession of a “flying disk.”
However, confusion ensued after that release was later retracted, and replaced with a statement saying the object was in fact a high altitude weather balloon.
The news alert had initially been issued by 1st Lt. Walter Haut, the public information officer at the base.
Decades later, his daughter, Julie Shuster, was adamant that his original “flying disk” statement had been accurate.
But he had to keep everything “secret.”
A similar view has been expressed by veteran researcher Kevin Randle, a prominent ufologist who is regarded as one of the top experts on the reported crash.
Randle has written multiple books about UFOs and the Roswell story.
He’s adamant that he has “eliminated all possible terrestrial explanations.”
“What we can say with authority is that something fell at Roswell,” he said.
“We have eliminated all the terrestrial explanations.”
The expert, who served in the Air Force and National Guard, said the UFO case could be solved by delving into a historic memo.
ReutersThe site of the Roswell crash[/caption]
Kevin RandleExpert Kevin Randle has spent years investigating the reported UFO crash[/caption]
The eerie memo can be seen in a black and white photograph sent out on the news wires at the time.
The grainy note appears to say the words “victims of the crash.”
The memo itself can be seen in the old pic being held by Brigadier General Roger Ramey, who at the time of the crash was commanding officer of the 8th Air Force in Roswell.
Ramey is holding the piece of paper slightly turned away from the camera. But, fortunately, some words can now be read using technology.
KEY MEMO
“The Ramey memo could be the key to this whole thing,” Randle said.
“Ramey was holding the memo in his hand when he was photographed with the debris in his office.
“And what’s interesting is we know when the picture was transmitted over the wire, we know who took it and we can see Ramey is holding the document in his hand.
“So we pretty much have the provenance nailed down.
“There are words in the document when you blow it up, that you can read.
“Some people interpret the critical line as saying ‘victims of the wreck.’
“Well, ‘victims of the wreck’ takes it out of the realm of a weather balloon – but it’s kind of an interpretation of what you see.”
Randle has interviewed some 600 people over the past few decades in his search to establish the truth around the mysterious case.
POLITICAL HOAX
He has concluded that the weather balloon story is nothing but a “government hoax” to fob off those intrigued by UFO sightings.
Randle said, “What they’ve said officially is that the Roswell crash was a weather balloon and [radar-type] target from this experiment being conducted in New Mexico.
“What I discovered is that while [the radar-type] targets were a part of the experiments conducted on the east coast, when they got to New Mexico, they didn’t use those targets.
“That kind of points the finger at this being a government hoax to explain away the Roswell case.”
KEPT SECRET
Julie Shuster, Walter Haut’s daughter, told SBS News, a broadcaster based in Australia, that she had many conversations with the former Army PR man about the “flying disk” he wrote about in 1947.
She said before her death in 2015, “People began to talk about Roswell in the late ’70s after several decades of keeping quiet.
“I would ask dad to tell me the whole story, and he told me the same thing he told everybody: ‘I put out the press release’, and nothing else.”
It was not from this Earth, it was something manufactured off this Earth.
Walter Haut, ex-public information officer, Roswell
It later emerged that Haut had been sworn to secrecy by base commander and close personal friend, Colonel William Blanchard.
But, Haut was unhappy about keeping such a big secret, and prepared a signed affidavit to be opened after his death.
Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he died in Roswell in 2005.
“Basically dad said yes, he did see the bodies, yes he did see the craft and much more than that,” said Shuster.
“At one point I asked him about the size, and he said the craft was about 25 feet in diameter.”
EGG-SHAPED
Thomas Carey, who co-authored a book with Shuster, Witness to Roswell: Unmasking the Government’s Biggest Cover-Up, published in 2007, said his big secret “all came out in his sealed statement after he died.”
Carey added, “The ship which he described was about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, more of an egg-shaped object, and he did see a number of bodies.
“He described them as being the size of children.
“And when asked point blank if what he believed it was that he had seen, without hesitation he’d say, ‘It was not from this Earth, it was something manufactured off this Earth.’”
A retired cop claimed that he saw the remains of dead aliens being lifted with a crane and hauled away.
Former Deputy Sheriff Charles H Forgus of Howard County,Texas, recalled traveling toRoswellto pick up a prisoner with Sheriff Jess Slaughter.
Forgus claimed he saw four alien bodies with big eyes and brownish-colored skin being taken away by military personnel.
Kevin Randall has been researching Roswell since the 1980sPhilip MantleSheriff Jess Slaughter was with Deputy Sheriff Charles Forgus at the time of the discovery[/caption]
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Wills jokes ‘families can be a mixed bag – some of them might not want to see you much’
PRINCE William joked families can be a “mixed bag” when he visited soldiers at an army air field.
The Prince of Wales asked a group if their family are okay and if they see them enough, before quipping: “Some of them might not want to see you that much.
GettyPrince William joked families can be a “mixed bag” when he visited soldiers at an army air field today[/caption]
GettyHe spoke to children the Army Air Corps in Wattisham, Suffolk[/caption]
AFPWills is the colonel-in-chief, a role he stepped into in May 2024[/caption]
“It’s a mixed bag sometimes.”
This comes as the royal’s feud with his brother Prince Harry continues.
He filmed a rare sit-down chat after losing his appeal against the decision to remove his taxpayer-funded security.
William’s comments came after he observed a combat PT training session.
He visited the Army Air Corps in Wattisham, Suffolk, in his role as colonel-in-chief which he became in May 2024.
He also promised he would take up issues with accommodation which was raised by the soldiers, saying: “It probably hasn’t been looked at for a while.
There will be a big notebook on somebody’s desk.“Whether they listen to me, that’s another matter.”
He arrived yesterday as a passenger in a wildcat helicopter – a key element of AAC’s capabilities – before flying the chopper himself on the way home.
During the trip, he was also shown inside planning and comms tents to learn about their operations.
And he served bacon and sausage baps at an Archers Breakfast, a weekly social event held by 664 Squadron for its personnel and families.
He said as he served the food: “It’s making my mouth water.”
And the ladies serving with him praised his abilities, saying he was “spot on” and “had pace”.
He then spoke with soldiers and their families outside, including Mike and Lorna Pope, parents of Air Trooper Daniel Pope of 664 Squadron who sadly died of cancer in 2016.
The squadron and regiment honour his memory through an annual cross country race and by naming Pope’s Bar after him, which was the venue for meeting the families.
And he spoke with WO2 Matthew Foster and children Archie, six, and Ida, eight. He told the children: “Your dad does a very important job here.”
At the end of the engagement, he presented Staff Sergeant Kenneth Robert Copeland with an award for his exceptional service in West Africa.
He also presented promotions for several soldiers from corporal to sergeant.
Arthur Edwards / The SunWilliam arrived yesterday as a passenger in a wildcat helicopter[/caption]
Andrew Parsons / Kensington PalaceThe royal presented promotions for several soldiers from corporal to sergeant[/caption]
Andrew Parsons / Kensington PalaceDuring the trip, he was also shown inside planning and comms tents to learn about their operations[/caption]
GettyThe ladies serving with him praised his abilities, saying he was “spot on” and “had pace”[/caption]
GettyThe dad-of-two served bacon and sausage baps at an Archers Breakfast[/caption]
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on New York Knicks forced to pay out $30 million to Tom Thibodeau after firing – before new contract has ever kicked in
THE New York Knicks have been forced to pay fired head coach Tom Thibodeau a staggering $30 million.
GettyThe New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday afternoon[/caption]
GettyThibodeau joined the Knicks in 2020, where he has spent the last five seasons[/caption]
It comes after they were hammered 4-2 in games by the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs just days ago.
The Knicks will have to pay up the remainder of his contract, which equates to the mind-blowing sum of $30m.
And in a shock twist, he’ll get his severance package before the extension they gave high in last summer even kicks in.
Thibodeau was contracted with the New Yorkers until the end of the 2027-28 season, after being handed an extra three-years.
His extraordinary buyout is one of the largest in basketball, and puts to an end what was thought to be a safe coaching seat.
The Knicks suffered Eastern Conference Finals heartbreak last week after being beaten by the well-deserved winning Pacers.
They came up short of reaching the NBA Finals with the loss, which had followed an incredible 2025 campaign.
It was the first time the team had reached the Eastern finals in 25-years, bringing dreams of a title back to New York.
The Knicks continued the news of his firing on Tuesday afternoon with a statement on social networking site X.
“Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans,” said Knicks President Leon Rose.
“This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we’ve decided to move in another direction.
“We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach.”
Thibodeau led the Knicks to four playoffs, and the same amount of series wins, in five years with the team.
“Ultimately, we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward,” he added.
“Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”
In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau led the franchise to a 226-174 regular-season record.
They also recorded 51 wins in 2024-25, the most since 2012.
However, his teams in the postseason posted a 24-23 record.
New York was Thibodeau’s third head-coaching stop in the NBA.
The 67-year-old had a spell with the Chicago Bulls between 2010 and 2015.
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Mike Tomlin in talks over major Pittsburgh Steelers offensive signing as $10m Aaron Rodgers decision nears
THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS have reopened talks over a massive trade deal.
This comes amid all the saga surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ future, with the Steelers very keen on adding him to Mike Tomlin‘s squad.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is looking to sign a star tight endThe Steelers have reopened talks with Miami Dolphins star Jonnu SmithThis comes amid the Steelers’ bid to sign Aaron Rodgers
However, Pittsburgh refuse to put all their eggs in one basket and are rigorously working on strengthening their offensive line.
That is why they are holding talks with Miami Dolphinsstar Jonnu Smith.
According to ESPN, there is renewed hope that a trade could be completed and Smith, 29, could land at the Acrisure Stadium.
That is despite the tight end’s agent insisting that his client’s “first choice” is to remain in Miami.
The Philadelphia native is said to be eyeing a new contract with the Dolphins after penning a two-year deal worth $8.4million with the franchise last season.
However, the Steelers are moving fast as new tight end signing Donald Parham Jr is set to miss the 2025 campaign after tearing his Achilles.
If Smith moves to Pittsburgh he could end up playing with NFL legend Rodgers, 41.
The quarterback was released by the New York Jets earlier this year.
The former Green Bay Packers star met with the Steelers back in March.
But Rodgers went on to tease retirement at the end of the 2024 season.
And the former Super Bowl champion has yet to confirm whether he will play another yearin the NFL.
NFL WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
(All times ET)
Thur 4 Sept 8.20 pm – Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Fri 5 Sept 8pm – Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers
Sun 7 Sept 1pm – Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons 1pm – Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns 1pm – Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts 1pm – Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots 1pm – Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints 1pm – Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Jets 1pm – New York Giants at Washington Commanders 1pm – Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars 4.05 pm – Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos 4.05 pm – San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks 4.25 pm – Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers 4.25 pm – Houston Texans at Los Angeles Rams 8.20 pm – Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Mon 8 Sept 8.15 pm – Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Death sentence’ law for towing companies gets major win & drivers could save thousands as lawmakers clean up ‘mess’
DRIVERS could save thousands of dollars from a new bill that targets unfair towing practices.
Lawmakers have empathized with those who have been hit with unreasonable towing fees.
GettyNorth Carolina drivers could save thousands from a new towing bill[/caption]
GettyLawmakers are targeting towing companies that use unfair practices and add-on fees[/caption]
Towing companies across North Carolina could face harsher penalties if they are caught charging consumers unfair fees, as reported by NBC’s affiliate WRAL.
Drivers often complain that towing companies typically charge a confusing combination of fees, including a base charge (like a hook-up fee) and a per-mile charge.
Some companies even tack on additional fees, including storage, after-hours service, or special equipment charges.
Under House Bill 199, the state would create a new government group, called the North Carolina Towing and Recovery Commission, that have the power to issue and revoke permits to tow truck businesses.
Leaders of the group would be picked by the governor and the state legislature.
The bill would also require towing companies and local businesses to make consumers and drivers aware of potential towing practices using explicit language or prominent signage.
Several lawmakers have backed the bill, including Representative Carson Smith.
“I’m not big on increasing the size of government … but this is a mess,” said Smith, during Tuesday’s debate.
During the debate, Smith recalled a story of a trucker in his district who was charged $3,500 to get his rig back after a towing incident.
Another representative, Carolyn Logan, said she recounts a tractor-trailer that was parked illegally in Charlotte, North Carolina, had been targeted, with the driver still waiting inside the truck.
The driver’s truck was booted by a local towing company, and it cost $12,000 to take the boot off.
Lawmakers agreed that drivers across the nation are facing unnecessary towing fees that most people cannot afford.
“This is a serious problem that we have going on in our state,” Logan said.
The problem is that there isn’t a universal, standardized towing fee structure across all locations.
What to do if your car is towed
Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.
If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.
Steps to take when your car is towed:
Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.
If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:
Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.
Towing fees vary widely based on factors like location, distance, vehicle size, and time of day.
While some jurisdictions, like New York City, may have set maximum rates, the actual costs charged by towing companies often depend on those factors.
This bill also hopes to create a database that towing companies would be required to update with the vehicles they take, where they take them, and how much they charge.
That way, drivers who realize their vehicle has been towed can navigate the database and easily retrieve their car.
The database, a crucial part of the bill, would be run by the state.
“It protects not just our small businesses in the trucking and towing industries, but it protects consumers as well,” said Representative Laura Budd.
2 weeks agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Satellite pic from days after Maddie vanished shows eerie ‘tent’ in Brueckner’s camping spot now being searched by cops
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a “wild camping” ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal.
Search teams have zeroed in on scrubland between Brueckner’s old home and the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal where Maddie was snatched in May 2007.
A recent satellite picture of the farmhouseA satellite image of the farmhouse in 2007, seemingly with a tent insidePolice searching the abandoned building on TuesdayDan CharityDan CharityMadeleine McCann suspect Christian Beurckner pictured arriving in to court in 2024[/caption]
AFPMadeleine McCann disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007[/caption]
Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least five derelict farmhouses and barns where Brueckner camped at the time the British tot was taken.
Sun analysis of a June 2007 satellite image of one building being searched yesterday revealed what appeared to be a white tent pitched within its walls.
The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 – seven weeks after Maddie was taken from her family’s Ocean Club apartment a five minute drive away.
Recent pictures of the same spot show the building’s massive deterioration – and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking elusive scraps of DNA evidence.
The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls.
It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time.
But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the march of time yesterday.
Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings.
And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops.
Dan CharityThe abandoned house was scoured in the first day of the Maddie search[/caption]
The barn was filled with overgrown shrubberyA mugshot of Christian Brueckner
Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner’s old house.
Ground penetrating radar scanners – capable of finding bodies 15 feet below ground – were also drafted into the grim search.
Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars.
But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign “wild camper” set – believed to include Brueckner.
Police are believed to have launched their “last throw of the dice” search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware.
Local man Joao Pedro, 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: “It used to be a romantic spot – I used to take my girlfriends there.
“But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you’d see camper vans and tents there all time.
“It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.”
Police will be searching scrub land, using radar equipmentA firefighter draining a well with a yellow hose pipeOne of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, which has been searched by teams investigating on WednesdayKate (R) and Gerry McCann hold pyjamas similar to those of their daughter during a press conference in 2007Getty
A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings.
One officer said: “We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.”
The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner’s single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction.
Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby.
He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched.
A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year.
Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday.
Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area – which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates.
The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie’s body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate.
Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing – like the missing tot’s pink Eeyore pyjamas – might be found are also remote.
German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would “go to ground” when he is released in September.
The vile pervert – who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie – is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005.
A Portuguese police source said last night: “This really is a last ditch effort – search teams here are hoping they get lucky.
“Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.”
A criminal police investigator walks near ruins as police resume the search for the body of Madeleine McCann todayOne of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia da LuzOne abandoned house was scoured earlier on Wednesday
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Here’s a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of non-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.