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Madeleine McCann: Police Bring In Sniffer Dogs

British police have brought in sniffer dogs to search areas of scrubland in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

At least two specially trained victim detection dogs were working with their handlers as part of the renewed police efforts in the Portuguese resort.

One of the handlers, from South Wales Police, was heard shouting instructions to the dogs in Welsh.

The dogs, Tito and Muzzy, took part in the 2012 search for murdered schoolgirl April Jones.

Sky sources understand that a British team of specialist forensic archaeologists are also working on the site.

At least 30 officers arrived early on Tuesday morning for the second day of their search, which is taking place in the resort seven years after Madeleine disappeared from her holiday apartment - a five-minute walk from the new search area.

They are part of the large team of British police officers led by the Metropolitan Police detective DCI Andy Redwood who are working in conjunction with Portuguese authorities.

Officers used blue and white police tape to divide the land into sectors for the search.

Three police tents set up on the site are thought to be where the teams are storing kit and taking drinks breaks rather than covering any significant parts of the site.

The teams spent Monday securing and surveying the site and will soon bring in ground-penetrating radar equipment to try to spot any unusual patterns in the terrain.

Radar expert Rom Gostomski, from London-based firm Sandberg, told Sky News: "The radar uses electro-magnetic waves that are fired into the sub-surface at a pretty rapid rate and we measure what comes back from those signals."

The hot and predominantly dry climate on the Algarve, where temperatures regularly top 30C, mean the ground will be far drier than in northern Europe.

"GPR works best in dry conditions - it doesn't like wet, saturated ground because of the high dissolved mineral content," Mr Gostomski explained.

"In a dry country like Portugal you'll generally get much, much better data and penetrate much deeper."

There are different types of radar equipment the police could use, but generally the devices allow officers to monitor the ground at least two metres below the surface.

Mr Gostomski added: "If you have got a buried object that is sufficiently different, with different properties from the surrounding area, it will show up very, very clearly; whereas if you have got a gradual change it can be difficult to detect."

Scotland Yard say they will not provide a "running commentary" on the searches.