MADELEINE McCann was abducted from an Algarve holiday complex in May 2007.
Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have vowed to never give up looking for their daughter.
Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter Madeleine[/caption]
Who are Kate and Gerry McCann?
Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, met in Glasgow, Scotland in 1993 and are both doctors.
Kate, who received her degree in medicine at the University of Dundee, previously worked as a GP and is now a medical worker.
Gerry is a cardiologist, as well as a research professor at the University of Leicester.
The couple were married in 1998, before welcoming their first child Maddie in 2003.
In February 20005 they had twins — Amelie and Sean.
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The couple lives in Rothley, Leicestershire, with their children.
Kate and Gerry follow all fresh leads and inquiries in the case, and continue to search for their missing daughter.
All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice
Kate McCann
Are Kate and Gerry still together?
Kate wrote about how her marriage nearly broke down in her autobiographical book about the abduction, titled Madeleine, which was published in 2011 — four years after the toddler’s disappearance.
She explained how she withdrew into herself, stopped doing her hobbies and being intimate with her husband.
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Kate penned: “Tortured as I was by these images, it’s not surprising that even the thought of sex repulsed me.
“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.”
She went on to credit Gerry’s understanding and the couple’s resilience for the endurance of their marriage.
Despite the challenges they have faced since Maddie’s disappearance, they remain together to this day.
What happened in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance?
Maddie vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Pria Da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007.
Kate and Gerry left Maddie in the apartment with her younger siblings, while they and their friends went out for dinner nearby.
At around 10 pm, Kate went back to check on the children, only to discover Maddie was not in her bed.
Her disappearance triggered a global search that continues to this day.
Within 24 hours of the abduction, Kate and Gerry held a press conference to make the first in a string of public appeals to help find their missing child.
In June 2020, a breakthrough in Maddie’s case was revealed when German prisoner Christian Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in her disappearance.
New evidence showed Brueckner had a 30-minute phone call an hour before Madeline disappeared.
Scotland Yard — who are running the investigation into the youngster’s disappearance, codenamed Operation Grange — revealed Brueckner was linked with a campervan spotted around the area in the days leading up to Maddie’s abduction.
On June 3, 2020, a statement on a 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 Breuckner as white with short blond hair, possibly fair, and around 6ft tall with a slim build.
He has 17 convictions across Europe and is being investigated in connection with a number of other missing children.
Police in Germany claimed to have evidence proving Maddie is dead — but have yet to reveal what it is.
Prime suspect Brueckner “denies any involvement” in the McCann case.
On April 22, 2022, Portuguese police declared him as a formal suspect.
It is the first time Portuguese prosecutors have made someone an official suspect in the investigation since Maddie’s parents — who were later cleared.
Operation Grange began in 2011 and has so far 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 Metropolitan Police station in Putney, southwest London, and is staffed by five officers.
In May 2023, police launched a new search for Maddie’s body in the first major operation of its kind in nine years.
Police from Germany, Portugal and the UK searched a remote Algarve reservoir, the Arade Dam, that Brueckner is believed to have used and called his “little paradise”.
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.
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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.
