McCanns’ grief as they mark 11 years without Madeleine
THE parents of Madeleine McCann will commemorate the heartbreaking 11th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance today.
Kate and Gerry McCann will pray for the safe return of Madeleine, who vanished on a family holiday in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3, 2007, when she was three.
Family, friends, neighbours and well-wishers will gather by the war memorial in the couple’s home village of Rothley, Leicestershire, for a service at the spot where a lantern – a beacon of hope – shines brightly around the clock for Madeleine.
The service comes as Scotland Yard continues to search for Madeleine, who vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz as her parents dined with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant.
The poignant event will also remember missing children everywhere.
Former GP Kate, 50, and heart specialist Gerry, 49, say they will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive.
Last month the couple, who have twins aged 13, were buoyed when the Home Office granted Scotland Yard extra funding to continue the search for Madeleine and pursue an “important line of inquiry”.
The McCanns have attended anniversary prayers for their daughter in their village every year, except on one occasion when Kate was visiting her sick father in Liverpool. Last year Rothley parish church held a special service as the family faced the painful milestone of 10 years without their daughter – an anniversary described by Kate as “a horrible marker of stolen time”.
Yesterday Kate’s uncle, Brian Kennedy, who also lives in Rothley, said: “We find it hard to believe that 11 years have passed – but we never lose hope.”
Villager Mary Pritchard, who has a teenage daughter, said: “We’ll never forget Madeleine and we can only hope and pray that one day she will be found safe and well and returned to her loving family.
“Our hearts go out to Kate and Gerry. We want them to know the village still thinks and cares about them.
“It is symbolic and significant that the candle inside the lantern still burns every minute of every day for Madeleine.
“It is always there in the heart of the village.
“The light for her, guiding her home, never goes out.”