Remembering Madeleine McCann, 14 April 2013

Remembering Madeleine McCann The Whig By Danielle VandenBrink, Kingston Whig-Standard Sunday, April 14, 2013 11:12:34 EDT PM Susan and Haynes Hubbard hold a picture of Madeleine McCann, who made international headlines when she went missing from a small village in Portugal in 2007. Danielle VandenBrink/The Whig-Standard GLENBURNIE - In the face of tragedy, Susan Hubbard hopes that, one day, she will hold a celebration. Instead, the Glenburnie resident will travel to Portugal next month to hold a vigil for Madeleine McCann, who was the focus of international headlines after she was abducted in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. Hubbard, together with her husband, Haynes, and three children, arrived in the small coastal village on May 6 amid chaos in search of the three-year-old child. Haynes, an Anglican priest, had taken a position in a local church. Hubbard said her concern for the McCann family, who were vacationing in the area when Madeleine was taken from her room while she slept, was immediate. "When you have a tragedy like that, the whole community is reeling," she said. "People have no idea when a tragedy happens how far it ripples." The Hubbards soon became acquainted to the Gerry and Kate McCann, parents of the missing girl, through church services. The two families are now considered close friends. "The only thing we could do is be there and pray in hope that she is alive," said Haynes Hubbard. "Even in the middle of confusion, it needed to be said that this little girl needed to be prayed for and not be forgotten until she comes home." The McCann family, who were from England, were bombarded by media attention and, eventually, allegations from some in Portugal that they had been responsible for abducting their own daughter. When the McCanns would return to Portugal, they would stay with the Hubbards in Praia da Luz. "(The family) needed a place where they could hide and allow their children to be children," Susan Hubbard said. Since, Hubbard said she and her husband have witnessed the immense struggle endured Madeleine's parents — largely through court battles against defamation and the fight to keep the case open with Portuguese authorities. "There's been a lot of injustices along the way," Hubbard said. When the Hubbards decided to leave Portugal last year, she said it was made difficult by the fact that Madeleine had not yet been found. Since her disappearance, Hubbard has held a service in remembrance of Madeleine in Praia da Luz. However, she said there has been opposition from some in the community who no longer wish to publicly recognize the disappearance. "The people that rely on (tourism) need people to move on," she said. "There were a lot of people that want this to go away." Hubbard will return to Portugal next month to hold a vigil on the anniversary of the girl's disappearance. "Until somebody can show she is not alive we will keep looking," Haynes Hubbard said. His wife agreed. She said it is Madeleine's mother, Kate, who continues to hold out hope for her daughter's return. "I always say (to Kate) that one of these years we're going to have a celebration," she said.

McCanns mark sixth anniversary, 03 May 2013

McCanns mark sixth anniversary Belfast Telegraph Madeleine McCann went missing in the Algarve on May 3 2007 [Press Association] 03 May 2013 Missing Madeleine McCann's parents will mark the sixth anniversary of her disappearance with a small ceremony in their village. Kate and Gerry McCann will attend an evening ceremony at the candle that burns continually in the centre of Rothley, Leicestershire, where they will mark the occasion with prayers and poems. The low-key ceremony marks six years since Madeleine, then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007, as her parents dined at a tapas restaurant with friends nearby. Earlier this week, her parents said their family, including twins Sean and Amelie, now eight, had found a "new normality'' since Madeleine's disappearance. Mr and Mrs McCann, 44 and 45, said they continued to search for their daughter and remained as hopeful as ever - if not more so - as a case review by the Metropolitan Police was under way. ''In many ways things haven't changed and you could argue that, with the Met review two years in, we are actually in a better place because so much more information has been collated and lots of pieces of the jigsaw have been filled,'' Mr McCann told the Press Association on Wednesday. "It's just about keeping looking, find out what's happened to Madeleine and hopefully finding those responsible.'' His wife said the Met Police seemed "more determined than ever". The couple said although they struggled with various occasions, including Madeleine's birthday, they were coping with her absence. ''Probably the last couple of years it's been a new normality,'' said Mr McCann. "We have adapted to our situation. 'The thing for Kate and I was always about having a proper search and turning over every stone and we feel like that is being done. Of course we miss Madeleine terribly but we still hope that we will find her. We are still in the same situation and for us we have got to keep going until we find Madeleine and those responsible.'' Mrs McCann said twins Sean and Amelie, who were just two when their sister went missing, were coping well and were "no different to any other eight-year-old child". ''They have grown up knowing that Madeleine is missing, she is their big sister, we're trying to find her and she should be back home with us. 'As they get older and they wander on the internet and other things, there will be more questions, but going by how things have panned out so far I think we will be alright, I think they'll handle it well.'' The couple admitted they found Madeleine's birthday - May 12 - more difficult than the anniversary of her disappearance. ''We both find that more difficult really because it's her special day and we should be there celebrating it and we still do," Mrs McCann said. But they insisted they have not given up hope and will continue the hunt for their daughter. Mr McCann said: ''I think it's still about being vigilant and to remind people that we are looking for a 10-year-old girl, and not a three/four-year-old at the time. 'But if they have any information, they think they have seen someone who could be Madeleine, then the route is to contact the police.'' A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Service continue their investigative review into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, liaising closely with the Portuguese authorities."

Madeleine McCann: Picture timeline of disappearance as parents mark six years since she vanished, 03 May 2013

Madeleine McCann: Picture timeline of disappearance as parents mark six years since she vanished Daily Mirror By Natalie Evans | 3 May 2013 08:10 Madeleine was nearly four when she disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve on May 3, 2007 5th May 2007: News breaks that three-year-old Madeleine McCann has gone missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. --------------------------------- 5th May 2007: The now-iconic image of Madeleine is released, showing the distinctive mark in her right eye. ---------------------------------------- 19th May 2007: A tourist claims to have seen a girl matching Madeleine's description in Morocco asking "Can I see my mummy soon?" --------------------------------------- 7th June 2007: Kate and Gerry are forced to deny that they were involved in their daughter's kidnap. ------------------------------------- 4th August 2007: Police DNA test a bottle and straw to see if the girl seen sipping a milkshake in a Belgian bar was Madeleine. ----------------------------------------- 8th August 2007: Following speculation that Madeleine's parents were under suspicion, police are forced to announce that Kate and Gerry are not suspects. ------------------------------------- 9th August 2007: It emerges that bungling cops attempted to bug the McCann's car in a bid to support the case against them. -------------------------- 13th August 2007: Mum Kate admits that she would rather know if Madeleine was dead than live in the hell of uncertainty over what happened to her. ----------------------- 18th August 2007: More than two months after Madeleine vanished, Kate reveals they have finally broken the news to her twin siblings. --------------------- 22nd August 2007: Police in Portugal beg Kate and Gerry McCann not to return to the UK as they are about to make a breakthrough in the case. -------------------------- 23rd August 2007: Detectives reveal their theory that Madeleine died in the family's holiday apartment. ------------------- 23rd August 2007: Police claim their is evidence to show how Maddy died in her parents' flat. ----------------------- 7th September 2007: Four months after Madeleine disappeared, her parents are named 'arguidos', the Portuguese term for 'suspects'. --------------------- 7th September 2007: The couple fear they may be framed over Maddy's disappearance. -------------------- 8th September 2007: Police in Portugal tell Kate McCann during a 16-hour grilling that Madeleine's blood has been found in the boot of the family's hire car. ------------------------ 27th September 2007: The McCanns' hopes are dashed as a possible sighting of their daughter in Morocco is proved to be a little girl called Bouchra Benaissa. ------------------------------ 5th October 2007: Kate McCann opens up about her ordeal, telling how every day Madeleine when Maddy went missing felt like a week. ------------------------- 26th October 2007: An artist's impression shows the man seen carrying a child away from near to the McCanns' holiday apartment. -------------------------- 8th November 2007: It emerges that two of the McCanns' friends told police in Portugal that they wished to change their stories regarding the night Maddy vanished. ------------------------ 17th November 2007: One of the Tapas Seven, Jane Tanner, breaks her silence to tell how she is haunted by the fear that she might have been able to save Madeleine. Ms Tanner, 38, claimed to have seen a man carrying a child shortly before Maddy was abducted. -------------------- 1st December 2007: Police prepared to reinterview the so-called 'Tapas Seven' - the friends dining with the McCann's the night Madeleine vanished - over claims their stories did not add up. ---------------------------- 22nd December 2007: As the McCanns face their first Christmas without Madeleine, a new photo of Madeleine is released as Kate makes an poignant plea to her daughter. ---------------------------- 29th December 2007: New witnesses claim they saw 'arguido' Briton Robert Murat at the McCanns' holiday apartment. ----------------------- 16th January 2008: Fears Madeleine's abductor has struck again as five-year-old Mari Luz Cortes disappears near to Praia da Luz. --------------------------- 22nd January 2008: A new sketch is released depicting a potential suspect. ----------------------- 22nd July 2008: The McCanns hit out at the bungled police operation into their daughter's disappearance. --------------------------- 7th May 2009: A new sketch is released of a suspect they believe may have been spying on the McCann's apartment before Madeleine was snatched. ---------------------------- 22nd May 2009: Paedophile Ray Hewlett emerges as a new suspect in Maddy's abduction. ---------------------------- 25th May 2009: Police bid to trace paedophile Ray Hewlett's phone calls to pinpoint where he was when Madeleine disappeared. ------------------------- 3rd November 2009: Two years on from Madeleine's abduction, a new age-progressed picture is released showing how she may looked aged 7. ----------------------- 3rd November 2009: The picture also depicts how Madeleine's skin may be darker if she has been living in a hot country. --------------------- 4th November 2009: The McCanns reveal how Maddy's twin brother and sister vowed to fight the man who kidnapped their sister. ---------------------------- 7th May 2011: To mark the fourth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance, Kate McCann releases a book about Madeleine in which she reveals she sees her screaming in her dreams. ---------------------------- 26th April 2012: Five years on, police released a new age-progressed picture showing a grown-up Madeleine. -------------------------- 26th April 2012: Detectives release an age-progressed picture showing what Madeleine may look like aged 9, five years after her disappearance. ------------------------------ 2nd May 2012: Kate and Gerry on the fifth anniversary of their daughter's disappearance. 1st May 2013: Kate and Gerry McCann renew their appeal for help in finding missing Madeleine. Today marks the sixth anniversary of the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann. Madeleine was nearly four when she disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve on May 3, 2007. The little girl was snatched from her holiday apartment as her parents dined at a tapas restaurant with friends nearby. Madeleine's parents have refused to give up hope that they might find their daughter as they prepare to mark the sixth anniversary of her disappearance. But the couple said they have found a "new normality" over the past few years as they come to terms with the absence of their oldest child. Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, today said they continue to search for their daughter and remain as hopeful as ever - if not more so. The couple, who will mark the anniversary with a service in their village, said although they struggle with various occasions, including Madeleine's birthday, they are coping with her absence. "Probably the last couple of years it's been a new normality," said Mr McCann. "We have adapted to our situation. "There isn't so much intrusion and we're not in the public eye very much so those pressures have disappeared. "The thing for Kate and I was always about having a proper search and turning over every stone and we feel like that is being done." But he said that did not mean they did not still have hope: "Of course we miss Madeleine terribly but we still hope that we will find her. "We are still in the same situation and for us we have got to keep going until we find Madeleine and those responsible." Mrs McCann, 45, said every sighting - especially in the early weeks and months - used to get their hopes up, but that had stopped happening. "I get friends and family who get in touch with me when they read about sightings, but I just think unless I have been contacted I don't think it's got any credibility."

Madeleine McCann missing for six years today, 03 May 2013

Madeleine McCann missing for six years today Algarve Daily News Created on Friday, 03 May 2013 08:39 Madeleine McCann went missing on May 3rd 2007, starting one of the most mysterious and high profile cases in recent times. Parents Gerry and Kate McCann are to attend a special gathering today with prayers and poems at a ceremony in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire, where they will mark six years since their daughter vanished without trace. Madeleine was just four-years-old when she disappeared from a holiday rental apartment in Praia da Luz in the western Algarve as her parents dined with friends at the Ocean Club's restaurant. The three McCann children were left sleeping in the nearby apartment, unattended by their parents nor covered by the available child-minding service at the Mark Warner Resort. David Hopkins, the managing director of Mark Warner, said later in 2009 that "our security is terribly robust" as the company filed a claim against insurer AIG for loss of earnings resulting from a downturn in trade blamed on the explosion of worldwide publicity covering the case of the photogenic child and professional parents. The Mark Warner company website said at the time "for over 30 years we have led the way in childcare and have kids' clubs for all ages with free evening crèche service." One of the main criticisms especially from Portuguese nationals and press was of parents dining with friends without their children. The McCanns decided early on that publicity was the key to keeping the case in the public eye with a better chane therefore of finding out what happened to their daughter. This, coupled with a fundraising campaign enabled an astonishing amount of publicity including a visit to the pope, and various legal actions, to be funded by public donations to the private fund. The McCann parents continue to search for their daughter and remain hopeful in the face of false leads, dud police reports, wearing legal processes, public criticism and accusation as well as encouragement and sympathy. They seem no further forward despite the millions of words and inestimable hours spent on the case. The case in unprecedented notable for the persistent publicity and for the McCann's effective legal team, unleashed on occasion on unbelievers that has seen a court case over the publication of an account of the events surrounding Madeleine's disappearance by Gonçalo Amaral, the former Portuguese police inspector; and against retired solicitor Tony Bennett who was sentenced in the UK to a suspended sentence for breaking court undertaking to not repeat that he thought Kate and Gerry themselves were responsible for their daughter’s death. Operation Grange, set up under pressure from the British PM David Cameron in May 2011, was the name given to a review into the case by Metropolitan Police. The operation so far has cost the British taxpayer over £4.5 million but the team, led by Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, has failed to uncover any new evidence sufficient to persuade the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case, closed in 2008. This week Gerry McCann said, ''In many ways things haven't changed and you could argue that, with the Met review two years in, we are actually in a better place because so much more information has been collated and lots of pieces of the jigsaw have been filled,'' "It's just about keeping looking, find out what's happened to Madeleine and hopefully finding those responsible.'' Kate McCann said the Metropolitan Police seemed "more determined than ever," with Gerry adding, "we have adapted to our situation. The thing for Kate and I was always about having a proper search and turning over every stone and we feel like that is being done. Of course we miss Madeleine terribly but we still hope that we will find her. We are still in the same situation and for us we have got to keep going until we find Madeleine and those responsible.'' Mrs McCann said their twins were just two when their sister went missing and were coping well being "no different to any other eight-year-old child." ''They have grown up knowing that Madeleine is missing, she is their big sister, we're trying to find her and she should be back home with us. As they get older and they wander on the internet and other things, there will be more questions, but going by how things have panned out so far I think we will be alright, I think they'll handle it well.'' On the ITV’s Daybreak morning TV programme Gerry said "We haven't lost hope, our hope isn't any less than it was after the first 24, 48 hours."

Six years on Madeleine McCann is still in our minds, 04 May 2013

Six years on Madeleine McCann is still in our minds Daily Mirror TONY PARSONS COLUMN 4 May 2013 00:00 We never will forget the smiling three-year-old so cruelly taken from her family. There but for the grace of God goes any of us. Yesterday was six years to the day that three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal. "Please don't forget about her," says Madeleine's mother Kate. There is no chance of that, Kate. Madeleine McCann captured our imagination because in her smiling photographs, her tragic disappearance and in the unimaginable grief of her mother and father, every parent was confronted with their worst nightmare. Most parents know what it is like to briefly lose track of a child. In a store or on the beach – you look away and they are gone. You think they are with your partner, but they are not. And as you search you feel a ­sickness in your heart like nothing you have ever known. When our daughter was small, my wife and I lost track of her for 30 minutes after a ballet class. It was the longest – and worst – half hour of my life. I can't pretend to imagine what Kate and Gerry McCann have been through. I can't guess at what they endure every day of their lives. But I know we never will forget the smiling three-year-old who was so cruelly taken from her family. And I know that there but for the grace of God goes any one of us.

Maddie tribute, 04 May 2013

Maddie tribute The Sun Ceremony ... Kate and Gerry McCann   Published: 04th May 2013 TEARFUL Kate and Gerry McCann struggle for composure at a ceremony marking six years since daughter Madeleine vanished. They were joined by around 50 people for yesterday's dusk service as well-wishers lit candles and laid flowers at the village war memorial in the McCanns' home village of Rothley, Leics. Madeleine's brother and sister, twins Sean and Amelie, eight, were also present. Earlier this week the McCanns said they had found a "new normality" since Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve. Missing ... Madeleine McCann

A tearful and emotional Gerry and Kate McCann mark the sixth anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance by attending ceremony in home village, 04 May 2013

A tearful and emotional Gerry and Kate McCann mark the sixth anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance by attending ceremony in home village Daily Mail Kate and Gerry McCann attended ceremony in Rothley, Leicestershire It marked the sixth anniversary of their daughter Madeleine's disappearance By ANTHONY BOND PUBLISHED: 01:12, 4 May 2013 | UPDATED: 09:13, 4 May 2013 Their faces are barely able to conceal the stress and pain which they have endured this last six years. Looking tired and tearful, Kate and Gerry McCann attended an evening ceremony in their village to mark the sixth anniversary of daughter Madeleine's disappearance. The heartbroken couple attended the ceremony at the candle which burns continually in the centre of Rothley, Leicestershire. Upsetting: Looking tired and tearful, Kate and Gerry McCann attended prayers and a candle lit service in their village to mark the sixth anniversary of the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine --------------------- Villagers marked the occasion with prayers and poems. The low-key ceremony marks six years since Madeleine, then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007, as her parents dined at a tapas restaurant with friends nearby. Earlier this week, her parents said their family, including twins Sean and Amelie, now eight, had found a 'new normality' since Madeleine's disappearance. Mr and Mrs McCann, 44 and 45, said they continued to search for their daughter and remained as hopeful as ever - if not more so - as a case review by the Metropolitan Police was under way. 'In many ways things haven't changed and you could argue that, with the Met review two years in, we are actually in a better place because so much more information has been collated and lots of pieces of the jigsaw have been filled,' Mr McCann said. 'It's just about keeping looking, find out what's happened to Madeleine and hopefully finding those responsible.' His wife said the Met Police seemed 'more determined than ever'. The couple said although they struggled with various occasions, including Madeleine's birthday, they were coping with her absence. 'Probably the last couple of years it's been a new normality,' said Mr McCann. 'We have adapted to our situation. 'The thing for Kate and I was always about having a proper search and turning over every stone and we feel like that is being done. 'Of course we miss Madeleine terribly but we still hope that we will find her. 'We are still in the same situation and for us we have got to keep going until we find Madeleine and those responsible.' Mrs McCann said twins Sean and Amelie, who were just two when their sister went missing, were coping well and were 'no different to any other eight-year-old child'. 'They have grown up knowing that Madeleine is missing, she is their big sister, we're trying to find her and she should be back home with us. 'As they get older and they wander on the internet and other things, there will be more questions, but going by how things have panned out so far I think we will be alright, I think they'll handle it well.' Sad: The heartbroken couple attended the ceremony at the candle that burns continually in the centre of Rothley, Leicestershire ----------------------- HOW THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MADELEINE McCANN UNFOLDED 2007 May 3, - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant. Nothing is amiss when Mr McCann checks on the youngsters at just after 9pm, but when his wife goes back at about 10pm she finds three-year-old Madeleine missing. May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter. September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both 'arguidos' in their daughter's disappearance. 2008 July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the 'arguido' status of the McCanns and Robert Murat. 2009 January 29 - Nearly £2 million was raised for the official fund to find Madeleine in the first 10 months after she went missing, Companies House accounts show. 2011 May 12 - Mrs McCann publishes a book about her daughter's disappearance on Madeleine's eighth birthday. Scotland Yard launches a review of the case after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May supported by Prime Minister David Cameron. 2012 April 25 - Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive, release an age-progression picture of how she might look now as a nine-year-old, and call on the Portuguese authorities to reopen the case. Vanished: The Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Portugal, from where Madeleine went missing in May 2007 -------------------------- July 10 - Kate McCann launches a nationwide campaign to find missing people. Mrs McCann, a new ambassador for the charity Missing People, launches a network of billboards which will publicise the cases of individuals whose whereabouts are no longer known. November 30 - In the wake of the Leveson report, the couple urge Prime Minister David Cameron to embrace its findings, saying if he does not, then giving evidence at the inquiry will have been 'almost useless'. December 21 - In a Christmas message on the Find Madeleine website, Kate and Gerry McCann say the festive season will 'never be as it should'. 2013 February 6 - A DNA sample from a girl in New Zealand is sent to British police to quash the suggestion that she could be Madeleine McCann.   The couple admitted they found Madeleine's birthday - May 12 - more difficult than the anniversary of her disappearance. 'We both find that more difficult really because it's her special day and we should be there celebrating it and we still do,' Mrs McCann said. 'We still celebrate her anyway, and the same will happen this year, we have a little birthday tea and a cake. 'That's a much harder day for us really.' But they insisted they have not given up hope and will continue the hunt for their daughter. Mr McCann said: 'I think it's still about being vigilant and to remind people that we are looking for a 10-year-old girl, and not a three/four-year-old at the time. 'But if they have any information, they think they have seen someone who could be Madeleine, then the route is to contact the police.' Mrs McCann added: 'I think to encourage everybody, it's six years on, but the way the Met review is going is really positive and with that, new hope. 'The search goes on, in a major way.' A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Service continue their investigative review into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, liaising closely with the Portuguese authorities.' PARENTS WHO HAVE NEVER GIVEN UP THE SEARCH FOR THEIR DAUGHTER   Six years have passed since Madeleine McCann went missing on May 3, 2007 during a family holiday in Praia da Luz. Since then, each word of Gerry and Kate McCann has been followed as they campaigned tirelessly to find Madeleine, and their words over the past six years provide an insight into their struggle. Mr McCann issued the couple's first public appeal to trace Madeleine on May 5. Visibly distraught, he released a personal appeal to anyone holding his daughter captive to release her: 'Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come home to her mummy, daddy, brother and sister.' Mr and Mrs McCann met the Pope at the Vatican just over three weeks after their daughter disappeared. Mr McCann spoke after the meeting, stating: 'I do not know how we will have changed but I think it is fair to say we will never be the same again.' In their first interview since the disappearance of their daughter, Mr and Mrs McCann insisted they had not acted irresponsibly. Mrs McCann said: 'I think we were naive, we are very responsible parents, we love our children very much. 'I don't think any parent could imagine or consider anything like this happening.' In September 2007, Mr and Mrs McCann returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire. In the same month, they were also named by Portuguese police as formal suspects in the case. On the runway of East Midlands Airport, Mr McCann said: 'Despite there being so much we wish to say, we are unable to do so, except to say this: We played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter Madeleine.' In January 2008, Mr McCann spoke of the guilt over his daughter's disappearance in an interview with an American magazine. He said: 'I wish I hadn't gone to the tapas bar. I wish I'd stayed in the apartment that night. I wish I'd stayed in the room when I checked on her five minutes longer.' Appeal: Gerry and Kate McCann walk in Praia da Luz, in Portugal in 2007 in a bid to remind people about their missing daughter ----------------------------- In May 2008, Mrs McCann spoke to the congregation at a church in Rothley during a service to mark the one-year anniversary of her daughter's disappearance. She said: 'Keep praying, pray like mad.' In December 2009, Mrs McCann said she felt closer to her missing daughter Madeleine after returning to Praia da Luz for the first time since she was named as a prime suspect by police. She said: 'Although our pain feels much rawer here, it is comforting at the same time since we feel closer to Madeleine.' The couple spoke about the press intrusion into their case at the Leveson inquiry in 2011. Mrs McCann said: 'There was absolutely no respect shown for me as a grieving mother or a human being or to my daughter.' In the couple's Christmas message on the Find Madeleine website as they prepared for their sixth Christmas without Madeleine, they wrote: 'We desperately hope of course that the official investigation to find Madeleine will be reopened - and soon - as we still believe this is probably our best chance of finding our little girl.'

Six Years Later, Still No Sign of Madeleine McCann, 04 May 2013

Six Years Later, Still No Sign of Madeleine McCann Newsweek by Barbie Latza Nadeau | May 4, 2013 4:45 AM EDT The parents of Madeleine McCann, who disappeared from a resort in Portugal in 2007, think the police are getting closer to discovering the truth. Barbie Latza Nadeau reports. It has been six years since Madeleine McCann, then just shy of her fourth birthday, disappeared without a trace from a Praia da Luz holiday resort in the Algarve, Portugal, while her parents were at a tapas bar just 130 yards from the apartment. Since then, her parents, Gerry and Kate, have searched relentlessly—and so far in vain—for their daughter. They have left the young girl's room intact in their home in Leicestershire, England, and still celebrate her birthday each year. The McCanns have endured a barrage of criticism for leaving Madeleine and her younger twin siblings unattended, and they have been the victims of a vile online conspiracy hate club that sees them as the perpetrators in their daughter's disappearance. But through it all, they have remained stoic and vigilant in their belief that she is still out there somewhere—and their patience might soon pay off. Both Kate and Gerry McCann have said that they believe the police are moving closer to finding the truth about what happened to their daughter. The case was officially closed in 2008 when the Portuguese police dismissed Madeleine's parents as subjects. In May 2011, Scotland Yard launched a shadow investigation called Operation Grange to examine more than 100,000 pages of investigative documents. In their initial review, they found nearly 200 leads they believe the Portuguese investigators missed, including leads to known pedophiles who could have taken the young girl and reports of suspicious vehicles in the area at the time. So far, the missed leads they have followed up on have all turned cold, but the McCanns believe they are getting closer to finding Madeleine. "With the review the Met have been doing over the last two years I think we are closer to finding out what happened," Gerry McCann told SKY news ahead of the anniversary of his daughter’s disappearance. "But for Kate and I, until we find Madeleine or the person responsible then we're still miles away." On Friday a service was held in the chapel of the family's home village to mark the day Madeleine disappeared. Poems and prayers dedicated to Madeleine were read, as they have every year since the toddler disappeared, but Gerry says it wasn't intended as a memorial service. "It marks the day she was taken, but it is really just another day she is still missing," he said. The McCanns continue to distribute posters to those traveling to the Algarve with a time-lapse image of Madeleine to show what she might look like at 10 years old, in hopes they will hang the flyers up and someone will call the toll-free line with information. They also keep in regular contact with detectives working on the Operation Grange investigation and provide information and answer questions to cooperate fully. They say they have found a new normal in their life, but it has not been easy. "It's a horrible, confusing, uncomfortable situation to be in," Kate told the British press. "As time's gone on we've obviously got stronger and you do adapt to living in that situation." Kate believes that as long as they continue to talk about Madeleine's disappearance, someone will remember something or see a young girl who looks like their daughter. "Someone knows—not just the people involved in the crime," she told SKY. "Other people will know as well, or will be strongly suspicious." She's hoping that suspicion will lead someone to make a call that might lead them to the truth about their daughter.

Madeleine McCann update: Will parents ever be held accountable?, 04 May 2013

Madeleine McCann update: Will parents ever be held accountable? examiner.com BY CHELSEA HOFFMAN | MAY 4, 2013 Will Madeleine McCann ever have justice? May 3, 2013 was the sixth anniversary of the Madeleine McCann disappearance, and to no surprise her parents have been making the rounds with the media as the child remains missing. The Huffington Post shares some of the details of the latest in this ongoing saga. Gerry and Kate McCann reportedly say they feel that investigators are getting closer to the truth, but what truth could they be referring to? Since the little girl vanished during their 2007 Portugal vacation the evidence has all but pointed directly to murder, but nobody has been held accountable for it. Maddie was nearly four-years-old when she vanished from her parents' vacation rental. She had been left unattended with her two younger siblings while Kate and Gerry McCann drank with friends several yards away at a tapas bar. Six years later it's still not known if Kate and Gerry's neglect led directly to the girl's disappearance or not, but there have been a slew of theories in this case. Cadaver dog evidence found in their rental indicates that the child might have died. Was her death covered up? The Belfast Telegraph reports that Kate and Gerry have found what they're calling "a new normality" with life without Madeleine -- and they have reportedly "come to terms" with her absence. Their recent quotes come just six years to the date of her disappearance -- a time when parents of missing children should be anything but "to terms" with their unexplained loss. Kate and Gerry were once considered suspects in the disappearance of their little girl, but even in the face of damning evidence they have managed to avoid prosecution for the obvious while police officials chase hoaxed leads all over the world. When will this end? Will another six years pass before the truth is known and justice is served?

Never Give Up, 04 May 2013

Never Give Up The Sun (paper edition) LORRAINE KELLY 04 May 2013 IT is six years since Madeleine McCann disappeared. Her parents Kate and Gerry have never given up hope that one day they will be reunited with their daughter and they are pinning those hopes on the review of the case by British police, painstakingly going through every piece of evidence. How I wish those officers had been involved from the moment Madeleine went missing. Kate and Gerry have somehow managed to keep functioning, not least because they have to take care of their twins Amelie and Sean. They even managed a wry smile when I asked them how they will cope when the twins want to have more freedom and go on sleep-overs, and said it was something they were "working on". Kate and Gerry will never give up on their daughter. We can play our part by continuing to distribute posters and never ever forgetting Madeleine.