|
The strain shows on Kate McCann's face as she
holds one of her twin children and Cuddle Cat,
the toy Madeleine always slept with and used as
a comforter |
Kate and
Gerry McCann should have been preparing for their eldest
daughter's fourth birthday today. The Dr Who cake was
ordered weeks ago, and friends and family invited to a
party.
Instead,
Madeleine McCann's devoted parents were keeping a vigil for
their missing child and talking of leaving "no stone
unturned" in a race against time to find the little girl who
was stolen as she slept nine days ago.
In their
home village of Rothley, near Leicester,
the party plans have been put on hold and the cake
cancelled.
While
hundreds of miles away, in the seaside resort of Praia da
Luz on the Algarve, Kate
and Gerry McCann emerged from their holiday apartment to
make their latest appeal.
The
transformation of Kate, a pretty 38-year-old
mother-of-three, was shocking.
Blank-faced
and hiding behind her hair, she appeared almost catatonic as
she stood silently beside her husband, clutching, as always,
Madeleine's favourite toy, called Cuddle Cat by the little
girl.
Everton
captain Phil Neville said the club and its fans were all
praying for missing Madeleine McCann's safe return
Mrs McCann,
a GP, has visibly lost weight since her child was snatched
from their holiday apartment and she appeared completely
exhausted by the emotional strains of the past days.
Even Cuddle
Cat, the toy Madeleine always slept with and used as a
comforter, looked dirty and bedraggled.
The couple
had had little sleep, having spent hours going over their
statements at nearby Portimao police station on Thursday.
Kate left the police station at 10.15pm, after nine hours of
questioning and her husband finally returned home at 3am.
While
there, it is understood that the parents were shown images
of known sex offenders and CCTV footage of two men and a
woman who were seen with a blonde girl who looked like
Madeleine, at a petrol station close to Praia da Luz.
They were
also asked to identify a British couple who were staying at
the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort at the time of the kidnap.
Earlier
today David Beckham made a televised appeal for the safe
return of Madeleine. Dressed in a white shirt and wearing s
stern expression, the former England captain
held up a photograph of the child as he made his televised
plea.
Chelsea
footballers John Terry and Paulo Ferreira also made an
appeal on behalf of the London club, to find Madeleine.
|
David Beckham is the latest high
profile footballer to appeal for Madeleine's
safe return |
The
investigation has been beset with false rumours and
sightings but today, the McCanns insisted they "remained
positive" about finding their child alive and praised the
widely-criticised Portuguese police for their efforts.
The police
have been accused of acting slowly and delaying a proper
search.
Police on
the border with
Spain, just one hour away
from the resort, were not notified for 15 hours and checks
on vehicles have been disorganised and sporadic.
But Gerry
McCann, 38, claimed: "We have now seen at first hand how
hard the police are working in the search for Madeleine and
their strong desire to find her. We have also seen the
resources being put into the investigation."
Poignantly,
those resources were drastically cut. The search for
Madeleine was halted after police admitted it had yielded
"zero results" so far.
There are
now just 30 police officers assigned to the investigation
from a total of 150 originally tasked with searching the
surrounding area.
If the
scaling down of the search is a blow to the family, Gerry
McCann did not reveal it.
Grief-stricken, the cardiologist said: "We are doing
absolutely everything to assist the police with their
investigation and we will leave no stone unturned."
Mrs McCann
was later asked to return to the Portimao police station
yesterday to look at more photographs.
Madeleine's
father did not comment on anonymous accusations in a
Portuguese newspaper that the couple did not check on their
sleeping children every half an hour while they ate at a
tapas restaurant as they have claimed, but instead stayed
seated at their table all evening.
Such
criticism of them is rare in the resort, where locals have
helped in the search for Madeleine and taken the family to
their hearts.
The McCanns
have vowed to remain in Praia da Luz until Madeleine has
been found and share a fierce belief that she is still
alive.
It is a
sentiment echoed by their families and home village.
Madeleine's
great uncle Brian Kennedy said a "birthday cake will be made
on her return".
The former
headteacher added: "We will be thinking about her and keep
her birthday celebrations on hold. We didn't feel that
having a cake would be entirely appropriate, although I will
still be wishing her a very happy birthday.
"Instead we
will be holding a few simple events at the churches around
the village.
"We are
still hoping to have a belated birthday party on her
return."
Describing
Madeleine as a "thoughtful, intelligent child" who loves her
twin brother and sister, Mr Kennedy added: "I think Kate and
Gerry will find it an extremely distressing day." Four years
ago, Madeleine was born an IVF baby desperately wanted by
her parents, and their memories of that day must be of
euphoric happiness and relief at her safe arrival.
Today, they
can only pray their precious girl will return safely to them
again.
Crimestoppers number: 44 1883 731 336
|