MADELEINE McCann went missing from a holiday complex in the Algarve in May 2007 and sparked one of the most high-profile missing persons searches in history.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann have vowed to never give up looking for their daughter.
Reuters Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter Madeleine[/caption]
Who are Kate and Gerry McCann?
The parents of Madeleine McCann, Kate and Gerry McCann, are Catholic doctors who met in 1993 in Glasgow.
Kate is a General Practitioner, who received her degree in medicine at the University of Dundee.
Gerry is a cardiologist who is also a research professor at the University of Leicester.
The couple were married in 1998 and welcomed their first child, Madeleine, in 2003.
As well as Madeleine, the couple welcomed twins Amelie and Sean in 2005.
Read More on Madeleine McCann
The couple still live in Rothley, Leicestershire, with their children.
They continue to search for their daughter, following all fresh inquiries and leads that arise.
Are Kate and Gerry still together?
Kate talked about how her marriage nearly broke down in her autobiography which was published in 2011, four years after Madeleine’s disappearance.
Kate talked about how she withdrew into herself, stopped doing her hobbies or even being intimate with her husband.
Kate wrote about that period of time saying: “Tortured as I was by these images, it’s not surprising that even the thought of sex repulsed me.
Latest in News
“I worried about Gerry and me. I worried that if I didn’t get our sex life on track our whole relationship would break down.”
Kate went on to credit Gerry’s understanding and the couple’s resilience for the endurance of their marriage.
They remain together to this day, despite the challenges they have faced since Madeleine’s disappearance.
What happened in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance?
Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Pria Da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007.
She was left alone in the apartment with her siblings while her parents and their friends had gone out nearby for dinner.
Around 10 pm, Kate went back to check on the children, only to discover Madeleine was not in her bed.
Madeleine’s disappearance triggered a global search for her, a search that continues to this day.
Within 24 hours of their child’s disappearance, they held a press conference to make the first in a string of public appeals to help find Madeleine.
In the intervening years, the couple have constantly kept the search alive for their daughter.
In June 2020 a breakthrough in Madeleine’s case was revealed, a German prisoner, known as Christian B, was named as the prime suspect in her disappearance.
New evidence showed that this man had a 30 minute phone call an hour before Madeline disappeared.
The suspect was linked to a campervan’ Scotland Yard – who are running the Operation Grange investigation into the youngster’s disappearance – revealed he has been linked with a campervan that had been spotted in the area days beforehand.
On June 3, 2020, a statement on the Facebook page, run on behalf of Kate and Gerry, posted a message stating: “We welcome the appeal today regarding the disappearance of our daughter, Madeleine.
“We would like to thank the police forces involved for their continued efforts in the search for Madeleine.
“All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.
“We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.
“We will be making no further comment regarding the appeal today.
“We would like to thank the general public for their ongoing support and encourage anyone who has information directly related to the appeal, to contact the police.”
German police described the suspect as white with short blond hair, possibly fair, and around 6ft tall with a slim build – who has 17 convictions across Europe and is being investigated for a number of other missing children.
But police in Germany claim they have evidence that proves Madeleine is dead but have yet to reveal how they know this to her parents.
Prime suspect Christian B “denies any involvement” in the McCann case.
On April 22, 2022, Portuguese police declared this person as a formal suspect.
It is the first time that the Portuguese prosecutors have made someone an official suspect in the investigation since they made Madeleine’s parents but were later on cleared.
Funding for the task force assigned to finding Madeleine was rumoured to be scrapped in 2022, but that appears to no longer be the case.
Operation Grange began in 2011 and so far it has cost an estimated £13 million with the continued financial aid coming from Special Grant funding, which is available to forces that face exceptional costs.
It is run from a Met Police branch station in Putney, South West London, and is staffed by five officers.
On May 22, 2023, news reports emerged that divers would be searching a dam in the Algarve that it is believed prime suspect Christian B visited.
It was the first major operation of its kind in Portugal since 2014.
Since Madeleine’s disappearance, there have been TV series and movies based on this tragic story.
A Netflix documentary released in March 2019 called The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann drew the couple back into public attention, despite their refusal to be involved in or with the film.
On October 30, 2023, Portuguese police apologised to the parents of Madeleine for the way they handled their daughter’s disappearance.
The cops told BBC’s Panorama that a delegation of senior officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier in 2023.
They met Gerry and apologised for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.
Read More in The Sun
In September 2007, Madeline’s parents were made arguidos in the investigation into her disappearance.
The couple’s arguido status was lifted in 2008, but they remained under suspicion in Portugal for years.
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
