McCanns hopeful of finding Maddie

http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/mccanns-hopeful-of-finding-maddie-230061.html


McCanns hopeful of finding Maddie

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Madeleine McCann’s parents have refused to give up hope that they might find their daughter.
By Ellen Branagh
However, as they marked the sixth anniversary of her disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann said they have found a “new normality” over the past few years as they come to terms with the absence of their oldest child.

Madeleine was nearly 4 when she disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3, 2007, as her parents dined at a tapas restaurant nearby.

Mr and Mrs McCann, from Leicestershire, said they continue to search for their daughter and remain as hopeful as ever — if not more so.

“In many ways things haven’t changed and you could argue that, with the Met review two years in, we are actually in a better place because so much more information has been coll-ated and lots of pieces of the jigsaw have been filled,” said Mr McCann, 44.

“It’s just about keeping looking, find out what’s happened to Madeleine and hopefully finding those responsible.”

He said he was confident in work being carried out by UK police: “This is what we campaigned for and Kate will tell you that the [police] are absolutely determined to see the job through.”

His wife said: “When people come in, they are always really enthusiastic to help and as time goes by, if you don’t yield results people’s motivation can wane. I think the opposite has happened with the [police]. They seem to be more determined than ever.”

The couple, who will mark the anniversary with a church service in their village, said while they struggle with various occasions they are coping with her absence.

“Probably the last couple of years it’s been a new normality,” said Mr McCann.

“We have adapted to our situation.

“The thing for Kate and I was always about having a proper search and turning over every stone and we feel like that is being done.”

However, he said that did not mean they did not still have hope.

“Of course we miss Madeleine terribly but we still hope that we will find her. We are still in the same situation and for us we have got to keep going until we find Madeleine and those responsible.”

The couple urged people to remain vigilant and to report sightings to police.

Mr McCann said: “I think it’s still about being vigilant and to remind people that we are looking for a 10-year-old girl, and not a three/four year old at the time.

“But if they have any information, they think they have seen someone who could be Madeleine, then the route is to contact the police.”

Mrs McCann added: “I think to encourage everybody, it’s six years on, but the way the [police] review is going is really positive and with that, new hope.

“The search goes on, in a major way.”