MADELEINE McCann's parents say it's "essential" they learn the truth about their daughter on the 15th anniversary of her disappearance.
In a message on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page on Monday, Kate and Gerry McCann revealed they need closure on what happened to the toddler in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 2007.
The Metropolitan Police, which continues to treat Madeleine's disappearance as a missing person inquiry, said it is "committed" to finding the truth 15 years on.
The McCanns' post read: "This year we mark 15 years since we last saw Madeleine. It feels no harder than any other but no easier either.
"It's a very long time. Many people talk about the need for 'closure'. It's always felt a strange term. Regardless of outcome, Madeleine will always be our daughter and a truly horrific crime has been committed. These things will remain.
"It is true though that uncertainty creates weakness; knowledge and certainty give strength, and for this reason our need for answers, for the truth, is essential.
"We are grateful for the ongoing work and commitment of the UK, Portuguese and German authorities as it is this combined police effort which will yield results and bring us those answers.
"As always, we would like to thank all of our supporters for their continued good wishes and support.
"It is a huge comfort to know that regardless of time passed, Madeleine is still in people's hearts and minds. Thank you."
The McCanns recently welcomed news that caged Christian B has been made an “arguido" – an official suspect.
Read our Madeleine McCann live blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Statement from the McCanns marking 15 years since Madeleine's disappearance
Kate & Gerry McCanns' post read: "This year we mark 15 years since we last saw Madeleine. It feels no harder than any other but no easier either. It's a very long time.
"Many people talk about the need for 'closure'. It's always felt a strange term.
"Regardless of outcome, Madeleine will always be our daughter and a truly horrific crime has been committed. These things will remain.
"It is true though that uncertainty creates weakness; knowledge and certainty give strength, and for this reason our need for answers, for the truth, is essential.
"We are grateful for the ongoing work and commitment of the UK, Portuguese and German authorities as it is this combined police effort which will yield results and bring us those answers.
"As always, we would like to thank all of our supporters for their continued good wishes and support.
"It is a huge comfort to know that regardless of time passed, Madeleine is still in people's hearts and minds.
"Thank you."
- Joseph Gamp
Recap: How the evening of Maddie’s disappearance unfolded
Parents Gerry and Kate McCann left their three kids, including toddler twins Sean and Amelie, sleeping in their apartment while they dined at a tapas bar 120 metres away.
When Kate returned to check on the kids at about 10pm that evening, she found Madeleine was not in her bed and was missing.
In September of that year, Gerry and Kate, both doctors, were sensationally named as “arguidos” or “suspects” by Portuguese police.
The following summer the McCanns were cleared by investigators in Portugal who declared they had exhausted all avenues in the case.
- Joseph Gamp
A 15-year hearing limit in Portugal
Today marks 15 years since Madeleine disappeared from her family holiday.
Portugal has a 15-year hearing limit on murder charges – meaning that police would have a reduced risk of convicting a suspect after next month.
The news comes after Portuguese police said they would continue to investigate Maddie’s disappearance as the Met Police ended its probe.
- Joseph Gamp
Who are Madeleine McCann’s siblings?
Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3, 2007, from her bed in the family’s holiday apartment in Portugal.
Sleeping next to her were Sean and Amelie McCann, her twin siblings.
The twins were only two years old at the time of the disappearance and slept through the break in.
There has been some suggestion that the pair had been sedated, although this has never been proven.
- Joseph Gamp
Who are Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann?
Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry are both practising Catholics who met in Glasgow in 1993.
Kate became a GP after studying medicine at the University of Dundee while Gerry has been a consultant cardiologist since 2005.
The couple got married in 1998 before having their first child, Madeleine, in 2003.
They also have twin children, a boy and a girl, who were born in 2005 and live in Rothley, Leicestershire.
Kate and Gerry had been married for nine years when Madeleine disappeared on the night of May 3, 2007.
- Joseph Gamp
Suspect’s van forensically tested by cops
MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian B’s van was forensically tested by cops after he was quizzed for first time about her disappearance.
Portuguese cops are now waiting for results from the VW van that Christian B drove while living on the Algarve where the three-year-old vanished on May 3, 2007.
The German convicted paedophile was questioned by police in Oldenburg jail after authorities named him as an official suspect on Thursday.
According to the Mirror, police asked him: “Where were you the night Madeleine McCann disappeared?”
Christian B was pressed to provide an alibi, adding: “If you weren’t by the apartment she disappeared from, where were you?”
Insiders close to the case claim he did not answer any of the questions.
- Joseph Gamp
Inside suspect Christian B’s explosive interview
THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann recently welcomed news that caged Christian B has been made an official suspect. Kate and Gerry also said they hoped their daughter was still alive.
B was declared an “arguido” by police in Portugal ahead of the 15th anniversary of the three-year-old vanishing on the Algarve.
Madeleine McCann’s parents spoke directly about the 44-year-old German for the first time, and details will be aired on May 3 — the 15th anniversary of her disappearance — in documentary Madeleine McCann: Prime Suspect, by US network AMC Crime.
A source close to the case in Germany, where B is in prison, said: “He has had nearly two years to explain himself but has constantly declined to comment.
“It’s baffling as to why he should maintain that silence then finally come up with an explanation now.
“And it’s even more odd that he should give the details to a TV documentary rather than the authorities.”Hinting at possible desperation over the “arguido” move, they added: “Why didn’t he give his version of events on day one as soon as he was made a suspect?”
- Joseph Gamp
Suspect Christian B’s secret cellar
The probe into Christian B has revealed he had access to a number of creepy lairs shut away from prying eyes.
One was a run-down compound on the Algarve with high fences not far from where Madeleine was snatched.
A former lover led cops to the secret bunker, which was previously guarded by four ferocious Kangal dogs – which have the strongest bite of any hound in the world.
The probe also led police to search his former address in Germany.
At one house, the suspect is said to have illegally dug a secret 10ft cellar under the floor.
Locals claimed he planned to live like Austrian cellar monster Josef Fritzl, although there is no evidence of any wrongdoing at the secluded property.
- Joseph Gamp
What would Madeleine McCann look like now?
Police released an image of what Madeleine McCann would look like at the age of nine.
With her distinctive right eye, the image shows the young girl’s face aged about six years from previous photographs.
In December 2021, an ex-NHS worker Simone Malik drew up a sketch of what she believes Madeleine McCann would look like at 18 years old.
In 2018, Malik drew up a sketch of child murderer and rapist, Imran Ali, which helped Pakistani police to capture him.
Now Malik believes that her sketch can help in the 14-year long search for McCann.
She said: “I know as a super recogniser that is her face, that’s her nose.”
She added: “Usually, children are like their mother or their father, or a bit of both, but neither does her mother or father have the wide nose and square tip.
“I decided to do a bit more digging, and as I did some digging, I found a very interesting fact: somebody with exactly that nose in her family.
“And it’s actually Philomena McCann, who is Gerry McCann’s sister, so it would be Madeleine’s aunty, from her dad’s side.”
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