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THE anguished parents of Madeleine McCann are to pause their
high-profile campaign to find their daughter this week
to give themselves time to grieve.
As it emerged that internet giant Google was considering changing
its world-famous logo to depict the abducted four-year-old's
distinctive eyes, Kate and Gerry McCann said that once
they had returned from Morocco on Tuesday they would
"take stock" and decide what to do next.
The couple have travelled across Europe to raise the profile of the
four-year-old's disappearance from the Algarve resort
town of Praia da Luz 38 days ago and will leave for
Morocco today.
Mr McCann said last night he was finding it increasingly hard to
control his feelings: "There's been a lot of emotion in
the last 10 days. In the first few weeks when I slipped
into dark moments of despair I was finding it quite easy
to emotionally switch a light back on, but I've been
finding it increasingly difficult to do.
"More importantly, I don't want to do that anymore. I want to be
able to grieve and let those emotions out."
The main countries where appeals might help had been covered, but
now it was time for a break, he said.
"We'll still meet with the Portuguese police as we have done fairly
regularly and with the British police," Mr McCann said.
"But it is definitely going to be a period of
reflection. We can't keep doing the same thing week
after week, the coverage will dwindle away.
"What we want to be sure of is that what we put our energy into is
effective."
Mrs McCann said speaking in public about the search for her
daughter was a useful "distraction, but it's time to
step back from that".
The couple plan to stay in the Algarve at least until the end of
the summer or until Madeleine is found. But at some
point they will have to make the painful decision to go
home.
Mr McCann said: "There's been a lot of talking and thinking about
that going on behind the scenes. We will not give up,
but there will be a different way of doing things.
"I can see myself having to go back to the UK to meet with people,
it is just more efficient to do things over there."
But returning home to the Leicestershire village of Rothley would
be "very, very hard. The last time I was back, I
couldn't even go into the house and I found it hard
enough going to Rothley".
Mrs McCann said the couple woke every morning hoping it would be
the day Madeleine was found.
"I do actually feel close to Madeleine here [in Portugal]. She
could actually be further away from here than she is
from the UK but I feel emotionally close to her here.
"People have told me that I could do the same, if not more, back in
the UK, but I can't face leaving."
The McCann family said Google had now been asked to help in the
worldwide search for Madeleine.
Bosses at the internet search engine are discussing whether to
replace the "double-o" in the famous Google logo with
Madeleine's distinctive eyes. Under the plan, the
familiar graphic would also feature one of the yellow
ribbons that has become a feature of the campaign.
Madeleine's uncle John McCann, from Glasgow, said he was hoping the
customising could be done by June 22 - which would be
the 50th day since she disappeared.
If the internet firm agrees, the search for Madeleine could reach
up to 300 million internet users per day.
"We would like them to do it around whatever countries they can
manage it. It would be very useful, and we are waiting
to hear," McCann said.
Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors, are expected to move out of
the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort this week to more
permanent accommodation, along with their two-year-old
twins Sean and Amelie, who were sleeping beside
Madeleine on the night of the abduction.
The apartment from where Madeleine was snatched has been cleaned
for the first time since she was taken and the police
cordons around it removed.
The McCanns will fly to Rabat in Morocco today for a final media
push to help find Madeleine.
Mrs McCann is particularly keen to go because she believes its
proximity to Portugal could make it an important part of
the investigation. |
