Kate
and Gerry in moving plea
Kate and
Gerry McCann yesterday revealed money is running out to
fund
their desperate search for missing daughter
Madeleine.
As the couple have retreated from the limelight, so contributions to a
kitty which once topped £2million are drying up.
There is now less than £300,000 in the Find Madeleine fund and the
desperate parents are publicly seeking donations for the first time
since their little girl vanished on May 3, 2007.
Gerry said: "There was a huge amount of money put into the search but at
this point we are asking people - if they are happy to do so - to donate
to the fund."
Kate added: "We were fortunate enough that people donated, which enabled
us to search for Madeleine.
"Without the fund nobody at all would be looking for Madeleine, so we
are obviously grateful for that."
A letter written by Gerry will be sent out today to friends and
celebrity supporters including
David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir
Richard Branson and JK Rowling.
Madeleine vanished while on a family holiday in
Praia da Luz,
Portugal.
Her parents yesterday also launched an online petition calling on the UK
and Portuguese government to carry out a joint review of the case.
Kate hit out at the ConDem coalition for failing to follow on from a
review ordered by former Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
Having spoken with current Home Secretary
Theresa May,
the mum said: "Certainly
when we met they hadn't read it."
Kate and Gerry, both 42, held hands throughout a first UK press
interview in three years. They spoke movingly of their five-year-old
twins
Sean and
Amelie
- now two years older than Madeleine was when she
vanished.
Kate said: "They talk about when Madeleine comes back and know we are
still looking to find her.
"We went to a school service recently and they were asked how many
brothers and sisters they have. Sean said, 'I have two sisters' and
Amelie said, 'I have a sister and a brother'.
That was lovely." Gerry added: "They know we're in meetings and going to
Portugal and spending time when we're not with them trying to find their
sister. We cannot accept Madeleine is dead without concrete evidence she
is."
Kate said: "I still see Madeleine's friends.
"I imagine Madeleine being that tall, that slim. She is out there alive
and to give up on her, I just can't get my head round that. I still talk
to her every day." |