Gerry's Blog/Diary - Days 251 to 300
Day 300: 27/02/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 299: 26/02/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 298: 25/02/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 297: 24/02/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 296: 23/02/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 295: 22/02/2008 Friday
SHANNON MATTHEWS
Day 295
MONTPELLIER Day 295
NEW SITE
295-SCREENSHOT
There has been a lot of media attention focussed on a possible sighting of Madeleine in Montpellier one week ago. We only heard of this two days ago and this was from a report sent into the website. Clarence has been inundated with media requests from all over the world for further information. Despite this, Kate and I have had no official notification of the potential sighting nor, more importantly, of whether this sighting has been eliminated by the authorities despite what has been reported in the press.
The continued disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews is deeply concerning and our thoughts and prayers are with her
family. No matter what has happened to Shannon, there can be no
doubt she must extremely vulnerable having spent three nights and four days away from home. We hope that she is found safe and well very soon and returned to her family.
Day 294: 21/02/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 293: 20/02/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 292: 19/02/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 291: 18/02/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 290: 17/02/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 289: 16/02/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 288: 15/02/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 287: 14/02/2008 Thursday
M.C.EU.
Day 287
ARGUIDO
Day 287
ALIPIO RIBEIRO
Day 287
NEW SITE
287-SCREENSHOT
Yesterday was a busy day on several fronts. Kate and I met with representatives of Missing Children Europe. This is an umbrella organisation that has 21 member non-governmental organisations that are involved in supporting families of missing and exploited children, from 15 EU countries. Missing Children Europe aims to share best practice, ensures a European presence at ICMEC and liases with various European Institutions. www.missingchildren.eu They have played a major role in securing the EU commission supporting a dedicated hotline for missing children: 116 000. The commission is also supportive of the introduction of a child alert system throughout the EU similar to the Amber alert system in the USA. However only a few countries run such a system and there is a lot of work to be done before the system is implemented in many countries, never mind an integrated throughout the EU.
The Portuguese justice minister also spoke to parliament yesterday regarding Mr Ribeiro's comments about the haste with which we were made arguidos. As I stated at the time,
no one can doubt how we have been scrutinised.
We hope that, if as reported, the justice minister said the investigation is nearing a close that our arguido status will be lifted in the near future so that everyone can concentrate on searching for Madeleine. We will not give up looking for her until she is found and we hope that the police are similarly determined.
Day 286: 13/02/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 285: 12/02/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 284: 11/02/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 283: 10/02/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 282: 09/02/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 281: 08/02/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 280: 07/02/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 279: 06/02/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 278: 05/02/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 277: 04/02/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 276: 03/02/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 275: 02/02/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 274: 01/02/2008 - Friday
TWINS 3RD BIRTHDAY
Day 274
NEW SITE
274-SCREENSHOT
01/02/2008 We have launched the new website layout today. I hope you all like it and we are sure that you fill find it much easier to navigate. The website was always envisaged as being the main portal to the find Madeleine campaign. If Madeleine remains missing and as the media attention drops then the website will be instrumental in keeping people up to date. As you will see a lot of work has gone in to extensively revising the content. Our whole family have unfortunately learnt an awful lot about the problems of missing and exploited children.
Our priority will always be to search for Madeleine and whoever abducted her. However we hope to work in coalition with the many excellent organisations in Europe and further afield to campaign for change. The first goal will be to get an EU wide child alert system introduced with cooperation from all the relevant authorities and law enforcement agencies.
Sean and Amelie turned three today.
We hope and pray that they will never have
another birthday without Madeleine here. Despite the circumstances they really enjoyed their birthday ?tea party? today. The twins love seeing all their extended family. There is no doubt that Sean and Amelie have made life for all of us a little more bearable over the last 9 months.
DAY 274: 01/02/2008 NEW FIND MADELEINE WEBSITE LAUNCHED TODAY
NEW SITE 274
SCREENSHOT
724 New Web Site Launched
Date Released: 01/02/2008 13:00:00
The newly designed web site for the Help to Find Madeleine Campaign has been launched today.
The purpose of the new site is to focus attention on the primary goal which remains to Find Madeleine McCann.
The fund have been working hard to design the site to make it more user friendly and easier to keep up to date.
It is hoped that the new site will allow people to find what they are looking for quickly. The new site still allows
Gerry to update his blog, but it also has the additional facility to allow authorised persons to issue News Items without the need for the Web team to write the code for the pages.
Attachments No files
NEW SITE
SCREENSHOT-1
NEW SITE
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724 Message from Gerry and Kate 01/02/2008
Our daughter Madeleine was abducted on 3rd May 2007 in Praia da Luz, Portugal, 9 days before her 4th birthday. She was taken from our holiday apartment where she was sleeping with her younger brother and sister whilst we were dining 50 yards away. Despite a massive investigation led by the Portuguese police and supported by the British police, we still do not know who has taken her, why she was taken or where she is. In addition, private investigators based in Spain are now following up any leads regarding Madeleine's disappearance. (Investigation page)
Since Madeleine's abduction, we have learned a lot about missing children and child exploitation. The scale of the problem is massive and worldwide. Although finding Madeleine will always remain our priority, we feel it is our duty to highlight these problems as well as areas where legislation can be improved, in order to make the world a little safer for all children. To achieve these aims we are working closely with the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Centre for Child Exploitation and Online Protection and other non-governmental agencies throughout Europe (Investigation page). The Find Madeleine Campaign launched a new YouTube channel for missing children in August 2007 called 'Don't You Forget About Me' in conjunction with ICMEC and Google.
The support we have had from around the world has been amazing. We have no doubt that without all the good wishes, prayers and efforts of so many people, our ordeal would have been so much harder. It has helped maintain our strength and hope, and this together with support for the campaign, has helped the search for our precious Madeleine. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their unconditional support and solidarity.
Madeleine is a beautiful little person. She was a very happy and much loved little girl. We believe there is a very good chance that Madeleine is still alive. She deserves the love and security of her family. She needs to be back home
with her mummy and daddy, brother and sister.
Please keep Madeleine in your thoughts and prayers. And please ' remain vigilant.
We will NEVER give up looking for Madeleine.
Thank you again for your ongoing support and kindness.
Day 273 - 31/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 272 - 30/01/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 271 - 29/01/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 270 - 28/01/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 269 - 27/01/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 268 - 26/01/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 267 - 25/01/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 266 - 24/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 265 - 23/01/2008 Wednesday
Edited Photo on Website now says by Gail Cooper
Day 262-265
Click picture to enlarge
GAIL COOPER
Day 262
OLD SITE EDITED
262-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
262-SCREENSHOT
OLD SITE
G. COOPER DRAWING
2nd version
Day 265 - Edited version of Day 262 20/01/2008
Gerry edited Day 262 on Day 265
given byy Gail Cooper. Click Here to see the drawings.
The man Jane saw walking away from the apartments where we were staying was carrying a child, around 9.10pm on the night Madeleine was abducted. Jane described pyjamas matching those Madeleine was wearing without knowing what she had on that fateful night. We are convinced that this was when Madeleine was taken. Jane has been shown these sketches of the man. She feels he has a strong resemblance to the man she saw on May 3rd.carrying the child away.
It is essential that he be traced. We believe many people must know who this individual is. We appeal to anyone who knows him, or may have seen him to contact our private investigators on +34 902 300 213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34 902 300 213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or
investigation@findmadeleine.com. If you are this man please make contact with the investigators or your local police.
All of this information has been passed on to the Portuguese and British police and Interpol has been informed. This man may have key information that will help us locate Madeleine.
Day 264 - 22/01/2008 Tuesday No Entry
Day 263 - 21/01/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 262 - 20/01/2008 -Sunday
Jane Tanner
Day 262
PHOTOFIT
Day 262
OLD SITE UNEDITED
262-SCREENSHOT
OLD SITE
J.TANNER DRAWING
Original Photo on
Website says by
Jane Tanner
Day 262-265
Click picture to enlarge
1st Version
Gerry edited Day 262 on Day 265
Today we have released drawings of a man who needs to be eliminated from the investigation to find Madeleine. A witness, Gail Cooper, who was holidaying in Praia da Luz shortly before we arrived, saw him on several occasions. She found the man, who claimed to be collecting for an orphanage, very intimidating. After interviewing Gail, our private investigators commissioned a forensic sketch by a FBI trained artist. The man has many similarities in looks and clothing he was wearing to the description of the man given by Jane Tanner. Click Here to see the drawings.
The man Jane saw walking away from the apartments where we were staying was carrying a child, around 9.10pm on the night Madeleine was abducted. Jane described pyjamas matching those Madeleine was wearing without knowing what she had on that fateful night. We are convinced that this was when Madeleine was taken. Jane has been shown these sketches of the man. She feels he has a strong resemblance to the man she saw on May 3rd.carrying the child away.
It is essential that he be traced. We believe many people must know who this individual is. We appeal to anyone who knows him, or may have seen him to contact our private investigators on +34 902 300 213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34 902 300 213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or
investigation@findmadeleine.com. If you are this man please make contact with the investigators or your local police. All of this information has been passed on to the Portuguese and British police and Interpol has been informed. This man may have key information that will help us locate Madeleine.
Day 261 - 19/01/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 260 -18/01/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 259 -17/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 258 -16/01/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 257 - 15/01/2008 - Tuesday
HUELVA
Days 92 -257
MARI LUZ CORTEZ
Day 257
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NEW SITE
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Kate and I were dismayed to learn today that a 5-year-old girl has been missing from Huelva, in Southern Spain since Sunday evening. As many of you know, Heulva is approximately a 2 hour drive from Praia da Luz and we went there in early
August to publicise Madeleine's disappearance. Hearing of the probable abduction of Mari Luz Cortesa
has brought many awful emotions flooding back.
We hope and pray that Mari is quickly found and returned safely to her family.
Day 256 -14/01/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 255 -13/01/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 254 - 12/01/2008 - Saturday
ARGUIDO
Day 254
BACK TO WORK
Day 254
THE MOVIE:
Kevin Macdonald
Days 254
OLD SITE
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NEW SITE
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It was no surprise for us to learn last night that the secrecy of the files in to Madeleine's disappearance is to be maintained for another three months. All of the arguidos retain their status. We are extremely disappointed as we feel this uncertainty hinders the most important thing: searching for Madeleine.
We are utterly dismayed to read tonight further stories about a film that are simply untrue. Kate and I thought that we had totally quashed such unfounded rubbish several days ago. At no point have we considered a movie about Madeleine's disappearance. Nor would we sanction another documentary purely about Madeleine's abduction, as there is no new information since the Panorama programme aired. We would consider a programme that would treat the serious issues we have faced since Madeleine's disappearance. Clearly Europe has a lot to learn from the US and there has to be change in practice and legislation about how missing children are investigated. We will continue to campaign to effect change in Europe, in the hope that it will become a safer place for our children.
I have now been back at work full-time for the last 10 days. I would like to thank all of the staff at Glenfield Hospital, and the patients, for making this as easy as possible for me. Kate and I remain very
busy with the campaign, supported by friends,
family and many 'new' friends! We are regularly in contact with friends in Praia da Luz who continue to hold a vigil every week to pray for Madeleine. They are an amazing group of people who continue to provide us with 'for?' and 'esperan?' (strength and hope).
Day 253 -11/01/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 252 -10/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 251 -09/01/2008 Wednesday
OLD SITE
SCREENSHOT
Statement from the Board of Madeleine's Fund- Leaving No Stone Unturned 09 January 2008
BEGINS
'There was a scheduled board meeting of Madeleine's Fund today. We have reached a new longer- term phase in the search for Madeleine and we have reviewed how effective our Fund has been in pursuing its objectives. We agreed to continue our funding of the investigation to find Madeleine and we have decided to look at further media opportunities to support our search. To that end, we have invited two new directors to replace the two who stepped down, for business and personal reasons, We, together with Kate and
Gerry McCann, extend our thanks to Esther and Phillip for their hard work and
continuing support. We welcome Edward Smethurst and Jon Corner to the board to lend their expertise in commercial law and media.'ENDS
DAYS 201 TO 250
DAYS 301 TO 350
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Blogs 201-250
Gerry's Blog/Diary - Days 201 to 250
Day 250 - 08/01/2008 Tuesday
Clarence Mitchell
Day 250
ARGUIDO
Days 250
MAIL Day 250
THE MOVIE:
Kevin Macdonald
Days 250
OLD SITE
250-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
250-SCREENSHOT
We are one week in to the New Year and we can definitely say the holiday period is well and truly over. Some of the media coverage today has been at its worst since Kate and I were declared arguidos.
We can categorically deny that we are considering a movie about Madeleine's disappearance. This is simply untrue. We are approached by a huge number of media outlets regarding a myriad of projects, only a tiny proportion of which we agree to. Each proposal is considered on whether it is likely to have a positive effect, either directly or indirectly on the search for Madeleine. As stated today by Clarence, there was a preliminary discussion between a production agency and a representative of Kate and I to discuss the possibility of a documentary about the issues we have faced since Madeleine was abducted. Clearly Europe is a long way
behind the USA in terms of its response when a child goes missing.
Kate and I have opened all of the Christmas cards and many mass cards which have been for Madeleine.
We would like to thank everyone
who has helped and supported us over the last eight months. We could not have got through this ordeal on our own and without doubt, Madeleine needs all our help
Day 249-07/01/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 248 -06/01/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 247 -05/01/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 246 -04/01/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 245 -03/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 244 -02/01/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 243 - 01/01/2008 Tuesday No Entry New years Day
Day 242 - 31/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 241 - 30/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 240 - 29/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 239 - 28/12/ 2007 Friday No Entry
Day 238 - 27/12/ 2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 237 - 26/12/ 2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 236 - 25/12/ 2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 235 - 24/12/ 2007
Monday
Sky Video
McCann Christmas appeal
Latest Update
View the XMAS Appeal - 24/12/07
Day 234 - 23/12/ 2007 Sunday
MAIL
Days 234
OLD SITE
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NEW SITE
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As most of you will know by now Kate and I did an appeal for broadcast on TV yesterday. This was a desperate attempt to get someone who knows what happened to Madeleine to come forward and end our misery and the dreadful situation for everyone. Madeleine should not be spending Christmas away from her loving family. The person who took Madeleine has it in their power to end our suffering and will be able to appease their conscience that they have done the right thing- especially at this time of year
As I have stated Christmas will be a very quiet affair for our family without Madeleine present. Kate and I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time
at this busy time of year to write to us and let us know Madeleine and our family are still in their thoughts and prayers. We still have at least one hundred cards to open! As always, every single one will be opened and read and the support expressed helps renew our determination to find Madeleine.
Day 233 - 22/12/ 2007
Saturday No Entry
Day 232 - 21/12/ 2007 Friday No Entry
Day 231 - 20/12/ 2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 230 - 19/12/ 2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 229 - 18/12/ 2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 228 - 17/12/ 2007 Monday No Entry
Day 227 - 16/12/ 2007 - Sunday
OLD SITE
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Date and Day Gerry used
Day 218 - 07/12/2007
We have had many enquiries as to our plans for the festive period. Christmas 2007 will be an incredibly difficult time for us if Madeleine is not found before then. We plan to have a very quiet, private Christmas with family in the UK. Celebrating is the last thing we feel like doing; however we want Christmas to be as normal for Sean and Amelie as possible. They have already enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree with their ?granny? and great aunt. Despite not yet being 3, they both seem to understand they will be getting presents from Santa. They have also asked if Santa will be bringing Madeleine home, which just about broke our hearts. Madeleine's return would obviously be the ultimate present for all of us and would bring tremendous joy to people all over the world.
As the end of the year approaches we would like to thank everyone who has offered support over the last seven months and we ask you to stay with us as the search for our daughter continues. The police and private investigations continue
and we have not given up hope of a breakthrough. We again appeal to anyone who may have any information that might be relevant to contact your local police or our private investigators on +34. 902. 300 213 if they have any information which might be relevant.
Day 226 - 15/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 225 - 14/12/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 224 - 13/12/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 223 - 12/12/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 222 - 11/12/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 221 - 10/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 220 - 09/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 219 - 08/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 218 - 07/12/2007 Friday
Date and Day Gerry used
Day 218 - 07/12/2007-Was wrote on Day 227 16/12/2007 Sunday
Day 217 - 06/12/2007 Thursday
OLD SITE
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In the summer it was agreed that the UK police would interview all British residents who were staying at the Ocean Club on May 3rd. There are a number of guests who have still not been interviewed. We would ask any British residents who were in or around Praia da Luz (not just at the Ocean Club) when Madeleine was abducted, and have not been interviewed, to contact their local police.
We would like to thank everyone who has come forward with information. The
smallest detail may provide a clue
that leads us to find Madeleine.
We would like to appeal again for anyone with information to contact our private investigators on +34. 902.300.213, investigation@findmadeleine.com or their local police. Someone, somewhere knows something and Madeleine needs his or her help.
Day 216 - 05/12/2007 Wednesday
Eileen McCann
Day 216
Aunt Nora
Day 216
OLD SITE
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NEW SITE
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Yesterday evening Kate, Sean, Amelie and myself attended a mass for Madeleine. It was organised by ex-colleagues of Kate's aunt who work in the East Midlands and took place in a small intimate chapel and was attended by 20 people including two local priests. Sean and Amelie were very vocal, demonstrating how much they know about Christmas and ?baby Jesus? which brought a smile to everyone's face! The little presents and chocolates they were given certainly made them very happy!
Tomorrow my mum and aunt are coming to visit for a few days.
Sean and Amelie are very excited, as they have not seen their 'granny' for over a month. They do of course miss Madeleine very much and all of our family are still praying and hoping for her safe return.
Day 215 -04/12/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 214 -03/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 213 -02/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 212 -01/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 211 -30/11/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 210 - 29/11/2007 Thursday
FUND
Day 210
Lisbon's
police lab
ex-director
Jos'Anes
Day 210
OLD SITE
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Today there was a meeting between the UK and Portuguese police and forensic specialists from both countries. We have been told that all the forensic test results are now available. Kate and I are very hopeful now that any doubt what these important tests show will be removed. As we have stated all along, we are confident that the results will no way incriminate us and hopefully everyone can concentrate on finding Madeleine and her abductor.
Given some of the unhelpful comments recently about the media's role in helping find missing children I would like to quote Ernie Allen. Ernie has been president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for the last 25 years. ?We just have to continue to do everything possible to find that one, key piece of evidence, and then follow it to Madeleine. There is no more likely source of that information than some average, caring, alert citizen, somewhere in the world, informed and motivated by a photo or intense media coverage of a missing child.?
With this in mind, Madeleine's fund has started the ?80,000 advertising campaign in Southern Spain which will also target North Africa and
Portugal. The fund is also contributing ?50,000 per month to support the private investigation. We appeal to anyone who may have information to call confidentially our hotline number +34.902.300.213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34.902.300.213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, e-mail investigation@findmadeleine.com or contact the police.
Day 209 -28/11/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 208 -27/11/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 207 -26/11/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 206 -25/11/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 205 -24/11/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 204 -23/11/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 203 -22/11/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 202 -21/11/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 201 - 20/11/2007 Tuesday
PANORAMA
Day 201
JON CORNER
Day 201
OLD SITE
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NEW SITE
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Yesterday marked 200 days that Madeleine has been missing. Last night saw the screening on the BBC of one of three documentaries about what happened to Madeleine, the others having already been shown in North America and Portugal over the weekend. These programmes have been useful in going over many of the facts and, I believe, emphasising that Madeleine was abducted and is still out there somewhere. Whilst the police and private investigators are following a number of leads, we would like appeal to anyone who was in and around Praia da Luz to come forward with any information that might be relevant on +34 902 300 213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34 902 300 213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or investigation@findmadeleine.com
We have had a busy ten days with visitors from both Canada and the USA. Whilst it has been really good to see them,
it has also been emotionally very difficult for all of us without Madeleine.They are leaving tomorrow and we hope and pray that the next time we get together we will finally be reunited with our lovely Madeleine.
Day 250 - 08/01/2008 Tuesday
Clarence Mitchell
Day 250
ARGUIDO
Days 250
MAIL Day 250
THE MOVIE:
Kevin Macdonald
Days 250
OLD SITE
250-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
250-SCREENSHOT
We are one week in to the New Year and we can definitely say the holiday period is well and truly over. Some of the media coverage today has been at its worst since Kate and I were declared arguidos.
We can categorically deny that we are considering a movie about Madeleine's disappearance. This is simply untrue. We are approached by a huge number of media outlets regarding a myriad of projects, only a tiny proportion of which we agree to. Each proposal is considered on whether it is likely to have a positive effect, either directly or indirectly on the search for Madeleine. As stated today by Clarence, there was a preliminary discussion between a production agency and a representative of Kate and I to discuss the possibility of a documentary about the issues we have faced since Madeleine was abducted. Clearly Europe is a long way
behind the USA in terms of its response when a child goes missing.
Kate and I have opened all of the Christmas cards and many mass cards which have been for Madeleine.
We would like to thank everyone
who has helped and supported us over the last eight months. We could not have got through this ordeal on our own and without doubt, Madeleine needs all our help
Day 249-07/01/2008 Monday No Entry
Day 248 -06/01/2008 Sunday No Entry
Day 247 -05/01/2008 Saturday No Entry
Day 246 -04/01/2008 Friday No Entry
Day 245 -03/01/2008 Thursday No Entry
Day 244 -02/01/2008 Wednesday No Entry
Day 243 - 01/01/2008 Tuesday No Entry New years Day
Day 242 - 31/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 241 - 30/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 240 - 29/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 239 - 28/12/ 2007 Friday No Entry
Day 238 - 27/12/ 2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 237 - 26/12/ 2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 236 - 25/12/ 2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 235 - 24/12/ 2007
Monday
Sky Video
McCann Christmas appeal
Latest Update
View the XMAS Appeal - 24/12/07
Day 234 - 23/12/ 2007 Sunday
Days 234
OLD SITE
234-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
234-SCREENSHOT
As most of you will know by now Kate and I did an appeal for broadcast on TV yesterday. This was a desperate attempt to get someone who knows what happened to Madeleine to come forward and end our misery and the dreadful situation for everyone. Madeleine should not be spending Christmas away from her loving family. The person who took Madeleine has it in their power to end our suffering and will be able to appease their conscience that they have done the right thing- especially at this time of year
As I have stated Christmas will be a very quiet affair for our family without Madeleine present. Kate and I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time
at this busy time of year to write to us and let us know Madeleine and our family are still in their thoughts and prayers. We still have at least one hundred cards to open! As always, every single one will be opened and read and the support expressed helps renew our determination to find Madeleine.
Day 233 - 22/12/ 2007
Saturday No Entry
Day 232 - 21/12/ 2007 Friday No Entry
Day 231 - 20/12/ 2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 230 - 19/12/ 2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 229 - 18/12/ 2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 228 - 17/12/ 2007 Monday No Entry
Day 227 - 16/12/ 2007 - Sunday
OLD SITE
227-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
227-SCREENSHOT
Date and Day Gerry used
Day 218 - 07/12/2007
We have had many enquiries as to our plans for the festive period. Christmas 2007 will be an incredibly difficult time for us if Madeleine is not found before then. We plan to have a very quiet, private Christmas with family in the UK. Celebrating is the last thing we feel like doing; however we want Christmas to be as normal for Sean and Amelie as possible. They have already enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree with their ?granny? and great aunt. Despite not yet being 3, they both seem to understand they will be getting presents from Santa. They have also asked if Santa will be bringing Madeleine home, which just about broke our hearts. Madeleine's return would obviously be the ultimate present for all of us and would bring tremendous joy to people all over the world.
As the end of the year approaches we would like to thank everyone who has offered support over the last seven months and we ask you to stay with us as the search for our daughter continues. The police and private investigations continue
and we have not given up hope of a breakthrough. We again appeal to anyone who may have any information that might be relevant to contact your local police or our private investigators on +34. 902. 300 213 if they have any information which might be relevant.
Day 226 - 15/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 225 - 14/12/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 224 - 13/12/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 223 - 12/12/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 222 - 11/12/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 221 - 10/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 220 - 09/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 219 - 08/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 218 - 07/12/2007 Friday
Date and Day Gerry used
Day 218 - 07/12/2007-Was wrote on Day 227 16/12/2007 Sunday
Day 217 - 06/12/2007 Thursday
OLD SITE
217-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
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In the summer it was agreed that the UK police would interview all British residents who were staying at the Ocean Club on May 3rd. There are a number of guests who have still not been interviewed. We would ask any British residents who were in or around Praia da Luz (not just at the Ocean Club) when Madeleine was abducted, and have not been interviewed, to contact their local police.
We would like to thank everyone who has come forward with information. The
smallest detail may provide a clue
that leads us to find Madeleine.
We would like to appeal again for anyone with information to contact our private investigators on +34. 902.300.213, investigation@findmadeleine.com or their local police. Someone, somewhere knows something and Madeleine needs his or her help.
Day 216 - 05/12/2007 Wednesday
Eileen McCann
Day 216
Aunt Nora
Day 216
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NEW SITE
216-SCREENSHOT
Yesterday evening Kate, Sean, Amelie and myself attended a mass for Madeleine. It was organised by ex-colleagues of Kate's aunt who work in the East Midlands and took place in a small intimate chapel and was attended by 20 people including two local priests. Sean and Amelie were very vocal, demonstrating how much they know about Christmas and ?baby Jesus? which brought a smile to everyone's face! The little presents and chocolates they were given certainly made them very happy!
Tomorrow my mum and aunt are coming to visit for a few days.
Sean and Amelie are very excited, as they have not seen their 'granny' for over a month. They do of course miss Madeleine very much and all of our family are still praying and hoping for her safe return.
Day 215 -04/12/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 214 -03/12/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 213 -02/12/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 212 -01/12/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 211 -30/11/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 210 - 29/11/2007 Thursday
FUND
Day 210
Lisbon's
police lab
ex-director
Jos'Anes
Day 210
OLD SITE
210-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
210-SCREENSHOT
Today there was a meeting between the UK and Portuguese police and forensic specialists from both countries. We have been told that all the forensic test results are now available. Kate and I are very hopeful now that any doubt what these important tests show will be removed. As we have stated all along, we are confident that the results will no way incriminate us and hopefully everyone can concentrate on finding Madeleine and her abductor.
Given some of the unhelpful comments recently about the media's role in helping find missing children I would like to quote Ernie Allen. Ernie has been president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for the last 25 years. ?We just have to continue to do everything possible to find that one, key piece of evidence, and then follow it to Madeleine. There is no more likely source of that information than some average, caring, alert citizen, somewhere in the world, informed and motivated by a photo or intense media coverage of a missing child.?
With this in mind, Madeleine's fund has started the ?80,000 advertising campaign in Southern Spain which will also target North Africa and
Portugal. The fund is also contributing ?50,000 per month to support the private investigation. We appeal to anyone who may have information to call confidentially our hotline number +34.902.300.213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34.902.300.213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, e-mail investigation@findmadeleine.com or contact the police.
Day 209 -28/11/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 208 -27/11/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 207 -26/11/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 206 -25/11/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 205 -24/11/2007 Saturday No Entry
Day 204 -23/11/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 203 -22/11/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 202 -21/11/2007 Wednesday No Entry
Day 201 - 20/11/2007 Tuesday
PANORAMA
Day 201
JON CORNER
Day 201
OLD SITE
201-SCREENSHOT
NEW SITE
201-SCREENSHOT
Yesterday marked 200 days that Madeleine has been missing. Last night saw the screening on the BBC of one of three documentaries about what happened to Madeleine, the others having already been shown in North America and Portugal over the weekend. These programmes have been useful in going over many of the facts and, I believe, emphasising that Madeleine was abducted and is still out there somewhere. Whilst the police and private investigators are following a number of leads, we would like appeal to anyone who was in and around Praia da Luz to come forward with any information that might be relevant on +34 902 300 213 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +34 902 300 213 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or investigation@findmadeleine.com
We have had a busy ten days with visitors from both Canada and the USA. Whilst it has been really good to see them,
it has also been emotionally very difficult for all of us without Madeleine.They are leaving tomorrow and we hope and pray that the next time we get together we will finally be reunited with our lovely Madeleine.
Blogs 1 -50
Gerry's Blog/Diary - Days 01 to 5
In the early days Gerry sometimes wrote more than 1 day together. At times he had, the wrong day for the date or, the wrong date for the day. Or write 2 for the same Date or Day e.g. There was 2 Day 38s & 2 Dates 12/06/2007
Day 50 - 22/06/2007 - Friday
Sister Phil
Day 50
Days 49- 50
Amsterdam
Day 50
We never thought it would happen: 50 days without Madeleine. Solidarity the world over has been expressed today with the launch of balloons in every continent to remember Madeleine and other missing children. The event in Praia da Luz had considerable media interest as did many other releases the world over. Sean and Amelie released their balloons shortly after kate and I let go our 50 and we were pleased the media respected our wish for the twins not to be photographed any longer. Please send digital images and video of your local event to images@bringmadeleinehome.com
We were not planning to say anything at the launch but there was such a large turnout from Portuguese TV who we have not spoken
to for some time that we decided to answer their questions. The beauty of the launch was the local and international dimension with media coverage spreading Madeleines image far and wide.
We have seen the video of the Ullapool (home of the website and my sister Phil) launch, Glasgow and extensive pictures from
Amsterdam. We very much look forward to seeing pictures from all the other venues. One of these balloons may just be found by someone who recognises Madeleine and alerts the authorities.
Day 49 - 21/06/2007 - Thursday
Yemeni Vargas
Day 49
Yellow Ribbons
Day 49
Letters
Day 49
Balloons
Day 49
Met with the Portuguese police today for an update. Their committemnt to find Madeleine matches ours and we all hope for that vital breakthrough every day.
We have literally received thousands of letters, cards and messages of support here in Portugal which have helped give us strength during this terrible time. Yesterday we received a particularly touching gift which is entitled Madeleines Book of Hope made up with comments from children of all ages from 3 different schools including a pre-school. The messages in different coloured pages with green and yellow ribbons had both the power to us cry and laugh!
The response to the balloon launch to mark 50 days that Madeleine has been missing has been incredible. There are close to 300 centres, and countries all over the world, participating. There has been a lot of local media interest but remember to take digital photographs and videos if possible which will be able to be uploaded to the website so we can display them. The message of Madeleines disappearance will reach many more people tomorrow.
A pleasing aspect of the launch will be the highlighting of other missing or abducted children, many of whom will have recieved little public attention. I know that 7 year old Yeremi Vargas will be
remembered in Madrid and his family will be releasing balloons from Gran Canaria where he disappeared in March of this year.
Our campaign to find Madeleine will be associated with other child welfare issues in the future. We are very keen to see more debate on issues that we and other families in similar situations have to face.
Child abuse is a taboo subject still in many countries and we must encourage responsible debate around how child abuse can be prevented.
Day 48 - 20/06/2007 - Wednesday
AFGHANISTAN KITE
Day 48
Fund
Day 48
Leicester
Day 48
Another busy day of meetings this time in Leicester. No mishaps thankfully.The main meeting was that of Maddeleines fund where we discussed implementing a strategy to maintain our campaign to find Madeleine. It was agreed in principle to appoint a family spokesperson who will act, not just for Kate and I, but also on behalf of the extended family who have been liasing with the media. This appointment will take a lot of strain off family members who have been putting in such massive efforts to help find Madeleine.
We are delighted with the response to the 50th day balloon launch which will truly be a global event. There will be a few variations to the release of balloons however. In Ventura, Southern California, 50 white doves will be released and in
Afghanistan kite racing, an activity banned under the Taliban, will be the order of the day. Arrived back in Praia da Luz this evening and it was great to see Kate and the Kids, even though I was only away for a day and a half.
Day 47 - 19/06/2007 - Tuesday
Passenger Collapsed
Day 47
WALLET
Days 47 - 57
London
Day47
Flew in to London to for a series of meetings. Helped a passenger on the flight who collapsed. He was ill enough to require a full assessment on arrival and went off to hospital in an ambulance.
Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late. I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening. We had very good discussions regarding sustaining the search for Madeleine long term. The role for Kate and I in the campaign will not be nearly be so public. We have to balance any campaigning in the search for Madeleine with protecting Sean and Amelie and making sure their privacy is protected.
We are exploring the use of new media and using local advertising, particularly in Europe.
There will of course be event driven media exposure such as the balloon launch on Friday 22nd. There are several other very good ideas being developed and a few large companies are willing to help us.
Day 46 - 18/06/2007 - Monday
Kate and I got the respone we wanted after speaking to the Portuguese ploice today. We are assured that no criticism of our actions on the night Madeline disappeared was intended.
There has been a good response to our planned balloon release for Madeleine and other missing children on Friday and we are confident that over 50 countries will be represented.
The twins have really enjoyed seeing family who have been visiting us for the last 3 days- it has passed very quickly. Hopefully the next time we see them it will be with Madeleine.
Day 45 - 17/06/2007 - Sunday
RUNNING
Days 45
Kate and I managed an early morning run before church.
The first event of our longer term campaign will be on Friday 22nd June- this will mark the 50th day Madeleine will be missing. We will be launching green and yellow balloons from at least 50 centres worldwide to mark the fact that we are still searching as are other parents of missing children. Countries that are partcipating so far are Argentina, El Salvador, USA, Canada, Ireland, UK,
The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal (Kate and I in Praia da Luz), Spain, South Africa, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. . Any other countries that wish to partcipate can download information from the website.
Day 44 - 16/06/2007 - Saturday
Zoo
Day 44
Kate and I dropped Jon at the airport this morning and picked up some more friends/family who have come out to see us, but particularly the twins. They were certainly happy to see our visitors! After lunch we headed off to the local zoo. Relatively quiet on the campaign front today as it is a family day. Tomorrow we will announce one or two planned events to keep Madeleines disappearnace high profile.
Day 43 - 15/06/2007 - Friday
THE TELEGRAAF
Days 41-42-43
The good news today is that the search in response to the letter in the Telegraaf did not find evidence of Madeleine. We still belive that Madeleine is alive. We have made some real progress deciding on campaign strategy. There is a huge amount of goodwill from people who want to help us find Madeleine and we have some concrete offers of support and are trying to finalise details before releasing them.Tomorrow will be a family day.
Day 42 - 14/06/2007 - Thursday
THE TELEGRAAF
TELEGRAPH 14-06-07
DVD
Day 42
Logo
Day 42
Six weeks since Madeleine disappeared. We believe Madeleine is alive and I am glad to say that following yesterday's letter in the Telegraaf (Netherlands) there has been no evidence that Madeliene is in the area indicated although there will be further searches tomorrow.
Kate and I picked up a friend from Faro airport who has been instrumental in helping with the campaign. He has been fantastic, producing the DVD of Madeleine to ‘Don’t you forget about me’ which has been shown at many sporting events and concerts as well as producing the look for maddie logo and various posters.
We spent most of the day updating each other and discussing future campaign ideas. We are getting closer to appointing a campaign manager who will handle media liaison and coordinating events to keep Madeleine’s disappearance highly visible
Day 41 - 13/06/2007 - Wednesday
THE TELEGRAAF
Days 41-42-43
Met with Portuguese and British police today to get an update on the investigation. We were reaasured that information continues to come in, and we continue to pray for a breakthrough.
We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in The Telegraaf (Netherlands) claiming to know where Madeleine is buried. Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention. We feel strongly that this was an irresponsible piece of journalism and even if it were true is insensitive and cruel.
One can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate and I to hear of such claims through the media and if every piece of information was published like this there would be nothing else in the newspapers.
Day 40 - 12/06/2007 - Tuesday
Morocco
Day 39-40
Overturned Lorry ?????????????
Day 40
DAY GERRY USED
Day 39 -12/06/2007
We finished off our trip to Morocco with a private visit to the minister for religious affairs this morning. He is an academic, senior cleric and adviser to the King of Morocco. We explained to him that although we are Roman Catholic we have received messages of support and prayers from all religious groups. Leicester, where we live, is extremely diverse culturally with a large proportion of Muslims and there were prayers for Madeline throughout Leicester on Sunday. We asked the minister if prayers could be said for Madeleine and other missing children in Morocco. He told us that people were praying for her and again emphasised that if Madeleine is in Morocco they would find her. En route to the airport a lorry had overturned blocking the exit from the motorway. The Moroccan people dealt with this in a very calm and relaxed manner, which we have found is a very engaging aspect of their character. Arriving back in Praia da Luz it was great to see Sean and Amelie. I think they were happy to see us although have been very well looked after as usual. We have no more trips planned for the immediate future and will spend the next few days taking stock. Tonight we have also gone to the church for prayers, as it is now 40 days and nights since Madeleine was abducted. No child or parent should have to endure his experience and we prayed that she would be found safe and well.
Day 39 -11/06/2007 - Monday
Morocco
Day 38-39-40
Rabat
Day 39
DAY AND DATE GERRY USED
Day 38 -12/06/2007
We spent the day in Rabat meeting 3 child welfare groups, the minister for interior and the chief of police. We had little knowledge of Morocco before coming here and have learned what a family orientated and child loving society it is. Everyone has been incredibly sympathetic and said they will do everything to help us find Madeleine. As well as the meetings there was a very touching experience outside the National Observatory for Chidren's Rights. As we pulled up in the car there were about 150 children waving posters of Madeleine with the words above and below a picture of her:
'All Moroccan Children Are With You Madeleine- Madeleine: Back Home'. They were singing and cheering Madeleine's name and shouting 'coeur', Heart. This whole experience was uplifting and enlightening at the same time in that we had no concept that so many children in Morocco would know of Madeleine and also be internet- friendly. It is just as likely that a child will spot Madeleine and alert a responsible adult. The whole world really has changed and is a lot smaller in this computer age. If Madeleine is in Morocco we have no doubt that she will be found.
We did a couple of interviews for ITV and Sky and followed up our Newspaper interviews focussing on change in the phase of the campaign. We confirmed that there will be a period of reflection before we decide on what is the best role for Kate and I. The campaign and the search for Madeleine will continue and with everyone's help we will find her. So please stay with us.
Day 38- 10/06/2007 - Sunday
20 Seater Plane
Day 38
Morocco
Day 38-39-40
We attended mass this morning and the Bishop had sent a very nice message that he and everyone else was praying for Madeleine. He also said that our attitude in this time of adversity was an example for others. Contrary to some of the headlines in the Sunday papers the campaign to find Madeleine will not ease up. Kate’s and my role will be different after Morocco compared to the last 3 weeks. As I said earlier we will reflect on the investigation, what the campaign has achieved and where we will be best directed. We will be less evident in the media, at least for a few days, unless there is a breakthrough in the investigation. First of all we have Morocco. We drove up to Lisbon late this afternoon to catch a flight to Casablanca where embassy officials will meet us. We were surprised to learn that a 20 seat propeller plane was sent instead of the larger aircraft. Luckily Kate, Clarence and I got squeezed on although we were certainly rather apprehensive about flying on such an aircraft- it reminded us of some of the internal flights we took in New Zealand in the mid 90’s. The meeting in Rabat will follow a similar itinerary as to the European visits. We will meet with the ambassador and his staff, two children’s charities, the interior minister and possibly the chief of police. We will do two interviews for the main TV stations and the press conference will be last. I am sure we will be asked about the Marrakech siting which has been extensively reported in the press. I should be able to get some more details of this from ITV, who interviewed the witness, and hopefully the justice minister to find out what enquiries were made by the local police
Day 37 - 09/06/2007 - Saturday
Sagres Beach
Day 37
Suspect
Day 37
DATE GERRY USED
Day 37 - 11/06/2007
Kate and I had a slightly busier day on the media front than expected. We did a short press interview for the Irish Sunday papers, mainly to thank the Irish for their fantastic level of support. We followed that with one for the British Sundays which is likely to be the last one we do for a while. We talked about our pain of not having having Madeleine for such a long time and for our need to grieve, which occurs mainly in private. We also talked about how after Morocco we will have to spend some time reflecting both emotionally, and also how best the campaign can be taken forward. What we want to ensure is that the campaign has a psoitive effect on finding Madeleine.
After this we headed down to Sagres which is the very most southwestern tip of Portugal. There is a very nice beach and we had lunch with the family.
After returning from the beach we did the Irish version of Crimewatch-‘Crimecall’. There are a lot of Irish tourists in and around Praia da Luz and although the awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance in Ireland is extremely high, we want to ensure that everyone is aware of the appeal and we want the Irish public to come forward with photographs of people who they do not know who were in and around Praia da Luz in the 2 weeks leading up to the 3rd May. The address to upload photographs is: to www.madeleine.ceopupload.com . We have also asked for people to contact their local police if they have seen a man matching the description of the suspect carrying a child seen around the time of Madeleine’s abduction. He is 30-40 years, 1.70-1.80m (5’7”-11”), caucasian and was wearing a dark jacket, beige or mustard coloured trousers with dark shoes. No major news on the investigation front- we still believe it is just a single phone call away.
Day 36 - 08/06/2007 - Friday .
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Sea Bass
Day 36
Quieter day today. This was a good chance to catch up with campaign e-mails and phone calls after the trips to Berlin and Amsterdam. At lunchtime we went to the release of 1000 yellow balloons at the beach carrying cards with Madeleine’s picture on it and information in 5 different languages including arabic. There were similar launches in Manchester and Madrid. The event was organsied by the Sun who, like almost all of the media, have been incredibly supportive. I told Nick, the Sun journalist, that we are happy to support all strategies which increase the chances of finding Madeleine. Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach and had dinner in one of the restaurants which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. Sean, in particular has acquired a taste for sea-bass! Kate and I did a short interview for BBC East Midlands to thank everyone for their support and it is likely that this will be shown around most of the regions, certainly Northwest and BBC Scotland. Kate and most of the family headed down to the church for the regular Friday night vigil but I was just too shattered. Tommorrow will largely be a family day although I am not sure what we will be doing yet.
Day 35 - 07/06/2007 -Thursday
LAGOS
Day 35
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Green &
Yellow Hands
Day 35
DATE GERRY USED
Day 35 - 06th June 2007
The press conference, meetings and appeal on TV today in Amsterdam all seemed to go well. I doubt there are many people left in Europe who do not know of Madeleine’s disappearance and hopefully everyone who has information will have come forward to the police. Today was particularly difficult for Kate and I because of the year we spent in Amsterdam with Madeleine. We have many friend s still there and could never have imagined coming back without her in such dreadful circumstances. Afterwards we caught with a friend of mine who was attending a medical conference in Amsterdam and a friend who helps run a playgroup that we attended We arrived back in Portugal and managed to spend some time with Sean and Amelie. We then drove to the concert in Lagos in aid of Madeleine, which is the first large public event in Portugal that I know of supporting the campaign. It was interesting mix of jazz, blues, orchestra and rap! We were presented with a painting with green and yellow hands from a class of schoolkids- hands of hope. There was a short speech and Kate thanked tke local community for their support. The amount of media coverage Madeleine’s disappearance has received is phenomenal. After Morocco we will have to take stock and decide on our best strategy. I am not convinced going to other European countries and holding meetings similar to Berlin and Amsterdam will help.
Day 34 -06/06/2007 - Wednesday
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Today seemed to go very well with huge interest in our search for Madeleine. There has also been a little bit of criticism in the German press about the amount of media coverage but this did not seem to diminish the level of interest. The German interviewers are a little more direct with their questions but I was still surprised by the question as to whether Kate and I may be involved in Madeleine’s abduction! Hopefully our answers removed any doubt on that score and that our sole focus in all of the family campaigning is to get Madeleine back. After the media we met with a couple of politicians in private. Firstly, we saw the deputy justice minister for Germany who gave us reassurances regarding the investigation. Following this we met the Mayor of Berlin who is a very powerful and charismatic politician. He asked us what he could do for us and following this meeting asked German tourists who were in the Algarve around the time of Madeleine’s abduction to come forward. He is very popular and such public backing should help our appeal. We had to delay our onward flight to Amsterdam because of some information received by the police, which we needed to be consulted on. We diverted to the embassy in Berlin but it turned out to be nothing of interest. We unfortunately had to miss 2 TV programmes as we arrived in Amsterdam 3 hours late, very tired and emotionally drained. We did manage to catch up with a few friends briefly who we know from the year we lived in Amsterdam. They have been actively campaigning here on our behalf with poster distribution, contacting media and liasing with companies to get advertising space for large posters of Madeleine.
Day 33 - 05/06/2007 - Tuesday
Gerry Birthday
Day33
Fruit Flan
Day33
Grandma & Granddad
Day 33
Trish & Sandy
Day 33
Met with the Portuguese Police today. It is good to talk face to face especially with so much speculation in the media. Kates parents arrived today to see the kids and us. We managed to spend a couple of hours with them before heading off for Berlin. I had completely forgotten that it is my birthday today, it is anything but a happy one. However Sean and Amelie made me a birthday card on behalf of them and Madeleine and Trisha made a fruit flan. We sang happy birthday and blew the candles out together which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. They were really happy to see Grandma and Grandad, whom they are used to seeing every few weeks in England. Kates parents have been a huge help to us, especially since the twins were born, often driving down to Leicestershire for the weekend to help with the kids. This has been really important when I have been on-call at weekends and Kate would have been left looking after the three of them on her own. Trisha would often fly down to help when she had a few days off or when her and Sandy were en route to Cambridge. It makes us feel better knowing that we are leaving Sean and Amelie with very close loved ones whilst we are away on this short trip to appeal for further information and raise awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance. Arrived in Berlin. Another busy programme tomorrow with TV, press, and politicians to see and then straight on to Amsterdam for more of the same. It all helps in the search for Madeleine.
Day 32 - 04/06/2007 - Monday
Green & Yellow
T-Shirts
Day 32
Crime watch
Day32
Busier day today with travel arrangements for Berlin and Amsterdam finalised. Leaving tomorrow night and coming back Thurs afternoon. It will be a very busy schedule similar to Madrid. On Thurs night there is a music festival in aid of Madeleine in nearby Lagos which we will be attending. Tonigh, we were interviewed for Crimeatch which will be shown on BBC1 tomorrow night. This was a very good opportunity to recap on all the information which is in the public domain and re-emphasise the appeal, especially since the description of a suspect seen carrying a child was released by the Portuguese police after the initial British appeal. As well as some reports from Crimewatch, you may see a picture of me in a green and yellow find Madeleine t-shirt in tomorrow’s paper. The t-shirts were brought over by Phil and later on I thought better about wearing it around the resort she was taken from. I am sure all the people who have chosen to continue their holliday here, rather than take an alternative location, know about Madeleine’s disappearance and don’t need a further reminder.
Day 31 - 03/06/2007 - Sunday
Huge Inflatable Banner Day 31
Blog lifted Day 31
Was encouraged to learn of the large volume of information which has come through the Leicester incident room following the appeal. Hopefully the Portuguese police will have had a good reponse also and we hope to meet with them in the next couple of days for an update. Chris and Les, who travelled over with the huge inflatable banner which has been positioned near the Spanish border, are heading home today. They were very happy that the director of the Algarve tourist board allowed them to put it up in private property owned by them, with thousands of cars passing every hour and seeing Madeleine’s image and details of her disappearance and reward. Sunday papers have reported our interviews virtually verbatim but vey disappointed that the blog was lifted almost in entirety by one newspaper yesterday after expressly forbidding such an approach! The blog is to keep people visiting the website up to date with our progress in the campaign to find Madeleine.
Day 30 - 02/06/2007 - Saturday
Beach Day 30
Relatively quiet day. Did manage to repsond to some e-mails regarding campaign issues with some excellent ideas coming through. We did visit a local beach with Sean, Amelie and the rest of the family who are here and managed to get a bite to eat. Having a huge number of media reuests in but want these to be very focussed in areas that will have clear benefits in the search for Madeleine. We did do a German TV and newspaper interview which wiil be released tomorrow to incraese awareness ahead of our planned visit to Berlin later this week. Most of the Sunday newspapers will carry some of the interview as a British reporter sat in and asked a few more quetions related to the campaign strategy.
Day 29 - 01/06/2007 - Friday
Crime watch Day29
With the help of the British Embassy we had a very busy day. First of all we had a short briefing from the ambassador and her staff. We then had a series of meetings with: multiple non-governmental agencies involved in child welfare, did a TV programme akin to Crimewatch focussing on Madeleine’s disappearance, a press conference which was well attended, a couple of short US news channel interviews with European coverage and finally met with the Spanish Minister for the Interior (Home Secretary equivalent). We left Madrid feeling as if the Spanish were treating Madeleine’s disappearance like one of their own.
Meanwhile in Portugal Phil arrived with thousands of posters in different languages. Most of these have been delivered to the Irish centre at Fatima and more at Lisbon airport. Planning a family day tomorrow. Will weigh up next phase of the search over the weekend.
Day 28 - 31/05/2007 - Thursday
Madrid Day 28
Press conference in Rome went very well giving us an excellent forum to ask for help in the search for Madeleine. We told people about the website, how to download posters and ask people to print them and take on holiday wherever they are.
We arrived in Madrid late last night and have a series of meetings arranged with government and non government agencies concerned with child welfare. We will also be hosting a press conference again to raise general awareness of Madeleine´s disappearance and ask for the public´s help in our search for Madeleine. We may also do a few very short interviews for US news stations which are widely broadcast in Europe, N.Africa and Asia, particularly in English speaking hotels and other outlets. Will update after meetings.
Day 27 - 30/05/2007 - Wednesday
POPE
Days 25-26-27
UMBRELLA
Day 27
Continental Breakfast
Day 27
Today has gone as well as we could possibly imagine.
We woke around 7.15am and got ourselves ready. There was a lovely continental breakfast prepared but both Kate and I ate very little due to nerves. We left the Embassy just after 9.00am and stopped en route to the Vatican, at Piazza Pia for a photo opportunity with St Peters in the distance. I made a very short statement regarding our forthcoming visit and expressed my gratitude to Francis Campbell, the British Ambassador to the Vatican, and his staff for making us feel as if we were part of their family.
We arrived in plenty of time for the Papal audience and were delighted to find we were seated in the ‘Prima Fila’- the first row. Clarence, Francis and Monsingneur Charlie Burns, a colourful Glaswegian who teaches at the seminary and looks after the Ambassador’s spiritual well being were seated immediately behind us. It was extremely sunny and I have to admit that Kate and I were struggling somewhat with the heat in our dark suits but Francis rescued us with an umbrella and some water and following that some heavy cloud rolled in, cooling us down.
The atmosphere in St Peter’s square was almost carnival like with up to 35,000 people there to see the Pope. He did not disappoint, driving slowly around the crowd in his open jeep, waving cheerfully. We were sombre in contrast given that we were there to ask Benedict to pray for Madeleine, although I am sure others were also there to get blessings for their loved ones. After this the Pontiff took his seat in front of approximately 30 cardinals, bishops and priests. One of the priests, Father Daniel Gallagher from the US, came up to us before the service and said some very kind words; that he was praying and everyone was praying for Madeleine daily.
The service started with a series of addresses from priests representing the various French, German, Italian, English, Spanish and Polish speaking congregations present. Each parish represented was mentioned and various bands, mainly German, played short pieces and a few choirs sang a verse and the large Polish contingent priests seated behind us wearing large yellow scarves tied like ribbons around theirs necks sang 3 or 4! At the end of this preamble the priest stated that the Pope was happy to tell us he was praying for the congregation, our families, our children and those who were suffering. These words seemed so poignant in the light of Madeleine’s abduction and naturally both Kate and I were, naturally, very emotional. The Pope’s actual address seemed to pass in a blur and I am looking forward to reading the actual transcript as I can remember very little of the actual words.
Following the completion of the Papal address in the different languages, Benedict individually greeted the other clergy on the dias. During this period Father Gallagher presented us with a small gift to remind us that he would pray daily for Madeleine and a cardinal also expressed similar sentiments. The Pope took approximately 20 minutes to meet other people in the Prima Fila before reaching us. It felt as if time stood still for a moment when the Pope looked into our faces and there was almost instant recognition and a change in his expression. He said he would pray for us, our family and Madeleine. Kate passed him a photograph of Madeleine and he blessed this and would pray for her safe returning. The meeting was more personal than we could have imagined given the number of people there and will help us sustain our hope and determination to find Madeleine.
The press conference followed shortly afterwards and was very well attended. We will give more details tomorrow as we are very tired following our visit and hope to get an early night before planning our next trip.
Day 26 - 29/05/2007 - Tuesday
Uncle Sandy & Aunt Trish Cameron
Day 26
Clarence Mitchell
Day 26
POPE
Days 25-26-27
NEW BEDS ?????????????
Day 26
We have been preoccupied with preparation for our audience with the Pope tomoorow morning. This morning was spent acquiring some appropriate dress for the meeting since we had only holiday clothes with us in Portugal. Clarence has been inundated with calls regarding the visit to Rome and done most of the organisation behind the scenes.
It has been very difficult to leave Sean and Amelie but it is only for one nght and we will be back to see them before bedtime tomorrow. Trish and Sandy (Madeleine’s Godparents) who have been with us in Portugal since Day 2 are looking after them and we were surprised to hear they were tucked up in bed by 7.30pm- they must like their new beds!
The flight to Rome passed extremely quickly and some footage was taken for TV. We did a couple of short interviews for the British and Portuguesae press about our feelings regarding the trip. Under normal circumstances we would be extremely excited about meeting the Pope, but as we are here as a result of Madeleine’s abduction the circumstances are very different. We expect to receive a great spiritual lift, especially if we get to speak to the Pontiff personally. After the audience we will be holding a short press conference in the British Embassy to the Vatican to talk about our campaign to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance and of course, our audience with the Pope.
Frncis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Holy See, and his staff picked us at the airport and brought us directly to the Embassy residences near the city centre. We have been made to feel completely at ease and almost as if we are part of a small family here, which has helped ease our tangible nerves, not unsurprising given the importance of tomorrow’s meeting. We are now retiring and will be saying our usual prayers for Madeleine’s safe return
DAY 26 - 29/05/2007
4th- OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.cuddlecat.org.uk - LINKED TO
www.cuddlecat.co.uk - LINKED TO
www.findmadeleine.com - LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Day 25 - 28/05/2007 - Monday
Philip Green
Day 25
POPE
Days 25-26-27
COTS
Day 25
CAMPAIGN
Day 25 -
Confirmation arrived this evening that we are to attend the Vatican and a service with The Pope. It is likely we will be seated in the front row and may have an opportunity to speak with the Holy Father and ask for prayers for Madeleine. This is a hugely important visit both personally, for Kate and I, but also for the wider campaign to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance. The trip has been facilitated through Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and we will be receiving assistance from the British Embassy whilst in Rome. On this occasion because of the short notice and the relatively early time of the service we have accepted the kind offer of the use of Sir Philip Green’s personal jet, which will help get us home quickly after our Papal visit to see the twins before their bedtime. We will be accompanied by a small group of media who are still with us in Praia da Luz and, as usual all the material will be available to all the British press and broadcasters equally. For all trips we are assessing whether commercial flights can get us to our destination and back to Portugal quickly. This will NOT be a Tour- it is a series of very brief visits with the specific aim of raising awareness and we aim to get back here as quickly as possible.
We have decided that for the majority of trips it will not be practicable, or fair, to take Sean and Amelie with us. They have an established routine which we do not want to disrupt and will be looked after by very close family. Tonight for the first time they have gone to sleep in their own single beds, rather than cots, now that another two of our family have gone home. We were planning to turn their cots at home into beds after our 1 week holiday but obviously this has been delayed with Madeleine’s abduction. We have been in Praia da Luz for over 4 weeks and Sean and Amelie’s development from toddlers to little boy and girl continues. Madeleine will really notice the difference when she sees them!
Some of you may have seen on the news the huge inflatable billboard which has travelled all the way from the West of Scotland to Portugal which will be used near busy roads/motorways to keep Madeleine’s disappearance high profile. We had a brief chat with Chris and Les, who drove almost non-stop from Glasgow to get here. The extraordinary length ordinary people are going to help us is truly overwhelming. We thank everyone for their efforts, no matter how small, and we know this will make a difference in our search for Madeleine.
Day 24 - 27/05/2007 - Sunday
RUN
Day 24
CAMPAIGN
COTS
Day 24
POPE
KIDS CLUB
Day 24
Strange day after all the activity during the week. Kate and I started off with an early morning run to the the top of the nearby cliffs. Sean and Amelie were back in kids club and went swimming again. The rest of us attended mass which was very emotional as a priest from RAF Lossiemouth was visiting and further prayers were said for Madeleine. Father Zee-Manuel has also rigged up a powerpoint display projecting a large photograph of Madeleine on to the wall, which he is very proud of and reminds us of the beautiful little girl we are missing so terribly.
There have been some requests for more information ‘about Madeleine’ and this section will be updated very soon. We will also be releasing a very short video of Madeleine taken at the Airport on the day we left for Portugal, Saturday 28 April. Sean and Amelie went to the beach this afternoon with mummy, auntie Trisha and Anne but daddy stayed in the apartment catching up on campaign e-mails, making calls and liaising with Clarence our press officer. The resort is much busier again as it is half-term and there are definitely less journalists here. Many of them have been here since the beginning and are making this journey with us.
The couple of Sunday articles we read did not cover much of what we talked about and seemed to get some of the other stuff wrong! We stated that Sean and Amelie are sleeping in our room (in separate cots) because of other family staying with us and that we were trying to treat them as normal and not be overprotective. This came out that we were so protective we have to have them sleeping in our bed! These inaccuracies are not important in our search for Madeleine and the next phase is being planned currently.
The COTS: Seem to need an explanation from Dr.Mccann. Interesting ,did the twins sleep in bed with the McCanns. Again raises the question as to why the maid saw the cots in seperate rooms.
BUT they are important otherwise why mention them.
POLICE NOTICED when they searched the other apartment there were no cots.
McCann knew the maid noticed ONE cot was in their room and sooner or later she would be interviewed.
It looks like our planned trips to other European cities will start off in Rome after we learned today that the Pope has been following Madeleine’s abduction closely. There is a reasonable chance we may get a chance to meet the Pontiff and that he will pray for Madeleine. Such a visit would generate huge publicity regarding the family campaign to find Madeleine and will also give Kate and I a great spiritual lift. It will also raise the awareness of missing and abused children generally. We continue to pray that someone will provide the key information that leads us to Madeleine.
Day 23 -26/05/2007 - Saturday
Clarence Mitchell
Day 23
HAIRCUT TWINS
Day 23
FUND
Day 23
First TV interviews
Day23
Yesterday was relatively quiet although we did meet the British ambassador and the senior British Police Officer who has been working here in Portugal on the case. This was a productive meeting. There was a flurry of activity amongst the media here stating the family was openly critical of the Portuguese policed which was not true. We did our best to dampen this down but a couple of papers carried stories with our ‘frustration’ with the investigation rather than what we said it was frustrating that 3 weeks down the line we still have not got Madeleine back. This would be the case which ever country we were in. Some of you may have noticed that Sean and Amelie did manage to squeeze in a hair cut!
Today was extremely busy and tiring. We met with our press officer Clarence Mitchell, to discuss strategy for the fortcoming interviews. Kate attended a luncheon in aid of International Missing Child day and John, my brother, attended a similar event in London. After this John and Brian Kennedy, Kate’s uncle, who are both directors of Madeleine’s fund appointed an interim fund manager. We are now actively looking for a campaign manager who will be needed once our government press officer disappears.
The interviews were our first for TV and we were happy how they went. We did 10 min interviews for Sky, BBC, ITV, Portuguese TV/radio and one for the press association. A shorter interview with GM TV will be shown on Monday morning along with stuff from our fabulous web team. The interviewers were very kind but did not shirk from asking us some extremely difficult questions. We answered them all and although painful will allow us to move on in our search for Madeleine. Importantly, shortly after our interviews finished the Portuguese Police held a press conference and gave details of man they would like to interview who was seen carrying a child on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance. We have not had a transcript of what was said but this is an encouraging development and hopefully will result in further calls to the police with information from people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s abduction. We remain very optimistic that the criminal investigation will lead to Madeleine’s safe return but we need everyone to be alert and vigilant to any suspicious activity.
Tomorrow will be a family day. We are doing a photo-shoot with the twins for the Sunday newspapers in the morning but will involve stuff that we want to do with them anyway. We also need to recharge our batteries after what has been a very busy week.
DAY 23 6/05/2007
3rd - OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.cuddlecat.co.uk - LINKED TO ?????????
www.findmadeleine.com - LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Domain tools.
Day 22: 25/05/2007- Friday No Update
Day 21- 24/05/2007 - Thursday
FATIMA
Day 20-21
2nd version
24 May 2007
Today Kate and I went to the Shrine at Fatima to pray for Madeleine´s safe return. It was another early start leaving at 6.30am. Mark Warner, who have looked after us so well, laid on a car and driver. We managed to continue the campaign with telephone conversations and e-mails. The actual visit was veryencouraging with the rector and thousands of pilgrims praying for Madeleine as well Kate and I. We lit candles for Madeleine and also 3 for Madeleine’s grandparents.
The trip received a lot of publicity which should help maintain the profile of her abduction. We are planning a relatively quiet day tomoorow although the British Ambaasador is coming to visit and we need to start finalising our plans for interviews in areas of Europe where the coverage of Madeleine’s disappaerance has been limited.
Day 20 - 23/05/2007 Wednesday
FATIMA
Day 20-21
CAMPAIGN
Day 20
1st Version
23 May 2007
Today Kate and I went to the Shrine at Fatima to pray for Madeleine´s safe return. It was another early start leaving at 6.30am. MarkWarner, who have looked after us so well, laid on a car and driver. We managed to continue the campaign with telephone conversations and e-mails. The actual visit was very encouraging with the rector and thousands of pilgrims praying for Madeleine as well Kate and I. We lit candles for Madeleine and also 3 for Madeleine’s grandparents. The trip received a lot of publicity which should help maintain the profile of her abduction.We are planning a relatively quiet day tomoorow although the British Ambaasador is coming to visit and we need to start finalising our plans for interviews in areas of Europe where the coverage of Madeleine’s disappaerance has been limited.
Day 19 - 22/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 18 - 21/05/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 17 - 20/05/2007 Sunday
A Day to day life for the McCann's
Our day starts around 6.30am with us all waking up around the same time. We have breakfast with Sean and Amelie and our close family/friends who are here with us. Then its clean nappies and clothes for Sean and Amelie followed by showers etc for the rest of us.
Usually there’s some free time then for a few stories or games with the twins before heading out.
KIDS CLUB
9.00-9.15 We take Sean and Amelie to Kids’ Club. They really enjoy it and run in.
They know the staff well and the staff are all excellent. Both love the domestic corner and Amelie particularly likes to look after ‘babies’. We use the kids club a bit like nursery at home but we think Sean and Amelie still think they are on holiday!
9.30~12.15. We return to the apartments, usually for a series of meetings with our press officer, Mark Warner Reps, occasionally Consulate staff, lawyers and British Liaison officers. During this time we catch up with family and close friends, usually by telephone and discuss ideas how to keep Madeleine’s profile high especially throughout continental Europe.
12.30 Time to pick up Sean and Amelie from Kids’ club then head back to apartment for lunch, which has usually been prepared by one of our family/friends group who have been tremendously supportive.
3.30 –14.30 This is time to spend time playing with the twins either in the apartment or in the play area next to kids club.
14.30-15.00 Usually we take the twins back to Kids’ Club although Sean has had the odd afternoon in the apartment as it’s a bit cooler and he’s not much of a sun worshipper! They have been taking part in many different activities including painting, singing, stories, swimming, trips to the beach and they have lots of toys to play with.
15.00~17.00 We try to get some time together alone, going for a walk to talk things over or getting some exercise. This is often the time for quiet trips to the church for prayers.
Pasta & Vegetables
17.00-17.30 Meet kids for high tea with other mums and dads. They love pasta and have been doing really well with their vegetables although a few chips have been squeezed in.
17.30-18.30. Games with kids at play area. Amelie loves trying to get in the baby pool!
18.30-19.30 Bath and story time with the twins.
20.00 We put the kids to bed.
20.30-23.00 We try to sit down for a family meal, again usually cooked by one of the small family group out here with us. Chat about the day’s events and plan the next day
23.30 bed and prayer for Madeleine that she will be returned to us safely
RUNNING
ASAP.
In addition to above we try to attend various church services during the week, and make multiple phone calls to family and friends. We try to watch the main news early morning and late evening but have had almost no time to read the newspapers or even look at the pictures!
Kate is a keen runner and in the last few days has tried to include a run in the daily routine. Yesterday (Sat) at 7am we ran to the monument at the top of the steep cliff overlooking Praia de Luz. We reached it in 19 minutes.
The entry" A Day to day life for the McCann's" does not have a date on the screenshots. However if you check the Sunday Mirror link it confirms that it was Sunday 20-05-07 Day 17: Although the Sunday Mirror says it is Day 18: which would have made it Monday MIRROR 20-05-07
Day 16 - 19/05/2007 Saturday
Website Update at 19:18PM on 19th of May 2007
97 Million hits!
Fund Update
Latest Update - ITV News
Madeleine parents believe she is safe
The parents of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann said they had taken "tremendous strength" from the "warmth and spiritual outpouring" from all around the world.
Gerry and Kate McCann issued a brief statement from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz 11 days after their little girl disappeared from their hotel room.
The pair said they were "fully supporting" the police investigation into their daughter's abduction and reaffirmed their belief that their daughter is safe.
Mr McCann said: "Until there is concrete evidence to the contrary, we believe Madeleine is safe and is being looked after".
Madeleine's mother also emphasised that the couple had no intention of returning to Britain from Portugal in the immediate future.
A British legal team has flown to Praia da Luz to help them and has launched a special "fighting fund" to help in the hunt for Madeleine.
A statement from the International Family Law Group, the firm instructed by the McCanns, said details of how people could make donations would be released within days.
A QC, Michael Nicholls, has also been instructed by the family as their determined battle to find Madeleine enters another week.
Madeleine's uncle John McCann, who lives in Glasgow but was in Praia da Luz last week, said the lawyers would play a liaison role and would not interfere with the criminal investigation.
A spokesman for the International Family Law Group said yesterday: "Gerry and Kate are very grateful for all the support and generous offers of help that they are receiving.
"Details of how contributions can be made to help get Madeleine back to the safety of her own family will be made available in the next couple of days."
The McCanns were among around ten British people who have been re-interviewed by police in recent days to clarify their statements.
This week some of the witnesses are expected to appear in court behind closed doors to record their evidence before they go back to the UK. The McCanns themselves are not expected to be asked to take part.
The procedure, known as "memory for the future", means taped statements can be shown during a future trial so the witnesses do not have to return to appear in court.
Day 15 - 18/05/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 14 - 17/05/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 13 - 16/05/2007 Wednesday
2nd - OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.findmadeleine.com LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Reuters
Day 12 - 15/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 11 - 14/05/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 10 - 13/05/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 09 - 12/05/2007 Saturday
MADELEINE'S BIRTHDAY STATEMENT FROM MARK WARNER HOLIDAYS ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE MCCANN FAMILY
8am Saturday 12th of May 2007
Madeleine's 4th Birthday
Day 08 - 11/05/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 07 - 10/05/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 06 - 09/05/2007 Wednesday
1st - OFFICIAL WEBSITE LAUNCHED AS
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Reuters
Day 05 - 08/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 04 - 07/05/2007 Monday
Statement read by Kate McCann given today
Monday 7 May at 2pm
Day 03 - 06/05/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 02 - 05/05/2007
Saturday No EntryDay 01 - 04/05/2007 Friday
TELEGRAPH 04-05-07- 12.01 AM
May 4th 2007 McCanns moved into apartment 4A
03.05.2007 Thursday Madeleine Beth McCann disappeared from the family Holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. Kate McCann raised the alarm at 10pm.
In the early days Gerry sometimes wrote more than 1 day together. At times he had, the wrong day for the date or, the wrong date for the day. Or write 2 for the same Date or Day e.g. There was 2 Day 38s & 2 Dates 12/06/2007
Day 50 - 22/06/2007 - Friday
Sister Phil
Day 50
Days 49- 50
Amsterdam
Day 50
We never thought it would happen: 50 days without Madeleine. Solidarity the world over has been expressed today with the launch of balloons in every continent to remember Madeleine and other missing children. The event in Praia da Luz had considerable media interest as did many other releases the world over. Sean and Amelie released their balloons shortly after kate and I let go our 50 and we were pleased the media respected our wish for the twins not to be photographed any longer. Please send digital images and video of your local event to images@bringmadeleinehome.com
We were not planning to say anything at the launch but there was such a large turnout from Portuguese TV who we have not spoken
to for some time that we decided to answer their questions. The beauty of the launch was the local and international dimension with media coverage spreading Madeleines image far and wide.
We have seen the video of the Ullapool (home of the website and my sister Phil) launch, Glasgow and extensive pictures from
Amsterdam. We very much look forward to seeing pictures from all the other venues. One of these balloons may just be found by someone who recognises Madeleine and alerts the authorities.
Day 49 - 21/06/2007 - Thursday
Yemeni Vargas
Day 49
Yellow Ribbons
Day 49
Letters
Day 49
Balloons
Day 49
Met with the Portuguese police today for an update. Their committemnt to find Madeleine matches ours and we all hope for that vital breakthrough every day.
We have literally received thousands of letters, cards and messages of support here in Portugal which have helped give us strength during this terrible time. Yesterday we received a particularly touching gift which is entitled Madeleines Book of Hope made up with comments from children of all ages from 3 different schools including a pre-school. The messages in different coloured pages with green and yellow ribbons had both the power to us cry and laugh!
The response to the balloon launch to mark 50 days that Madeleine has been missing has been incredible. There are close to 300 centres, and countries all over the world, participating. There has been a lot of local media interest but remember to take digital photographs and videos if possible which will be able to be uploaded to the website so we can display them. The message of Madeleines disappearance will reach many more people tomorrow.
A pleasing aspect of the launch will be the highlighting of other missing or abducted children, many of whom will have recieved little public attention. I know that 7 year old Yeremi Vargas will be
remembered in Madrid and his family will be releasing balloons from Gran Canaria where he disappeared in March of this year.
Our campaign to find Madeleine will be associated with other child welfare issues in the future. We are very keen to see more debate on issues that we and other families in similar situations have to face.
Child abuse is a taboo subject still in many countries and we must encourage responsible debate around how child abuse can be prevented.
Day 48 - 20/06/2007 - Wednesday
AFGHANISTAN KITE
Day 48
Fund
Day 48
Leicester
Day 48
Another busy day of meetings this time in Leicester. No mishaps thankfully.The main meeting was that of Maddeleines fund where we discussed implementing a strategy to maintain our campaign to find Madeleine. It was agreed in principle to appoint a family spokesperson who will act, not just for Kate and I, but also on behalf of the extended family who have been liasing with the media. This appointment will take a lot of strain off family members who have been putting in such massive efforts to help find Madeleine.
We are delighted with the response to the 50th day balloon launch which will truly be a global event. There will be a few variations to the release of balloons however. In Ventura, Southern California, 50 white doves will be released and in
Afghanistan kite racing, an activity banned under the Taliban, will be the order of the day. Arrived back in Praia da Luz this evening and it was great to see Kate and the Kids, even though I was only away for a day and a half.
Day 47 - 19/06/2007 - Tuesday
Passenger Collapsed
Day 47
WALLET
Days 47 - 57
London
Day47
Flew in to London to for a series of meetings. Helped a passenger on the flight who collapsed. He was ill enough to require a full assessment on arrival and went off to hospital in an ambulance.
Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late. I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening. We had very good discussions regarding sustaining the search for Madeleine long term. The role for Kate and I in the campaign will not be nearly be so public. We have to balance any campaigning in the search for Madeleine with protecting Sean and Amelie and making sure their privacy is protected.
We are exploring the use of new media and using local advertising, particularly in Europe.
There will of course be event driven media exposure such as the balloon launch on Friday 22nd. There are several other very good ideas being developed and a few large companies are willing to help us.
Day 46 - 18/06/2007 - Monday
Kate and I got the respone we wanted after speaking to the Portuguese ploice today. We are assured that no criticism of our actions on the night Madeline disappeared was intended.
There has been a good response to our planned balloon release for Madeleine and other missing children on Friday and we are confident that over 50 countries will be represented.
The twins have really enjoyed seeing family who have been visiting us for the last 3 days- it has passed very quickly. Hopefully the next time we see them it will be with Madeleine.
Day 45 - 17/06/2007 - Sunday
RUNNING
Days 45
Kate and I managed an early morning run before church.
The first event of our longer term campaign will be on Friday 22nd June- this will mark the 50th day Madeleine will be missing. We will be launching green and yellow balloons from at least 50 centres worldwide to mark the fact that we are still searching as are other parents of missing children. Countries that are partcipating so far are Argentina, El Salvador, USA, Canada, Ireland, UK,
The Netherlands, Germany, Portugal (Kate and I in Praia da Luz), Spain, South Africa, Kenya, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. . Any other countries that wish to partcipate can download information from the website.
Day 44 - 16/06/2007 - Saturday
Zoo
Day 44
Kate and I dropped Jon at the airport this morning and picked up some more friends/family who have come out to see us, but particularly the twins. They were certainly happy to see our visitors! After lunch we headed off to the local zoo. Relatively quiet on the campaign front today as it is a family day. Tomorrow we will announce one or two planned events to keep Madeleines disappearnace high profile.
Day 43 - 15/06/2007 - Friday
THE TELEGRAAF
Days 41-42-43
The good news today is that the search in response to the letter in the Telegraaf did not find evidence of Madeleine. We still belive that Madeleine is alive. We have made some real progress deciding on campaign strategy. There is a huge amount of goodwill from people who want to help us find Madeleine and we have some concrete offers of support and are trying to finalise details before releasing them.Tomorrow will be a family day.
Day 42 - 14/06/2007 - Thursday
THE TELEGRAAF
TELEGRAPH 14-06-07
DVD
Day 42
Logo
Day 42
Six weeks since Madeleine disappeared. We believe Madeleine is alive and I am glad to say that following yesterday's letter in the Telegraaf (Netherlands) there has been no evidence that Madeliene is in the area indicated although there will be further searches tomorrow.
Kate and I picked up a friend from Faro airport who has been instrumental in helping with the campaign. He has been fantastic, producing the DVD of Madeleine to ‘Don’t you forget about me’ which has been shown at many sporting events and concerts as well as producing the look for maddie logo and various posters.
We spent most of the day updating each other and discussing future campaign ideas. We are getting closer to appointing a campaign manager who will handle media liaison and coordinating events to keep Madeleine’s disappearance highly visible
Day 41 - 13/06/2007 - Wednesday
THE TELEGRAAF
Days 41-42-43
Met with Portuguese and British police today to get an update on the investigation. We were reaasured that information continues to come in, and we continue to pray for a breakthrough.
We were extremely disappointed in the publication of the anonymous letter in The Telegraaf (Netherlands) claiming to know where Madeleine is buried. Although all information will be taken seriously, we were very upset that the credibility of this letter had not been examined and, more importantly, published before the Portuguese police had an opportunity to investigate the claim, and search the area if appropriate without massive media attention. We feel strongly that this was an irresponsible piece of journalism and even if it were true is insensitive and cruel.
One can imagine how upsetting it is for Kate and I to hear of such claims through the media and if every piece of information was published like this there would be nothing else in the newspapers.
Day 40 - 12/06/2007 - Tuesday
Morocco
Day 39-40
Overturned Lorry ?????????????
Day 40
DAY GERRY USED
Day 39 -12/06/2007
We finished off our trip to Morocco with a private visit to the minister for religious affairs this morning. He is an academic, senior cleric and adviser to the King of Morocco. We explained to him that although we are Roman Catholic we have received messages of support and prayers from all religious groups. Leicester, where we live, is extremely diverse culturally with a large proportion of Muslims and there were prayers for Madeline throughout Leicester on Sunday. We asked the minister if prayers could be said for Madeleine and other missing children in Morocco. He told us that people were praying for her and again emphasised that if Madeleine is in Morocco they would find her. En route to the airport a lorry had overturned blocking the exit from the motorway. The Moroccan people dealt with this in a very calm and relaxed manner, which we have found is a very engaging aspect of their character. Arriving back in Praia da Luz it was great to see Sean and Amelie. I think they were happy to see us although have been very well looked after as usual. We have no more trips planned for the immediate future and will spend the next few days taking stock. Tonight we have also gone to the church for prayers, as it is now 40 days and nights since Madeleine was abducted. No child or parent should have to endure his experience and we prayed that she would be found safe and well.
Day 39 -11/06/2007 - Monday
Morocco
Day 38-39-40
Rabat
Day 39
DAY AND DATE GERRY USED
Day 38 -12/06/2007
We spent the day in Rabat meeting 3 child welfare groups, the minister for interior and the chief of police. We had little knowledge of Morocco before coming here and have learned what a family orientated and child loving society it is. Everyone has been incredibly sympathetic and said they will do everything to help us find Madeleine. As well as the meetings there was a very touching experience outside the National Observatory for Chidren's Rights. As we pulled up in the car there were about 150 children waving posters of Madeleine with the words above and below a picture of her:
'All Moroccan Children Are With You Madeleine- Madeleine: Back Home'. They were singing and cheering Madeleine's name and shouting 'coeur', Heart. This whole experience was uplifting and enlightening at the same time in that we had no concept that so many children in Morocco would know of Madeleine and also be internet- friendly. It is just as likely that a child will spot Madeleine and alert a responsible adult. The whole world really has changed and is a lot smaller in this computer age. If Madeleine is in Morocco we have no doubt that she will be found.
We did a couple of interviews for ITV and Sky and followed up our Newspaper interviews focussing on change in the phase of the campaign. We confirmed that there will be a period of reflection before we decide on what is the best role for Kate and I. The campaign and the search for Madeleine will continue and with everyone's help we will find her. So please stay with us.
Day 38- 10/06/2007 - Sunday
20 Seater Plane
Day 38
Morocco
Day 38-39-40
We attended mass this morning and the Bishop had sent a very nice message that he and everyone else was praying for Madeleine. He also said that our attitude in this time of adversity was an example for others. Contrary to some of the headlines in the Sunday papers the campaign to find Madeleine will not ease up. Kate’s and my role will be different after Morocco compared to the last 3 weeks. As I said earlier we will reflect on the investigation, what the campaign has achieved and where we will be best directed. We will be less evident in the media, at least for a few days, unless there is a breakthrough in the investigation. First of all we have Morocco. We drove up to Lisbon late this afternoon to catch a flight to Casablanca where embassy officials will meet us. We were surprised to learn that a 20 seat propeller plane was sent instead of the larger aircraft. Luckily Kate, Clarence and I got squeezed on although we were certainly rather apprehensive about flying on such an aircraft- it reminded us of some of the internal flights we took in New Zealand in the mid 90’s. The meeting in Rabat will follow a similar itinerary as to the European visits. We will meet with the ambassador and his staff, two children’s charities, the interior minister and possibly the chief of police. We will do two interviews for the main TV stations and the press conference will be last. I am sure we will be asked about the Marrakech siting which has been extensively reported in the press. I should be able to get some more details of this from ITV, who interviewed the witness, and hopefully the justice minister to find out what enquiries were made by the local police
Day 37 - 09/06/2007 - Saturday
Sagres Beach
Day 37
Suspect
Day 37
DATE GERRY USED
Day 37 - 11/06/2007
Kate and I had a slightly busier day on the media front than expected. We did a short press interview for the Irish Sunday papers, mainly to thank the Irish for their fantastic level of support. We followed that with one for the British Sundays which is likely to be the last one we do for a while. We talked about our pain of not having having Madeleine for such a long time and for our need to grieve, which occurs mainly in private. We also talked about how after Morocco we will have to spend some time reflecting both emotionally, and also how best the campaign can be taken forward. What we want to ensure is that the campaign has a psoitive effect on finding Madeleine.
After this we headed down to Sagres which is the very most southwestern tip of Portugal. There is a very nice beach and we had lunch with the family.
After returning from the beach we did the Irish version of Crimewatch-‘Crimecall’. There are a lot of Irish tourists in and around Praia da Luz and although the awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance in Ireland is extremely high, we want to ensure that everyone is aware of the appeal and we want the Irish public to come forward with photographs of people who they do not know who were in and around Praia da Luz in the 2 weeks leading up to the 3rd May. The address to upload photographs is: to www.madeleine.ceopupload.com . We have also asked for people to contact their local police if they have seen a man matching the description of the suspect carrying a child seen around the time of Madeleine’s abduction. He is 30-40 years, 1.70-1.80m (5’7”-11”), caucasian and was wearing a dark jacket, beige or mustard coloured trousers with dark shoes. No major news on the investigation front- we still believe it is just a single phone call away.
Day 36 - 08/06/2007 - Friday .
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Sea Bass
Day 36
Quieter day today. This was a good chance to catch up with campaign e-mails and phone calls after the trips to Berlin and Amsterdam. At lunchtime we went to the release of 1000 yellow balloons at the beach carrying cards with Madeleine’s picture on it and information in 5 different languages including arabic. There were similar launches in Manchester and Madrid. The event was organsied by the Sun who, like almost all of the media, have been incredibly supportive. I told Nick, the Sun journalist, that we are happy to support all strategies which increase the chances of finding Madeleine. Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach and had dinner in one of the restaurants which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. Sean, in particular has acquired a taste for sea-bass! Kate and I did a short interview for BBC East Midlands to thank everyone for their support and it is likely that this will be shown around most of the regions, certainly Northwest and BBC Scotland. Kate and most of the family headed down to the church for the regular Friday night vigil but I was just too shattered. Tommorrow will largely be a family day although I am not sure what we will be doing yet.
Day 35 - 07/06/2007 -Thursday
LAGOS
Day 35
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Green &
Yellow Hands
Day 35
DATE GERRY USED
Day 35 - 06th June 2007
The press conference, meetings and appeal on TV today in Amsterdam all seemed to go well. I doubt there are many people left in Europe who do not know of Madeleine’s disappearance and hopefully everyone who has information will have come forward to the police. Today was particularly difficult for Kate and I because of the year we spent in Amsterdam with Madeleine. We have many friend s still there and could never have imagined coming back without her in such dreadful circumstances. Afterwards we caught with a friend of mine who was attending a medical conference in Amsterdam and a friend who helps run a playgroup that we attended We arrived back in Portugal and managed to spend some time with Sean and Amelie. We then drove to the concert in Lagos in aid of Madeleine, which is the first large public event in Portugal that I know of supporting the campaign. It was interesting mix of jazz, blues, orchestra and rap! We were presented with a painting with green and yellow hands from a class of schoolkids- hands of hope. There was a short speech and Kate thanked tke local community for their support. The amount of media coverage Madeleine’s disappearance has received is phenomenal. After Morocco we will have to take stock and decide on our best strategy. I am not convinced going to other European countries and holding meetings similar to Berlin and Amsterdam will help.
Day 34 -06/06/2007 - Wednesday
Berlin
Day 34-35-36
Amsterdam
Day 34-35-36
Today seemed to go very well with huge interest in our search for Madeleine. There has also been a little bit of criticism in the German press about the amount of media coverage but this did not seem to diminish the level of interest. The German interviewers are a little more direct with their questions but I was still surprised by the question as to whether Kate and I may be involved in Madeleine’s abduction! Hopefully our answers removed any doubt on that score and that our sole focus in all of the family campaigning is to get Madeleine back. After the media we met with a couple of politicians in private. Firstly, we saw the deputy justice minister for Germany who gave us reassurances regarding the investigation. Following this we met the Mayor of Berlin who is a very powerful and charismatic politician. He asked us what he could do for us and following this meeting asked German tourists who were in the Algarve around the time of Madeleine’s abduction to come forward. He is very popular and such public backing should help our appeal. We had to delay our onward flight to Amsterdam because of some information received by the police, which we needed to be consulted on. We diverted to the embassy in Berlin but it turned out to be nothing of interest. We unfortunately had to miss 2 TV programmes as we arrived in Amsterdam 3 hours late, very tired and emotionally drained. We did manage to catch up with a few friends briefly who we know from the year we lived in Amsterdam. They have been actively campaigning here on our behalf with poster distribution, contacting media and liasing with companies to get advertising space for large posters of Madeleine.
Day 33 - 05/06/2007 - Tuesday
Gerry Birthday
Day33
Fruit Flan
Day33
Grandma & Granddad
Day 33
Trish & Sandy
Day 33
Met with the Portuguese Police today. It is good to talk face to face especially with so much speculation in the media. Kates parents arrived today to see the kids and us. We managed to spend a couple of hours with them before heading off for Berlin. I had completely forgotten that it is my birthday today, it is anything but a happy one. However Sean and Amelie made me a birthday card on behalf of them and Madeleine and Trisha made a fruit flan. We sang happy birthday and blew the candles out together which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. They were really happy to see Grandma and Grandad, whom they are used to seeing every few weeks in England. Kates parents have been a huge help to us, especially since the twins were born, often driving down to Leicestershire for the weekend to help with the kids. This has been really important when I have been on-call at weekends and Kate would have been left looking after the three of them on her own. Trisha would often fly down to help when she had a few days off or when her and Sandy were en route to Cambridge. It makes us feel better knowing that we are leaving Sean and Amelie with very close loved ones whilst we are away on this short trip to appeal for further information and raise awareness of Madeleine’s disappearance. Arrived in Berlin. Another busy programme tomorrow with TV, press, and politicians to see and then straight on to Amsterdam for more of the same. It all helps in the search for Madeleine.
Day 32 - 04/06/2007 - Monday
Green & Yellow
T-Shirts
Day 32
Crime watch
Day32
Busier day today with travel arrangements for Berlin and Amsterdam finalised. Leaving tomorrow night and coming back Thurs afternoon. It will be a very busy schedule similar to Madrid. On Thurs night there is a music festival in aid of Madeleine in nearby Lagos which we will be attending. Tonigh, we were interviewed for Crimeatch which will be shown on BBC1 tomorrow night. This was a very good opportunity to recap on all the information which is in the public domain and re-emphasise the appeal, especially since the description of a suspect seen carrying a child was released by the Portuguese police after the initial British appeal. As well as some reports from Crimewatch, you may see a picture of me in a green and yellow find Madeleine t-shirt in tomorrow’s paper. The t-shirts were brought over by Phil and later on I thought better about wearing it around the resort she was taken from. I am sure all the people who have chosen to continue their holliday here, rather than take an alternative location, know about Madeleine’s disappearance and don’t need a further reminder.
Day 31 - 03/06/2007 - Sunday
Huge Inflatable Banner Day 31
Blog lifted Day 31
Was encouraged to learn of the large volume of information which has come through the Leicester incident room following the appeal. Hopefully the Portuguese police will have had a good reponse also and we hope to meet with them in the next couple of days for an update. Chris and Les, who travelled over with the huge inflatable banner which has been positioned near the Spanish border, are heading home today. They were very happy that the director of the Algarve tourist board allowed them to put it up in private property owned by them, with thousands of cars passing every hour and seeing Madeleine’s image and details of her disappearance and reward. Sunday papers have reported our interviews virtually verbatim but vey disappointed that the blog was lifted almost in entirety by one newspaper yesterday after expressly forbidding such an approach! The blog is to keep people visiting the website up to date with our progress in the campaign to find Madeleine.
Day 30 - 02/06/2007 - Saturday
Beach Day 30
Relatively quiet day. Did manage to repsond to some e-mails regarding campaign issues with some excellent ideas coming through. We did visit a local beach with Sean, Amelie and the rest of the family who are here and managed to get a bite to eat. Having a huge number of media reuests in but want these to be very focussed in areas that will have clear benefits in the search for Madeleine. We did do a German TV and newspaper interview which wiil be released tomorrow to incraese awareness ahead of our planned visit to Berlin later this week. Most of the Sunday newspapers will carry some of the interview as a British reporter sat in and asked a few more quetions related to the campaign strategy.
Day 29 - 01/06/2007 - Friday
Crime watch Day29
With the help of the British Embassy we had a very busy day. First of all we had a short briefing from the ambassador and her staff. We then had a series of meetings with: multiple non-governmental agencies involved in child welfare, did a TV programme akin to Crimewatch focussing on Madeleine’s disappearance, a press conference which was well attended, a couple of short US news channel interviews with European coverage and finally met with the Spanish Minister for the Interior (Home Secretary equivalent). We left Madrid feeling as if the Spanish were treating Madeleine’s disappearance like one of their own.
Meanwhile in Portugal Phil arrived with thousands of posters in different languages. Most of these have been delivered to the Irish centre at Fatima and more at Lisbon airport. Planning a family day tomorrow. Will weigh up next phase of the search over the weekend.
Day 28 - 31/05/2007 - Thursday
Madrid Day 28
Press conference in Rome went very well giving us an excellent forum to ask for help in the search for Madeleine. We told people about the website, how to download posters and ask people to print them and take on holiday wherever they are.
We arrived in Madrid late last night and have a series of meetings arranged with government and non government agencies concerned with child welfare. We will also be hosting a press conference again to raise general awareness of Madeleine´s disappearance and ask for the public´s help in our search for Madeleine. We may also do a few very short interviews for US news stations which are widely broadcast in Europe, N.Africa and Asia, particularly in English speaking hotels and other outlets. Will update after meetings.
Day 27 - 30/05/2007 - Wednesday
POPE
Days 25-26-27
UMBRELLA
Day 27
Continental Breakfast
Day 27
Today has gone as well as we could possibly imagine.
We woke around 7.15am and got ourselves ready. There was a lovely continental breakfast prepared but both Kate and I ate very little due to nerves. We left the Embassy just after 9.00am and stopped en route to the Vatican, at Piazza Pia for a photo opportunity with St Peters in the distance. I made a very short statement regarding our forthcoming visit and expressed my gratitude to Francis Campbell, the British Ambassador to the Vatican, and his staff for making us feel as if we were part of their family.
We arrived in plenty of time for the Papal audience and were delighted to find we were seated in the ‘Prima Fila’- the first row. Clarence, Francis and Monsingneur Charlie Burns, a colourful Glaswegian who teaches at the seminary and looks after the Ambassador’s spiritual well being were seated immediately behind us. It was extremely sunny and I have to admit that Kate and I were struggling somewhat with the heat in our dark suits but Francis rescued us with an umbrella and some water and following that some heavy cloud rolled in, cooling us down.
The atmosphere in St Peter’s square was almost carnival like with up to 35,000 people there to see the Pope. He did not disappoint, driving slowly around the crowd in his open jeep, waving cheerfully. We were sombre in contrast given that we were there to ask Benedict to pray for Madeleine, although I am sure others were also there to get blessings for their loved ones. After this the Pontiff took his seat in front of approximately 30 cardinals, bishops and priests. One of the priests, Father Daniel Gallagher from the US, came up to us before the service and said some very kind words; that he was praying and everyone was praying for Madeleine daily.
The service started with a series of addresses from priests representing the various French, German, Italian, English, Spanish and Polish speaking congregations present. Each parish represented was mentioned and various bands, mainly German, played short pieces and a few choirs sang a verse and the large Polish contingent priests seated behind us wearing large yellow scarves tied like ribbons around theirs necks sang 3 or 4! At the end of this preamble the priest stated that the Pope was happy to tell us he was praying for the congregation, our families, our children and those who were suffering. These words seemed so poignant in the light of Madeleine’s abduction and naturally both Kate and I were, naturally, very emotional. The Pope’s actual address seemed to pass in a blur and I am looking forward to reading the actual transcript as I can remember very little of the actual words.
Following the completion of the Papal address in the different languages, Benedict individually greeted the other clergy on the dias. During this period Father Gallagher presented us with a small gift to remind us that he would pray daily for Madeleine and a cardinal also expressed similar sentiments. The Pope took approximately 20 minutes to meet other people in the Prima Fila before reaching us. It felt as if time stood still for a moment when the Pope looked into our faces and there was almost instant recognition and a change in his expression. He said he would pray for us, our family and Madeleine. Kate passed him a photograph of Madeleine and he blessed this and would pray for her safe returning. The meeting was more personal than we could have imagined given the number of people there and will help us sustain our hope and determination to find Madeleine.
The press conference followed shortly afterwards and was very well attended. We will give more details tomorrow as we are very tired following our visit and hope to get an early night before planning our next trip.
Day 26 - 29/05/2007 - Tuesday
Uncle Sandy & Aunt Trish Cameron
Day 26
Clarence Mitchell
Day 26
POPE
Days 25-26-27
NEW BEDS ?????????????
Day 26
We have been preoccupied with preparation for our audience with the Pope tomoorow morning. This morning was spent acquiring some appropriate dress for the meeting since we had only holiday clothes with us in Portugal. Clarence has been inundated with calls regarding the visit to Rome and done most of the organisation behind the scenes.
It has been very difficult to leave Sean and Amelie but it is only for one nght and we will be back to see them before bedtime tomorrow. Trish and Sandy (Madeleine’s Godparents) who have been with us in Portugal since Day 2 are looking after them and we were surprised to hear they were tucked up in bed by 7.30pm- they must like their new beds!
The flight to Rome passed extremely quickly and some footage was taken for TV. We did a couple of short interviews for the British and Portuguesae press about our feelings regarding the trip. Under normal circumstances we would be extremely excited about meeting the Pope, but as we are here as a result of Madeleine’s abduction the circumstances are very different. We expect to receive a great spiritual lift, especially if we get to speak to the Pontiff personally. After the audience we will be holding a short press conference in the British Embassy to the Vatican to talk about our campaign to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance and of course, our audience with the Pope.
Frncis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Holy See, and his staff picked us at the airport and brought us directly to the Embassy residences near the city centre. We have been made to feel completely at ease and almost as if we are part of a small family here, which has helped ease our tangible nerves, not unsurprising given the importance of tomorrow’s meeting. We are now retiring and will be saying our usual prayers for Madeleine’s safe return
DAY 26 - 29/05/2007
4th- OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.cuddlecat.org.uk - LINKED TO
www.cuddlecat.co.uk - LINKED TO
www.findmadeleine.com - LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Day 25 - 28/05/2007 - Monday
Philip Green
Day 25
POPE
Days 25-26-27
COTS
Day 25
CAMPAIGN
Day 25 -
Confirmation arrived this evening that we are to attend the Vatican and a service with The Pope. It is likely we will be seated in the front row and may have an opportunity to speak with the Holy Father and ask for prayers for Madeleine. This is a hugely important visit both personally, for Kate and I, but also for the wider campaign to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance. The trip has been facilitated through Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and we will be receiving assistance from the British Embassy whilst in Rome. On this occasion because of the short notice and the relatively early time of the service we have accepted the kind offer of the use of Sir Philip Green’s personal jet, which will help get us home quickly after our Papal visit to see the twins before their bedtime. We will be accompanied by a small group of media who are still with us in Praia da Luz and, as usual all the material will be available to all the British press and broadcasters equally. For all trips we are assessing whether commercial flights can get us to our destination and back to Portugal quickly. This will NOT be a Tour- it is a series of very brief visits with the specific aim of raising awareness and we aim to get back here as quickly as possible.
We have decided that for the majority of trips it will not be practicable, or fair, to take Sean and Amelie with us. They have an established routine which we do not want to disrupt and will be looked after by very close family. Tonight for the first time they have gone to sleep in their own single beds, rather than cots, now that another two of our family have gone home. We were planning to turn their cots at home into beds after our 1 week holiday but obviously this has been delayed with Madeleine’s abduction. We have been in Praia da Luz for over 4 weeks and Sean and Amelie’s development from toddlers to little boy and girl continues. Madeleine will really notice the difference when she sees them!
Some of you may have seen on the news the huge inflatable billboard which has travelled all the way from the West of Scotland to Portugal which will be used near busy roads/motorways to keep Madeleine’s disappearance high profile. We had a brief chat with Chris and Les, who drove almost non-stop from Glasgow to get here. The extraordinary length ordinary people are going to help us is truly overwhelming. We thank everyone for their efforts, no matter how small, and we know this will make a difference in our search for Madeleine.
Day 24 - 27/05/2007 - Sunday
RUN
Day 24
CAMPAIGN
COTS
Day 24
POPE
KIDS CLUB
Day 24
Strange day after all the activity during the week. Kate and I started off with an early morning run to the the top of the nearby cliffs. Sean and Amelie were back in kids club and went swimming again. The rest of us attended mass which was very emotional as a priest from RAF Lossiemouth was visiting and further prayers were said for Madeleine. Father Zee-Manuel has also rigged up a powerpoint display projecting a large photograph of Madeleine on to the wall, which he is very proud of and reminds us of the beautiful little girl we are missing so terribly.
There have been some requests for more information ‘about Madeleine’ and this section will be updated very soon. We will also be releasing a very short video of Madeleine taken at the Airport on the day we left for Portugal, Saturday 28 April. Sean and Amelie went to the beach this afternoon with mummy, auntie Trisha and Anne but daddy stayed in the apartment catching up on campaign e-mails, making calls and liaising with Clarence our press officer. The resort is much busier again as it is half-term and there are definitely less journalists here. Many of them have been here since the beginning and are making this journey with us.
The couple of Sunday articles we read did not cover much of what we talked about and seemed to get some of the other stuff wrong! We stated that Sean and Amelie are sleeping in our room (in separate cots) because of other family staying with us and that we were trying to treat them as normal and not be overprotective. This came out that we were so protective we have to have them sleeping in our bed! These inaccuracies are not important in our search for Madeleine and the next phase is being planned currently.
The COTS: Seem to need an explanation from Dr.Mccann. Interesting ,did the twins sleep in bed with the McCanns. Again raises the question as to why the maid saw the cots in seperate rooms.
BUT they are important otherwise why mention them.
POLICE NOTICED when they searched the other apartment there were no cots.
McCann knew the maid noticed ONE cot was in their room and sooner or later she would be interviewed.
It looks like our planned trips to other European cities will start off in Rome after we learned today that the Pope has been following Madeleine’s abduction closely. There is a reasonable chance we may get a chance to meet the Pontiff and that he will pray for Madeleine. Such a visit would generate huge publicity regarding the family campaign to find Madeleine and will also give Kate and I a great spiritual lift. It will also raise the awareness of missing and abused children generally. We continue to pray that someone will provide the key information that leads us to Madeleine.
Day 23 -26/05/2007 - Saturday
Clarence Mitchell
Day 23
HAIRCUT TWINS
Day 23
FUND
Day 23
First TV interviews
Day23
Yesterday was relatively quiet although we did meet the British ambassador and the senior British Police Officer who has been working here in Portugal on the case. This was a productive meeting. There was a flurry of activity amongst the media here stating the family was openly critical of the Portuguese policed which was not true. We did our best to dampen this down but a couple of papers carried stories with our ‘frustration’ with the investigation rather than what we said it was frustrating that 3 weeks down the line we still have not got Madeleine back. This would be the case which ever country we were in. Some of you may have noticed that Sean and Amelie did manage to squeeze in a hair cut!
Today was extremely busy and tiring. We met with our press officer Clarence Mitchell, to discuss strategy for the fortcoming interviews. Kate attended a luncheon in aid of International Missing Child day and John, my brother, attended a similar event in London. After this John and Brian Kennedy, Kate’s uncle, who are both directors of Madeleine’s fund appointed an interim fund manager. We are now actively looking for a campaign manager who will be needed once our government press officer disappears.
The interviews were our first for TV and we were happy how they went. We did 10 min interviews for Sky, BBC, ITV, Portuguese TV/radio and one for the press association. A shorter interview with GM TV will be shown on Monday morning along with stuff from our fabulous web team. The interviewers were very kind but did not shirk from asking us some extremely difficult questions. We answered them all and although painful will allow us to move on in our search for Madeleine. Importantly, shortly after our interviews finished the Portuguese Police held a press conference and gave details of man they would like to interview who was seen carrying a child on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance. We have not had a transcript of what was said but this is an encouraging development and hopefully will result in further calls to the police with information from people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s abduction. We remain very optimistic that the criminal investigation will lead to Madeleine’s safe return but we need everyone to be alert and vigilant to any suspicious activity.
Tomorrow will be a family day. We are doing a photo-shoot with the twins for the Sunday newspapers in the morning but will involve stuff that we want to do with them anyway. We also need to recharge our batteries after what has been a very busy week.
DAY 23 6/05/2007
3rd - OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.cuddlecat.co.uk - LINKED TO ?????????
www.findmadeleine.com - LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Domain tools.
Day 22: 25/05/2007- Friday No Update
Day 21- 24/05/2007 - Thursday
FATIMA
Day 20-21
2nd version
24 May 2007
Today Kate and I went to the Shrine at Fatima to pray for Madeleine´s safe return. It was another early start leaving at 6.30am. Mark Warner, who have looked after us so well, laid on a car and driver. We managed to continue the campaign with telephone conversations and e-mails. The actual visit was veryencouraging with the rector and thousands of pilgrims praying for Madeleine as well Kate and I. We lit candles for Madeleine and also 3 for Madeleine’s grandparents.
The trip received a lot of publicity which should help maintain the profile of her abduction. We are planning a relatively quiet day tomoorow although the British Ambaasador is coming to visit and we need to start finalising our plans for interviews in areas of Europe where the coverage of Madeleine’s disappaerance has been limited.
Day 20 - 23/05/2007 Wednesday
FATIMA
Day 20-21
CAMPAIGN
Day 20
1st Version
23 May 2007
Today Kate and I went to the Shrine at Fatima to pray for Madeleine´s safe return. It was another early start leaving at 6.30am. MarkWarner, who have looked after us so well, laid on a car and driver. We managed to continue the campaign with telephone conversations and e-mails. The actual visit was very encouraging with the rector and thousands of pilgrims praying for Madeleine as well Kate and I. We lit candles for Madeleine and also 3 for Madeleine’s grandparents. The trip received a lot of publicity which should help maintain the profile of her abduction.We are planning a relatively quiet day tomoorow although the British Ambaasador is coming to visit and we need to start finalising our plans for interviews in areas of Europe where the coverage of Madeleine’s disappaerance has been limited.
Day 19 - 22/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 18 - 21/05/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 17 - 20/05/2007 Sunday
A Day to day life for the McCann's
Our day starts around 6.30am with us all waking up around the same time. We have breakfast with Sean and Amelie and our close family/friends who are here with us. Then its clean nappies and clothes for Sean and Amelie followed by showers etc for the rest of us.
Usually there’s some free time then for a few stories or games with the twins before heading out.
KIDS CLUB
9.00-9.15 We take Sean and Amelie to Kids’ Club. They really enjoy it and run in.
They know the staff well and the staff are all excellent. Both love the domestic corner and Amelie particularly likes to look after ‘babies’. We use the kids club a bit like nursery at home but we think Sean and Amelie still think they are on holiday!
9.30~12.15. We return to the apartments, usually for a series of meetings with our press officer, Mark Warner Reps, occasionally Consulate staff, lawyers and British Liaison officers. During this time we catch up with family and close friends, usually by telephone and discuss ideas how to keep Madeleine’s profile high especially throughout continental Europe.
12.30 Time to pick up Sean and Amelie from Kids’ club then head back to apartment for lunch, which has usually been prepared by one of our family/friends group who have been tremendously supportive.
3.30 –14.30 This is time to spend time playing with the twins either in the apartment or in the play area next to kids club.
14.30-15.00 Usually we take the twins back to Kids’ Club although Sean has had the odd afternoon in the apartment as it’s a bit cooler and he’s not much of a sun worshipper! They have been taking part in many different activities including painting, singing, stories, swimming, trips to the beach and they have lots of toys to play with.
15.00~17.00 We try to get some time together alone, going for a walk to talk things over or getting some exercise. This is often the time for quiet trips to the church for prayers.
Pasta & Vegetables
17.00-17.30 Meet kids for high tea with other mums and dads. They love pasta and have been doing really well with their vegetables although a few chips have been squeezed in.
17.30-18.30. Games with kids at play area. Amelie loves trying to get in the baby pool!
18.30-19.30 Bath and story time with the twins.
20.00 We put the kids to bed.
20.30-23.00 We try to sit down for a family meal, again usually cooked by one of the small family group out here with us. Chat about the day’s events and plan the next day
23.30 bed and prayer for Madeleine that she will be returned to us safely
RUNNING
ASAP.
In addition to above we try to attend various church services during the week, and make multiple phone calls to family and friends. We try to watch the main news early morning and late evening but have had almost no time to read the newspapers or even look at the pictures!
Kate is a keen runner and in the last few days has tried to include a run in the daily routine. Yesterday (Sat) at 7am we ran to the monument at the top of the steep cliff overlooking Praia de Luz. We reached it in 19 minutes.
The entry" A Day to day life for the McCann's" does not have a date on the screenshots. However if you check the Sunday Mirror link it confirms that it was Sunday 20-05-07 Day 17: Although the Sunday Mirror says it is Day 18: which would have made it Monday MIRROR 20-05-07
Day 16 - 19/05/2007 Saturday
Website Update at 19:18PM on 19th of May 2007
97 Million hits!
Fund Update
Latest Update - ITV News
Madeleine parents believe she is safe
The parents of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann said they had taken "tremendous strength" from the "warmth and spiritual outpouring" from all around the world.
Gerry and Kate McCann issued a brief statement from the Portuguese holiday resort of Praia da Luz 11 days after their little girl disappeared from their hotel room.
The pair said they were "fully supporting" the police investigation into their daughter's abduction and reaffirmed their belief that their daughter is safe.
Mr McCann said: "Until there is concrete evidence to the contrary, we believe Madeleine is safe and is being looked after".
Madeleine's mother also emphasised that the couple had no intention of returning to Britain from Portugal in the immediate future.
A British legal team has flown to Praia da Luz to help them and has launched a special "fighting fund" to help in the hunt for Madeleine.
A statement from the International Family Law Group, the firm instructed by the McCanns, said details of how people could make donations would be released within days.
A QC, Michael Nicholls, has also been instructed by the family as their determined battle to find Madeleine enters another week.
Madeleine's uncle John McCann, who lives in Glasgow but was in Praia da Luz last week, said the lawyers would play a liaison role and would not interfere with the criminal investigation.
A spokesman for the International Family Law Group said yesterday: "Gerry and Kate are very grateful for all the support and generous offers of help that they are receiving.
"Details of how contributions can be made to help get Madeleine back to the safety of her own family will be made available in the next couple of days."
The McCanns were among around ten British people who have been re-interviewed by police in recent days to clarify their statements.
This week some of the witnesses are expected to appear in court behind closed doors to record their evidence before they go back to the UK. The McCanns themselves are not expected to be asked to take part.
The procedure, known as "memory for the future", means taped statements can be shown during a future trial so the witnesses do not have to return to appear in court.
Day 15 - 18/05/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 14 - 17/05/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 13 - 16/05/2007 Wednesday
2nd - OFFICIAL WEBSITE REGISTERED AS
www.findmadeleine.com LINKED TO
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Reuters
Day 12 - 15/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 11 - 14/05/2007 Monday No Entry
Day 10 - 13/05/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 09 - 12/05/2007 Saturday
MADELEINE'S BIRTHDAY STATEMENT FROM MARK WARNER HOLIDAYS ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE MCCANN FAMILY
8am Saturday 12th of May 2007
Madeleine's 4th Birthday
Day 08 - 11/05/2007 Friday No Entry
Day 07 - 10/05/2007 Thursday No Entry
Day 06 - 09/05/2007 Wednesday
1st - OFFICIAL WEBSITE LAUNCHED AS
www.bringmadeleinehome.com
Reuters
Day 05 - 08/05/2007 Tuesday No Entry
Day 04 - 07/05/2007 Monday
Statement read by Kate McCann given today
Monday 7 May at 2pm
Day 03 - 06/05/2007 Sunday No Entry
Day 02 - 05/05/2007
Saturday No EntryDay 01 - 04/05/2007 Friday
TELEGRAPH 04-05-07- 12.01 AM
May 4th 2007 McCanns moved into apartment 4A
03.05.2007 Thursday Madeleine Beth McCann disappeared from the family Holiday apartment in Praia da Luz. Kate McCann raised the alarm at 10pm.
"Sometimes people do things for reasons that even they cannot understand."
"An act of madness, an accident or sudden impulse can lead to consequences that people may never have imagined or intended."
"Faced with such a situation we believe any human soul will ultimately suffer torment and feelings of guilt and fear."
"Faced with such a situation we believe any human soul will ultimately suffer torment and feelings of guilt and fear."
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