Investigators looking into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have refused to say what was found in a ‘secret cellar’ in Germany discovered yesterday.
The site, which was found on the outskirts of Hanover, is located four miles from the former address of Christian Brueckner – the new prime suspect in the case.
Brueckner previously lived in the Linden area of the city and the new site searched by police backs onto a canal.
Our sister title The Mirror reports that mini-diggers and forensic specialists with sniffer dogs were seen in the garden and authorities were using large earth-moving machinery to dig up the entire backyard, according to local news reports.
Crime profiler and intelligence analyst Mark T. Hofmann has said police may not be solely focused on searching for a body.
He said the police are likely looking for any form of 'data carrier' - such as USB sticks, external hard drives or mobile phones.
Mr Hofmann told Bild : "There are drugs, explosives, even cash detection dogs and detection dogs that are trained to sniff out electronics, i.e. data carriers such as USB sticks, external hard drives or cell phones.
"So far, the prosecution has only confirmed that they are looking for something there that is related to the investigation into the Maddie McCann murder case.
"But they did not say that they are specifically looking for a body there so it is quite possible that they are looking for data carriers or other evidence. "
On Wednesday morning police arrived at the site with ground penetrating radar equipment and what appeared to be a metal detector.
Wolfgang Kossak, who lives in a neighbouring property, said the search was “ominous”.
He said many of the plots were sub-let and he recalled a stranger who “caused a lot of trouble” visiting the site around 2006 and 2007.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Kossak said: "Christian Brueckner had the garden next to mine. He arrived in 2007 and left within a year.
"He told me that he living off the grid, that he had not registered with the authorities – no one knew he was there.
"The building was not really a house, you might call it a shed. But it had a cellar and underneath there would be foundations."
Asked by Bild about Brueckner's connection to the allotment, the suspect's lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher said he could not comment on the police operation.
Pressed on why the allotment was being searched, Fuelscher told the newspaper that "I think we'll find out the reason soon".
One local claimed the German paedophile lived at the allotment site for a short while.
Police erected a temporary fence around the site after they started their search, meaning they could only be seen through some trees.
Some wore forensic suits and others used rakes and shovels to comb the area. Trees were cut down to assist the search, while several police vehicles were parked outside.
Detectives have not said if they are looking for Madeleine's remains or simply evidence against Brueckner.
German prosecutors have said they believe the missing youngster, who vanished from her Portuguese hotel room in 2007, is dead.
