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More
positive than ever ... Kate and Gerry with image of Maddie
at nine LEE THOMPSON |
MADELEINE McCann’s
mother Kate yesterday revealed her seven-year-old twins are growing ever
more determined to join the search for the missing girl.
Speaking ahead of today’s fifth anniversary of Madeleine’s
disappearance, she told how little Sean and Amelie have made it clear
they will help if — or when — they can.
Kate, 44, said Sean had told her: “You know, Mummy, if you haven’t found
Madeleine by the time we get older me and Amelie will find her.”
The mum added: “They have taken things in their stride so far and have
grown up with Madeleine being missing.
“But obviously as they get older their understanding gets greater and
their desire to find their sister becomes even greater.
“I have no doubt that if there comes a time when Madeleine has not been
found and Sean and Amelie are of an age, maybe teenagers, they will want
to help us and carry on the search.”
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Mummy, we'll help you find Madeleine ...
McCann twins' moving vow Spindrift Photo Agency |
But Kate added she did not really want the twins to go through the pain,
anxiety and frustration that she and her husband Gerry have experienced
since Madeleine was abducted. “So we need to find her now,” she said.
Sean and Amelie were two when Madeleine was snatched from the McCanns’
holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, a few days before her
fourth birthday
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Happy together ... Madeleine with baby
brother and sister |
The twins were asleep in cots in the same bedroom.
Speaking on Sun columnist Lorraine Kelly’s ITV show yesterday, Kate
revealed they had helped the family compose the new age progression
picture of Madeleine at nine — released by Scotland Yard last week.
The mum said: “The artist Teri Blythe came to our house and looked at
lots of photos of Madeleine, her features and her expressions. Then I
sent her a CD of lots of photos of her, Gerry and me and the twins. When
the draft came back I was relieved it wasn’t a child I didn’t know.
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Bottle time ... McCann kiddies |
“Even with the first draft we did share it with the twins. And they
understood we had to think about what Madeleine would look like now in
order to find her.
“We asked them, ‘How old do you think this little girl is?’ They
initially said eight so we tweaked it a bit to make her look a bit older
than that.
“We changed her hair a bit, took away the fringe. Girls of her age get
rid of their hair.”
Kate said that despite missing their sister, the twins are “fantastic
and really happy”.
Cardiologist Gerry, 43, added: “They know one important member of our
family is missing. They understand that and want her back as well.”
Kate told how watching the twins play often makes her think about
Madeleine.
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Three’s company ... children |
Referring to the abduction anniversary, she said: “All these milestones
are always difficult. Sean and Amelie starting school was particularly
difficult.
“Even just witnessing them now, talking non-stop and writing stories, it
is inevitable we will wonder how Madeleine would be doing now and how
she would be interacting with them.”
The couple, of Rothley, Leics, said they were facing the anniversary
feeling “more positive than ever” about getting their daughter back.
They have been given new hope by the Metropolitan Police’s review of the
case — ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron after they wrote an open
letter to him in The Sun.
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'We had to
think about what Madeleine would look like now in order to
find her' ... Kate and Gerry LEE THOMPSON |
The letter followed our serialisation of Kate’s emotion-charged book
about her daughter, called simply Madeleine.
It has raised more than £1million for the Find Madeleine fund and is due
out in paperback a week today.
Gerry paid tribute to the Met’s review team, which has so far studied
40,000 pieces of evidence and 100,000 pages of documents. They announced
last week they had uncovered 195 leads and thought it possible Madeleine
was still alive.
Yesterday a source revealed new information had come to light during the
review.
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Lost ... Madeleine at three ENTERPRISE NEWS
AND PICTURES LTD |
The McCanns said they were aware of it but were not willing to discuss
it. Kate added: “We do not want to do anything that jeopardises the
investigation.”
The couple still hope Portuguese police will reopen the case even though
the country’s top prosecutor said last week there was “no justification”
for doing so.
Gerry said: “There is no point in reopening it if you have no evidence
to act on. But we believe we do have new evidence.
“It is rare for a case in Portugal to be closed unsolved. It does
finally feel the authorities — British authorities — are actually trying
to find Madeleine.
“The chances of finding her have been greatly increased by the Met
review.”
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'Twins
know one important member of our family is missing' ...
McCanns |
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