The Untold Truth Of Madeleine McCann’s Parents
You've probably heard about the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann, but what do you know about her parents and
the media circus that revolved around them? In May 2007, just a few days shy of her
4th birthday, Madeleine McCann vanished from her bedroom while her family
visited Praia de Luz, Portugal. Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were having
dinner near their rented apartment with friends while Madeleine and her younger siblings
slept. The McCanns and their friends took turns going back to their apartments to check in
on their children. At one point during the night, Kate checked in on her children.
That was
when she discovered Madeleine was gone. The disappearance of Madeleine McCann
fascinated the world in 2007 and continues to do so even today. In the aftermath,
the McCanns immediately set up a website and asked for donations and public tips
to find their daughter. In those months, the world was gripped with Madeleine's
story; her parents were everywhere. They appeared on TV constantly, while print
reporters hounded them. Their every move, particularly Kate's, was dissected. Many
people seemed to believe that, somehow, their actions in public would lead to some sort
of answer as to where their daughter might be. The McCanns met in 1993 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Both studied medicine: Kate at the University of Dundee and Gerry at the University of Glasgow.
They married in 1998 and had their first child, Madeleine, in 2003.
Their twin children,
Sean and Amelia, were born in 2005. Gerry focused on cardiology while Kate worked
as a general practitioner, though she attempted to practice in gynecology and anesthetics. Gerry
continues to work in the field and also took up research positions in experimental medicine. He
also has expertise in cardiac imaging. On that fateful vacation to Portugal, the McCanns were
joined by several friends they had met through work. Most of the group were also doctors
and had all worked in hospitals in England. "Please, if you have Madeleine, let her come
home to her mummy, daddy, brother, and sister." Madeleine McCann's disappearance took a
sensational turn when Portuguese authorities threw suspicion towards the McCanns. For a while, police considered them persons of interest,
though they were never charged with any crime.
But it was the public that dealt the most damage
to the family. Twitter started to gain traction in 2007, and the McCanns were the first target
of trolls. People hurled abuses towards them, despite neither Kate nor Gerry having a
social media presence. For the public, the McCanns' stoicism meant they were guilty; it
later turned out the McCanns had been advised not to show emotion, because the kidnapper
or killer might find joy in their pain. The McCanns later testified during the
Leveson Inquiry on the actions of the media in the wake of Madeleine's
disappearance. The inquiry found tabloid editors had become obsessed
with the family, and eventually led to an unprecedented apology from British
tabloid newspapers such as The Daily Express. Early on in their ordeal, the McCanns
established Madeleine's Fund, a charity meant to raise money for help in the search for
their daughter. Since the public inquiry into Madeleine McCann's disappearance officially ended
in 2008, the fund now pays a small team of private investigators.
The fund also set up Facebook
pages to help gather tips from the public. The fund is run by a board of directors
that includes the McCanns themselves, and saw donations from a number of British
celebrities. After U.K. newspapers apologized for their treatment of the McCanns, a
sizable donation was also made in their name. Through their involvement with the fund, the McCanns became friends with a number
of well-known personalities. TV host Denise Welch even invited Kate McCann to attend the
show Dancing on Ice, although Kate declined, saying online trolls would latch onto
any moment of fun enjoyed by the family.
For many families, going back to the
scene of their trauma would be impossible, but the McCanns return to Praia de Luz as much
as they can. In an interview with the BBC, Kate McCann said she finds solace in her visits. "It's obviously the last
place we were with Madeleine, and I still walk those streets
and try to look for answers." To give a bit of background to the incident: The
McCanns had been on vacation in the small resort town of Praia de Luz when Madeleine disappeared.
They were only about 100 yards away from their villa dining when she simply vanished from
her room.
One of the only physical clues to the case was an opened window – that the
McCanns testified was closed prior to their dining that evening. The case became a media
circus as the investigation reached full swing, though it's only recently that media interest
in the area has picked up again. In May of 2023, Portuguese police began searching an
area about 30 miles from the crime scene. Ten years after Madeleine McCann went missing,
British authorities were still pursuing leads. Reports soon emerged of a "significant line
of inquiry," as assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement. His statement
also exonerated four past suspects and could offer no insight into whether Madeleine was
alive or dead, but did confirm an active and ongoing investigation.
Madeleine's parents
marked the anniversary in their own way, issuing a statement on their website
and sitting down for an interview with Fiona Bruce. The McCanns said that they hadn't
lost hope that their daughter was still alive. "My hope for Madeleine being out there is
no less than it was almost 10 years ago." Kate added that she still marks Madeleine's
birthday by buying her presents, as she does at Christmas. But the McCanns also said
that they had tried to keep life moving for the sake of their twins, who
they wanted to have a normal life.
In 2020, German police announced that they
believed they had found new evidence about Madeleine. This revelation, along with
the release of a Netflix documentary, renewed public interest in
the case and the family. At the time, the German police said they believed
a German man in their custody killed Madeleine. The case remains active as investigators
are looking for possible accomplices, including a man who called the suspect the
night Madeleine vanished. The McCanns, however, have vowed that they will continue to look for
Madeleine while the investigation continues. In 2022, German authorities announced
that they had discovered new evidence, and that is what partially led to the May
2023 search along a hillside in Portugal. Today, Gerry McCann remains a doctor and a
cardiovascular consultant at the University of Leicester. Kate McCann left medicine,
but now works with children's charities..
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