The aim of the visit was
emotional, rather than to attract attention to the
ongoing search for Madeleine,
Kate McCann told The Portugal News.
Speaking as she left the
Praia da Luz church
shortly after noon on
Saturday, having spent some time inside in prayer, Mrs.
McCann said she was in Portugal “for emotional reasons
and to pray for Madeleine”.
During
the low-profile visit, she managed to side-step
reporters, with her visit to local Church going largely
undetected by media and locals alike.
According to family spokesman
Clarence Mitchell, this
was just one of a number of recent visits she had made
to Portugal to visit friends.
Kate
McCann also denied she had travelled to Portugal in the
company of newly-appointed
private investigators.
Sources close to the family confirmed on Sunday
afternoon that Mrs McCann had returned to the UK having
arrived in the Algarve on Friday evening.
Madeleine was just three when she went missing on May 3,
2007 from the bedroom where she was sleeping with her
younger
twin brother and sister
in a tourist complex in Praia de Luz, Lagos, while her
parents dined in a nearby
restaurant.
On
September 7 of the same year the child’s mother Kate and
her father were declared persons of interest to the
case, but on July 21, 2008 the Attorney General’s office
announced the closing of the case and the shelving of
the investigation.
The
couple’s suspect status was later lifted.
Police
originally suggested they were dealing with a possible
abduction, but later admitted the child could have died,
although the authorities never managed to ascertain what
happened.
In the
first update on the findmadeleine.com website since the
beginning of September, the McCann family this week
expressed regret over the resignation of
Jim
Gamble from the Child Exploitation and On
Line Protection Unit (CEOP).
“We
are certain that he will be a huge loss to the field of
child protection. Knowing how committed Mr. Gamble is to
this cause, it is extremely saddening that he feels
unable to continue to lead CEOP which appears to be as a
consequence of the proposed Governmental changes.
“The
search for our daughter Madeleine has been greatly
enhanced by the work carried out by the team at CEOP. We
would like to thank Mr. Gamble for all of his efforts,
both for Madeleine and for all missing and exploited
children.”
Kate
and Gerry McCann further wrote: “In this challenging
economic climate, we urge the Government to remember the
value of our children and the importance of the
invaluable work which is necessary to protect children
against the devastating crimes of child abduction and
exploitation.”
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