The purpose of this site is for information and a record of Gerry McCann's Blog Archives. As most people will appreciate GM deleted all past blogs from the official website. Hopefully this Archive will be helpful to anyone who is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many Thanks, Pamalam

Note: This site does not belong to the McCanns. It belongs to Pamalam. If you wish to contact the McCanns directly, please use the contact/email details campaign@findmadeleine.com    

Pat Perkins / The e-mail Campaigns *

MCCANN FILES HOME BACK TO GERRY MCCANNS BLOGS HOME PAGE PHOTOGRAPHS
NEWS REPORTS INDEX MCCANN PJ FILES NEWS MAY 2007
 
A look at Pat Perkins, a friend of Kate's mother, who was responsible for instigating the first chain e-mail that asked for help to find Madeleine. The e-mail, which clearly stated that Madeleine had been abducted, was first sent out on Monday 07 May 2007.

Pat Perkins

 

Also, reproduced below is the 'e-poster' email sent out by Philomena McCann, which was later updated to include new pictures, a new poster and comments from John and Diane McCann. Also, newspaper reports of an anonymous email that called for one minute's silence - which was observed, despite nobody knowing who originated the email.

Pat Perkins and the events of 03 May 2007
On 18 May 2007, Portuguese newspaper 'Sol' published the following report:
 
'Aurelio Guerreiro, the owner of a bar at the marina in Vilamoura, was close to being involved. His testimony to Sol confuses the McCanns' time version. Sometime between 0.30 and 1 a.m., Aurelio got a phonecall from an old customer: Pat Perkins, the Human Resources Director from a public English organism. She calls him, upset: ''She told me the daughter of British friends of hers, who were vacationing close to Lagos, had disappeared over 3 hours ago, that they were completely alone and that nobody was helping them to search for her''.

Kate McCann had just informed her parents of the tragedy. Pat, who lives in Liverpool, confirms: ''I was at Kate's parents' house at that moment. But I have nothing further to add''.

Guerreiro tells what he did after Pat called him: ''I understood she wanted me to go meet them, but I was an hour away from their location, and I could not close the bar, I decided to call the police''. After PJ in Portimao confirmed to him they already knew about the case, Aurelio phoned Kate, at the number that Pat had given him: ''An English man picked it up. He thanked me, and contrary to what I expected, he didn't ask me for anything''.

Minutes after this phonecall, Gerry asks for the priest from the Luz parish to be called for him – but the Ocean Club staff members refused, given the time it was. At four in the morning, Jane was asking a member of GNR: ''Have you cut off all the roads already?''. Minutes later, Gerry, given the fact that the priest didn't appear, asked another element of GNR to show him the way to the church.'

Pat Perkins on the McCanns
Another friend, Pat Perkins, 61, said: ''Gerry and Kate are fantastic parents and could see the bedroom from the hotel restaurant.

''Madeleine's a beautiful little girl. It's her fourth birthday soon. They were supposed to be flying home tomorrow to celebrate. We can't believe what's happening. We're sat by the phone waiting to hear news. We're all going through hell.''
 
 
(Note: The McCanns could not see the bedroom window from the hotel restaurant - it was on the other side of the apartment block)
 
---
 
A friend of Kate's parents, Brian and Susan Healey from Liverpool, said they were also beside themselves.
Pat Perkins, 61, said: "We are all absolutely out of our minds with worry.

"Susan can barely speak. We're doing our best to stay positive."

Daily Record 05 May 2007

Pat Perkins complete e-mail about Madeleine's 'abduction', 07 May 2007
The e-mail:
 
Please forward to as many people as you know

On behalf of Kate and Gerry McCann and all the family, please help us find Madeleine.
 
Madeleine, age 3, was abducted from her bed in the family holiday apartment, Praia De Luz, Algarve, Portugal on Thursday, 3rd May.
 
Police and all of Portugal are trying to find her. The Portuguese people, holiday makers and ex pats have been a great support to the family and continue their efforts.
 
You, too can help. Please circulate this plea to publicise Madeleine's photo and ask for information, no matter how small to be passed on to the authorities.
 
Whether you are in the UK, Portugal, Europe or beyond, please forward to all your family, friends,colleagues and business associates. Someone out there will have some information that will lead to Maddy's return.
 
The internet can be a powerful tool in finding Maddy, who is so loved and missed by us all.
 
Let's use it positively.
 
Please pray for Madeleine and all the family at this devastating time.
 
We need your help. We know you won't let Maddy down.
 
God bless,
 
Pat Perkins
(Family friend)
 
Pat Perkins
XXX (removed)
 
XXX (removed)
XXX (removed)
 
Mob: XXX (removed)
Tel: XXX (removed)
Fax: XXX (removed)
 

Madeleine's Family Send Out Email Poster, 09 May 2007

e-poster of Madeleine produced by Philomena McCann

Madeleine's Family Send Out Email Poster Sky News (article no longer available online)
 
Updated: 15:10, Wednesday May 09, 2007
 
The family of missing Madeleine McCann have drawn up a poster to circulate in a chain email to help find the three-year-old.

The 'e-poster' has been composed by Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann.

Ms McCann is the sister of Gerry McCann, Maddie's father, and lives in Scotland.

She told Sky News: "If people can help us get Madeleine back that's great. We need to get her back. We must find her. It's not an option to lose her.

"The whole family need her here. She's an integral member of this family. We all love children. Gerry and Kate (Madeleine's parents) have dedicated their lives to helping people."
 
The effort to find Madeleine McCann has gone online in further ways.

An appeal has been launched by Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and the international Virtual Global Taskforce.

On their websites, accessed in more than half the countries of the world, they are calling on anyone who has information to call the Portugese police, or Crimestoppers in the UK.

Thousands of messages of support for the family are continuing to be sent to Sky News Online.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman was asked about the case by reporters today. He said: "These are very difficult days for first and foremost the family."
 
In Portugal, police have recovered another item of child's clothing, but have not commented on whether it is Madeleine's or not.

Two 'Cracker'-style criminal behaviour experts, from the Child Exploitation and online Protection Centre - which tackles international child sex abuse have arrived to help police.

The move comes after details of British paedophiles with links to the Algarve were handed over to Portuguese investigators, local reports said.

The British Ambassador has defended Portugal's police in their efforts to trace the three-year-old.

John Buck said he had received assurances at the highest level that detectives are doing all they can to find Madeleine and that her parents Kate and Gerry are happy with the investigation.

Portuguese football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Ferreira, along with John Terry, have made video appeals for information to find Madeleine, from Rothley, near Leicester.

The youngster disappeared on Thursday night after she was left with her brother and sister, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, in a holiday apartment.

Her parents had been dining in a nearby restaurant and checking on them regularly.

A vigil has been held in Madeleine's home village as family and friends prayed for the youngster to be found safe and well.

:: There are new numbers to call for people with any information:

If you in the UK, call Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.

If you in Portugal, call the Judicial Police +351 282 405 400.

Poster Campaign: Grabbing Your Attention, 09 May 2007
Poster Campaign: Grabbing Your Attention
 
May 9, 2007
 
Thousands of people have already downloaded the poster of missing Madeleine put out by the McCann family to bolster the appeal for information on her whereabouts. Her uncle John McCann spoke to Sky news from his home in Glasgow.
 
(00:02:10)

How Poster Campaign Took On Life Of Its Own, 11 May 2007
How Poster Campaign Took On Life Of Its Own Sky News
 
12:27pm UK, Friday May 11, 2007
 
Thousands of people have downloaded the E-poster from the Sky News website that was distributed by Madeleine's aunt.
 
More than 32,000 people have clicked on the link since it was launched.
 
Across Britain and Portugal, the email carrying the poster is being forwarded and downloaded at a phenomenal rate.
 
The poster carries a picture of Madeleine McCann in a pink hat holding tennis balls.
 
It appeals for anyone who may have seen the three-year-old to call Crimestoppers in the UK.
 
Aunt Philomena McCann devised the email poster because she feared Madeleine may have been taken to Spain where the girl's disappearance has generated less attention.
 
The poster is also available to download in Spanish and French.
 
She hoped the email would create more publicity for the case.
 
And it has.
 
Debby Burton, of Devizes, Wiltshire, emailed Sky News to say: "Just to let you all know, I have sent Maddie's "poster" to all my friends and contacts in the Algarve, English and Portugal.
 
"Any little that will help, we wait on tenterhooks for news of Maddie's safe return. I would willingly go to Portugal and search if it would be of any help."
 
John Grant, of Manchester, emailed: "Hey Guys, here is a leaflet about the missing English child in the Algarve (Madeleine McCann). Copy and paste the e-mail on - and send it round the world - let's get some people attention on this before it becomes a real tragedy. Cheerio, and thoughts are with the parents and family."
 
Phil Wardman, head of newsgathering for Sky Active, said that allowing readers to download the poster showed how 'people power' and 'New Media' could be harnessed to bolster the police search.
 
"We can reach millions of people by putting it on our website and telling people through TV about it," he said.
 
"Many English-speaking people in Portugal and Spain are getting their information from Sky News so we are promoting the fact that is on our website.
 
"We know in Spain the story is not getting a lot of coverage and whoever has taken Madeleine could be across the border by now.
 
"We are saying get on the website, download the poster and send it to as many people as possible so we can raise the profile of the search even further."

Using the internet and e-mails, Telegraph report 12 May 2007
Family hopes the world of the internet can bring the critical breakthrough Telegraph
 
By Martin Beckford
Last Updated: 2:25am BST 12/05/07
 
Relatives and friends of Madeleine McCann are using the internet and email to widen the search for the missing three-year-old.

They hope that if enough people across the world hear about her disappearance and see her photograph someone will come forward with information that could lead to her being found.

Pat Perkins, from Liverpool, a friend of the McCann family, put out an email appeal with a picture of Madeleine attached on Monday. She sent the message to colleagues in the NHS and asked them to forward it to their friends and contacts. It has now been seen and sent on by thousands of people worldwide.

This "viral" email technique is regularly used by marketing companies as a way of getting a message to huge numbers of people quickly and cheaply, as each recipient can forward it to everyone they know as soon as it lands in their inbox.

In a modern, global version of missing posters being put on lampposts it was used to reunite children and their parents after the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami in south-east Asia.

Mrs Perkins said: "It's just an amateur way of trying to help. If all the people across the world are aware of it then maybe they can help."

Madeleine's aunt Philomena McCann has also sent out an email containing a downloadable poster of Madeleine and a message for anyone with information about her to call Crimestoppers.

This too has been forwarded to thousands worldwide, and more than 23,000 people have already clicked on a link to the poster which was set up by a news website. Throughout the search, Madeleine's relatives have been ahead of the authorities in putting out information about her disappearance.

It was her parents who issued the first photographs of her, who made the first public appeal for information and who gave the first details of what she was wearing. Portuguese police only issued a formal appeal for information on their website on Wednesday, six days after Madeleine went missing.

Family urge support for Madeleine, 12 May 2007
Family urge support for Madeleine BBC News
 
Last Updated: Saturday, 12 May 2007, 18:23 GMT 19:23 UK
 
The family of missing Madeleine McCann have urged the public to join their poster and chain e-mail campaign.
 
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from an apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal six days ago. She turned four on Saturday.
 
Her aunt, Philomena McCann, told the BBC how members of the public could help the family.
 
"They can join my e-mail campaign sending my poster to everyone that they know," she said.
 
'Real difference'
 
The chain e-mail was sent by Ms McCann and also contains a poster which can be printed out. People are urged to send the message on to their friends and contacts throughout Europe.
 
The text of the e-mail reads: "As you are aware my niece is still missing and I am asking everyone I know to send this as a chain letter ie you send it to everyone you know and ask them to do the same, as the story is only being covered in Britain, Eire and Portugal.
 
"We don't believe that she is in Portugal anymore and need to get her picture and the story across Europe as quickly as possible. Suggestions are welcome."
 
An official website "Bring Madeleine Home" has been set up by family friends.
 
"They can just phone their MPs and ask for support, they can pray for us - it's a great sustenance to us all," said Ms McCann.
 
"They can do lots of things - just letting people, if they're going on holiday, take a poster of Madeleine with them. There are so many little things that people can do that make a real difference to us," she said.
 
She said more than 40,000 copies of the poster had been downloaded from one site.
 
"We've had lots of feedback from people in Lisbon and in Spain.
 
"I was put in touch with [SNP leader] Alex Salmond, and he told me he had seen the poster and heard about it. He said he's going to help."
 
She said the aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of Madeleine's plight across Europe, in countries where her disappearance has not been covered by local media.
 
"This is a big story in Britain because her family are a combination of Irish, Scottish and English. But outside of here and Portugal this is a lame duck. It's just not out there at all.
 
"The target is to get Madeleine's face seen and, if she's recognised, there's a Crimestoppers number they can ring."
 
Ms McCann said The Sun newspaper had provided 15,000 copies of a poster showing Madeleine which were handed out at the Celtic versus Aberdeen football match on Saturday.
 
"Fifteen thousand copies - it was magnificent. and they put Madeleine's image on the big screen several times. Celtic are known as the Lisbon Lions - the links with Portugal are not tenuous.
 
"We have had such fantastic support from the world of football, business and the general population have been stupendous.
 
"I've never been cuddled so much in my life as I was today."
 
Ms McCann said she would attend a woman's 10km run in Glasgow on Sunday, and would help hand out 200 t-shirts to runners.

Madeleine's Right Eye Holds Vital Clue, 12 May 2007
Madeleine McCann email poster
The new poster of Madeleine

Madeleine's Right Eye Holds Vital Clue Sky News
 
Updated: 23:17, Saturday May 12, 2007
(article later updated 12:09pm UK, Monday May 14, 2007 with poster picture)
 
Madeleine McCann's family believe a new picture of the missing four-year-old could play a vital role in the search for her.
 
The photo clearly shows her distinctive right eye, where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris.
 
It is this distinguishing mark that will identify Madeleine to those on the lookout for her, according to aunt and uncle John and Diane McCann.
 
The Glasgow couple aim to distribute the appeal poster, which features the Crimestoppers telephone number, as far afield as they can.
 
Family friend Andrew Renwick told Sky News that support for the search had been "overwhelming" and her family were extremely grateful.
 
Mrs McCann said: "The purpose of the poster is to highlight the distinction in Madeleine's eye.
 
"We want to make the most of it, because we know her hair could potentially be cut or dyed."
 
Mr McCann added: "The poster was designed by a friend of the family and I've begun emailing it to acquaintances in different parts of the world.
 
"I'm asking people to circulate it the best they can and make it be seen."

Philomena McCanns' updated email with additional comments from John and Diane McCann and new pictures, 12 May 2007

Subject: FW: PLEASE FORWARD ON TO EVERYBODY

PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE AND FORWARD IT TO EVERYBODY IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK…

Madeleine McCann

Please read this message and pass it on!!!!!!!!! As you are aware my niece, Madeleine, is still missing and I am asking everyone I know to send this as a chain letter i.e. you send it to everyone you know and ask them to do the same, as the story is only being covered in Britain, Eire and Portugal. We don't believe that she is in Portugal anymore and need to get her picture and the story across Europe as quickly as possible. Suggestions are welcome.

Phil McCann

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann

Madeleine's Eye Holds Vital Clue

 

It is worth a try!

Please pass this email on to everyone in your address book. They reckon it could cover 80% of the world's inboxes in 2 weeks.

Madeleine McCann's family believe a new picture of the missing four-year could play a vital role in the search for her. The photo shows clearly her distinctive right eye where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris.

It is this distinguishing mark that will identify Madeleine to those on the lookout for her, according to aunt and uncle John and Diane McCann.

They aim to distribute the appeal poster, which features the Crimestoppers telephone number as far afield as they can.

Mrs McCann said: "The purpose of the poster is to highlight the distinction in Madeleine's eye. "We want to make the most of it, because we know her hair could potentially be cut or dyed."

Mr McCann added: "The poster was designed by a friend of the family and I've begun Emailing it to acquaintances in different parts of the world.

"I'm asking people to circulate it the best they can and make it be seen."

PLEASE HELP US FIND MADELEINE AND FORWARD THIS IMAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW

Pat Perkins posting on the '1st-Sem' site, 13 May 2007
Pat Perkins posted the following message on the '1st-sem' site on Sunday 13 May 2007 at 8:53am:
 
Help Find Madeleine McCann 1st-Sem (article now removed)
 
The search industry is well placed to help spread pictures of little Madeleine McCann. Let’s pull together and try to help reunite this little girl with her family. Perhaps Google, Yahoo and MS could be encouraged to show pictures on Madeleine on their home pages, such is their reach.
 
Madeleine, age 3, was abducted from her bed in the family holiday apartment, Praia De Luz, Algarve, Portugal on Thursday, 3rd May.
 
Police and all of Portugal are trying to find her. The Portuguese people, holiday makers and ex pats have been a great support to the family and continue their efforts.
 
information, no matter how small to be passed on to the authorities.
 
You, too can help. Please circulate this plea to publicise Madeleine’s photo and ask for information, no matter how small to be passed on to the authorities.
 
The international number for Crime stoppers is +44 1883 731 336. People with information about Madeleine can call anonymously.
 
Whether you are in the Ireland , the UK , Portugal, Europe or beyond, please forward to all your family, friends,colleagues and business associates. Someone out there will have some information that will lead to Maddy’s return.
 
The internet can be a powerful tool in finding Maddy, who is so loved and missed by us all.
 
Let’s use it positively.
 
Please pray for Madeleine and all the family at this devastating time.
 
We need your help. We know you won’t let Maddy down.
 
God bless,
 
Pat Perkins
(Family friend)

'Help us find Madeleine' e-mail flicks around the world, 14 May 2007
'Help us find Madeleine' e-mail flicks around the world Timesonline
 
A message originally sent to 50 people to raise awareness of the four-year-old's disappearance has been read from Kazakhstan to Kuala Lumpur
 
Jonathan Richards
May 14, 2007
 
An e-mail campaign to raise awareness about Madeleine McCann, the four-year-old girl who has been abducted in Portugal, has flicked around the globe in a matter of days, reaching as far as Kazakhstan, Kuala Lumpur and Azerbaijan.
Messages of support have poured in from all around the world to the original sender Pat Perkins, a friend of Madeleine’s grandmother, who first sent the e-mail to just over 50 people a week ago in the hope that a recipient may recognise Madeleine and be able to offer assistance to police.

''Whether you are in the UK, Portugal, Europe or beyond, please forward to all your family, friends, colleagues and business associates,'' Ms Perkins, who works as a project manager for the NHS in Merseyside, wrote.

''The internet can be a powerful tool in finding Maddy, who is so loved and missed by us all.

''Let's use it positively.''

Since then the e-mail, which contained a picture of Madeleine on a tennis court and a link to the website bringmadeleinehome.com, has criss-crossed the globe, with everyone from a 15-year-old German boy to the manager of a racing club in Dubai offering their support.

Claire, who runs an estate agent on the Aegean coast in Turkey, replied: ''We’ve removed some of the brochures from the windows in our agency and replaced them with pictures of Madeleine. It’s only a small act and you don’t know us however we wanted you to know you have our love and support.''

Grace De Angelis-Petria, from Geneva, Switzerland, wrote: ''We have been heartbroken since we heard the news. We’re doing what we can by sending the e-mail to the world and putting posters up in elevators.''

Claire Walker, who manages the Dubai Racing Club, said: ''I got your e-mail from a friend in Singapore. I have sent it to all my contacts and hope it will be widely distributed. Wishing you hope and faith.''

Ms Perkins, who has known Madeleine’s grandmother, Sue Healy, for 30 years, said that she had sent the e-mail out of ''desperation'' because she felt "so helpless" when Madeleine disappeared from the resort in which her family was staying in the Algarve 11 days ago.

''We just wanted to get the information out as soon as possible and we’re overwhelmed by the replies. My inbox has now crashed several times,'' she told Times Online.

She said that messages of support had arrived from, among other countries, Holland, Australia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore.

Chris Lake, editor of e-consultancy, an internet research group, said: ''These kinds e-mail campaigns have the potential to reach millions in a very short space of time. Generally whether they work depends on the incentives they provide for forwarding the e-mail on. Here, obviously, the incentive is enormous.''

Minute silence held for Madeleine, 21 May 2007
Minute silence held for Madeleine BBC News
 
Last Updated: Monday, 21 May 2007, 13:44 GMT 14:44 UK
 
A one-minute silence has been held in Portugal in solidarity with the family of the missing four-year-old girl Madeleine McCann.
 
The silence was initiated by an anonymous chain email circulated around the country at the weekend, and was observed at midday.
 
Madeleine from Rothley, Leicestershire, was snatched in Portugal 18 days ago.
 
Madeleine's father, Gerry, has flown back to the UK to meet organisers of the campaign to find his daughter.
 
Kate McCann observed the silence privately at the family's holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.
 
Senior detectives in Portimao, who are investigating Madeleine's disappearance, also stopped for one minute.
 
Mr McCann is expected to spend just over 24 hours away from his wife and two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.
 
He will also deal with personal matters during the family's first time apart since Madeleine's abduction on 3 May.
 
Mr McCann is a consultant cardiologist at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital and his friend and colleague Dr Doug Skehan said he would be involved in meetings for most of Monday.
 
"He feels pretty pressurised at the moment. He has got meetings he is committed to," Dr Skehan said.
 
"I think he is OK. But he knows there is quite a few important decisions to make about where to proceed from now."
 
Mr McCann arrived at East Midlands Airport in the early hours of Monday morning and will return to Portugal on Tuesday.
 
In addition to meeting campaign organisers, it is thought his visit will also help arrange for the family to stay in Portugal for the foreseeable future.
 
International campaign
 
The McCann family are spearheading a campaign to imprint Madeleine's image on the minds of people across Europe and North Africa in the hope she will be found.
 
They remain convinced she is alive and well.
 
The latest public display of support has come from the Liverpool football team, who were photographed on Monday with a banner asking for information of Madeleine's whereabouts, prior to their departure to Athens for their Champions League final match on Wednesday.
 
Madeleine's great-uncle, Brian Kennedy, said "astonishing" public support had kept the family going through "bleak" times.
 
Mr Kennedy said Madeleine's relatives were aware of Mr McCann's "brief, private visit home" which "was mainly regarding legal matters".
 
He said it was the great public support that was helping the family through the "bleak moments".
 
He told BBC News: "We have very low periods. The press conferences that have come from Portugal haven't really told us anything.
 
"We build our hopes up and then you find them dashed again and that is how it goes on. It is a roller coaster at present."
 
Meanwhile, money has been pouring in to the Find Madeleine fighting fund.
 
The latest total is £73,505, which includes £50,000 from Portsmouth Football Club but not money collected by banks and building societies and cheques yet to clear.
 
A website set up to find the missing child has received around 100 million hits and 50,000 messages of support since its launch on Wednesday.
 
Details of how to donate to Madeleine's Fund - at banks, by post or via the internet - can be found at www.findmadeleine.com.

Nation is silent for Madeleine, 21 May 2007
Nation is silent for Madeleine Telegraph
 
By Daily Telegraph Reporter
21.05.2007
 
HOLIDAYMAKERS and Portuguese people stood silently today in solidarity with the family of Madeleine McCann, the missing four-year-old.
 
A one-minute silence, which was initiated by an anonymous email circulated around Portugal at the weekend, was observed at midday.
 
In the village of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine was snatched 18 days ago, shoppers and workers stood still to think of the little girl.
 
The initiative was given the blessing of the family who are leading a campaign to imprint Madeleine's image on the minds of people across Europe and North Africa in the hope that she will be found.
 
They are convinced that she is alive and well despite no news of her whereabouts for two-and-a-half weeks.
 
Madeleine's mother Kate, who is apart from her husband for the first time since the abduction as he is in Britain on a flying visit, observed the silence privately in her holiday apartment.
 
She slipped inside the flat just before noon having spent almost 50 minutes kneeling with a friend at the village church in silent prayer.
 
The church has been open to the public daily for people to pray. As Mrs McCann, yellow and green ribbons in her hair, knelt at the front from 11am, a steady trickle of tourists stepped inside apparently unaware that the woman at the front was Mrs McCann.
 
In Portimao, the regional capital of the Algarve, senior detectives investigating Madeleine's disappearance also stopped for one minute in solidarity with the family from Rothley, Leics.
 
At a supermarket in the centre of Praia da Luz, close to where the abduction happened, music was turned off, cash registers stopped and staff and customers stood silently. Among them was local Portuguese woman Natalie Ferreira, 56. She said: "I was silent for the child, it is very important, for all the children, in Portugal children are sacred.
 
"I lived in Germany for a long time before coming back here to Portugal and I know that there is more security here than in London or Germany. It has shocked everyone.
 
"I stopped to pray to God to bring back Madeleine, all the Portuguese people feel this in their hearts."
 
Catherine Morrisson, 59, from Mitchelstown, Co Cork, Ireland, said: "It was a brilliant idea to show respect for the family and friends and relatives.
 
"During the silence I was just hoping that she would be found alive and well at some stage, it is just awful, very sad.
 
"I have grandchildren just around the same age. Every time I look at her I just think, 'How are her poor parents coping?'."
 
Outside the church where Mrs McCann had been praying minutes before, a handful of tourists and local workers stopped to observe the silence.
 
It comes ahead of a nationwide prayer initiative launched by Carmelite nuns in the north of the country.
 
They have sent out emails across Portugal, calling for people to pray for Madeleine at 10pm tomorrow.

New poster of Madeleine, 01 December 2008
New poster of Madeleine Euro Weekly News
 
01 December 2008
 
Madeleine McCanns's family believe a new picture of the missing four-year-old could play a vital role in the search for her. The photo shows clearly her distinctive right eye where the pupil runs into the blue-green iris.

It is this distinguishing mark that will identify Madeleine to those on the lookout for her, according to aunt and uncle John and Diane McCann.

They aim to distribute the appeal poster, with features the Crimestoppers telephone number as far a field as they can.

Mrs McCann said: "The purpose of the poster is to highlight the distinction in Madeleine's eye. "We want to make the most of it, because we know her hair could potentially be cut or dyed."

Mr McCann added: "The poster was designed by a friend of the family and I've begun emailing it to acquaintances in different parts of the world."

"I'm asking people to circulate it the best they can and make it be seen."

PLEASE HELP US FIND MADELEINE AND FORWARD THIS IMAGE TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

Phil McCanns' email
Click email image to enlarge

 

Note: This was neither a 'new' email, nor a 'new' poster of Madeleine. It actually dated back to May of 2007 (as above) so it is unclear how, or why, it suddenly appeared again as 'new' news.

With thanks to Nigel at McCann Files

TO HELP KEEP THIS SITE ON LINE PLEASE CONSIDER

Site Policy Sitemap

Contact details

Website created by © Pamalam