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TORMENT: Relatives are angry at the insult to
Gerry and Kate McCann whose photos have been stolen
THE father of Madeleine McCann revealed yesterday how a
sneak thief has stolen irreplaceable photographs of his
kidnapped daughter.
The pickpocket stole Gerry McCann’s wallet minutes after he
arrived in London to boost the search
for Madeleine.
It contained two treasured pictures of the missing
four-year-old, who was snatched 49 days ago as she slept at
the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on
Portugal’s Algarve.
They include one showing Madeleine aged 15-months, while
another was taken in church more recently.
Relatives expressed anger at this new outrage against Gerry
and Kate McCann, who have endured unimaginable torment in
their long wait for news of their daughter.
Gerry is already demoralised enough, and you can’t
believe some people can stoop so low
Madeleine’s aunt Philomena McCann
Madeleine’s aunt Philomena McCann, 48, a teacher, said Mr
McCann was distraught at the loss of his favourite pictures,
which were so precious he always kept them with him.
She said the family was hoping the “dirty animal” who stole
the wallet was shamed into handing them back. “How can you
do that to someone who’s been through what he has?” she said
yesterday.
“He’s already demoralised enough and to be put on the back
foot like this, you can’t believe some people can stoop so
low. It was some dirty animal.”
The thief struck soon after Gerry, 39, arrived in the UK on Tuesday for a meeting with lawyers, after
he withdrew money from a cash machine at
London’s
Waterloo. The
pickpocket snatched the black leather wallet containing £100
from his back pocket.
“We don’t care about the money, but we do care about getting
the pictures of Madeleine back,” said Philomena McCann.
“They were his favourites – really treasured pictures. They
are irreplaceable.”
She urged the thief to consider his conscience, adding:
“They can contact any member of the family, or go through
the campaign website, hand the wallet into a police station,
anything.
“Gerry’s desperate to get them back, he’s not bothered about
the money, he’d just like whoever stole them to hand them
back because they’re precious to him.”
She added: “The whole family have been overwhelmed by the
support and affection from all around the world, but it
takes just one rotten article to bring you down. How can you
be so selfish?”
She said the theft meant Gerry had to delay a round of
meetings to assess candidates to head the Madeleine campaign
while he reported the incident to police and cancelled his
bank cards.
Madeleine’s grandmother Susan Healey, Kate McCann’s mother,
described the theft as “yet another kick in the teeth”.
“Hopefully when they see the photos of Madeleine in the
wallet they will realise what they’ve done,” she said.
Before he landed in London,
Mr McCann, a heart specialist, was involved in a mid-air
drama when a passenger on his flight from
Portugal
to Gatwick collapsed. Mr McCann managed to stabilise the
man, who is in his 80s, until the easyJet flight landed
shortly before midday and he could be moved to hospital.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: “The crew were full of praise
for Gerry and grateful for his expert help. We want to thank
him for the support he gave.” Mr McCann was modest about his
role in the drama. He said: “I flew in to London for a series of
meetings and had to help a passenger on the flight who
collapsed.”
He said he hoped attention would be turned away from him and
Kate so that they could look after their two-year-old twins
Sean and Amelie. “The role for Kate and I in the campaign
will not be nearly so public,” he said.
However, tomorrow they will go before the cameras in Praia
da Luz to mark the 50th day since Madeleine disappeared. At
the same time, 50 green and yellow balloons will be released
in 50 countries. |
