McCanns' video puts Madeleine back in focus

Published on Saturday 1 May 2010 20:22

GERRY and Kate McCann are hoping to put the focus back on the search for their daughter Madeleine with a new video released to mark the third anniversary of her disappearance.

The short film shows the couple pursuing attempts to find their missing child over the past three years, from handing out posters in Portugal to chasing up leads from their home in Rothley, Leicestershire.

The film includes a new photograph of a grown-up-looking Madeleine wearing blue eyeshadow, a pink bow in her hair and a gold bead necklace.

The video, produced by family friend Jon Corner, was originally shown at a fundraising event in London in January to mark the 1,000th day since the little girl's disappearance.

Using the Dido song Here With Me as a soundtrack, the video begins with a computer graphic of the holiday complex in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, where Madeleine vanished on 3 May, 2007.

The film closes with the message: "Thank you for not giving up on Madeleine. Together we can bring her home."

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "The video is designed to remind people that the search for Madeleine is ongoing.

"Just because she's not in the headlines every day doesn't mean nothing is being done. Kate and Gerry are still devoting a large part of their daily lives to the search."

Meanwhile, in an emotional address to her missing daughter, Kate McCann, 42, promised Madeleine: "We will never give up until we've found you."

The couple do not know what their daughter might have been told about them or what language she might be speaking now, they said.

Mr McCann, 41, said the message he wanted to give her was: "Madeleine, we're still looking for you. Tell someone who your mummy and daddy are, who you are."

The couple now feel less guilty about coping and enjoying themselves without her.

Mrs McCann said: "I'm able to look at it now and think actually it's positive we're functioning. It's positive for Madeleine and for (her siblings, five-year-old twins] Sean and Amelie, and unless you're in this situation you have absolutely no idea how you cope."

Mr McCann, a consultant, compared the experience to that of fighting cancer.

"There are different types of loss and I suppose losing a child is one of the hardest things to cope with," he said. "Fighting cancer over a long period is another similar battle."