The main suspect in the disappearance of Maddie McCann would travel to a reservoir he called his "little paradise" to "cleanse himself", a friend of the convicted sex offender has revealed.
Last week, dozens of cops and forensic teams roamed the craggy landscape of the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal's Algarve in search of "clues" relating to the British tot - who went missing from her family's holiday apartment around 30 miles away in 2007.
Prime suspect and known sex offender Christian Brueckner, who is currently jailed for rape, referred to the reservoir as a "little piece of paradise", raising questions as to whether he had stashed vital evidence there.
The search - the first major hunt in nine years - ended last Thursday, with police confirming they found a "relevant clue" without going into further detail. It's not known if anything more significant was found.
Portuguese police swooped on the site after receiving reports from Brueckner's friends, who said the 45-year-old used to spend his weekends there. They also found a stash of photos showing him at the reservoir.
Last week, one friend revealed that the sick sex offender thought of it as a base and spent his time there "cleansing himself".
The mum-of-three, who is from Germany but hasn't been named, has been helping cops with the investigation.
She is also said to have lived in the Algarve for almost three decades.
The informant said Brueckner visited the reservoir frequently in his camper van, but was always tight-lipped about what he was doing.
She recalled that he drove the van - which was spotted close to the scene of Maddie's disappearance back in 2007 - close to the water's edge because he liked being "near the water".
A key piece of information she revealed was that he would always park at the same location and that he was often the only person there.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: "This was his exact special spot that he said he liked to come to cleanse himself.
"I don't know what he did there as he was very secretive."
Yesterday, it emerged that cops involved in the search may be planning to probe two more hangouts the abuser used to frequent.
A source told The Sun: “German officers have gone through more than 8,000 pictures belonging to Christian B.
“That forensic work led them to Barragem - but there are other places that have come up in the pictures too.
They added that investigators are still piecing the puzzle together to pinpoint their exact locations and determine why Christian B was photographing those areas.
