From The Times
May 27, 2007
Our nightmare: that all the children were taken
Steven Swinford in Praia da Luz.
THE parents of Madeleine McCann, the missing four-year-old, yesterday said that they were haunted by the thought that the kidnapper who snatched her could have taken their other two children as well.
Gerry McCann, 38, Madeleine’s father, said: “It could have been worse, we could have lost the twins too. There were three children in the room. That’s the worst nightmare.”
He and his wife Kate, also 38, said that they now share a bed with the twins, Sean and Amelie, aged two.
“The twins sleep in the bed with us now,” said Kate McCann. “They help us get through this.”
The couple are making arrangements for the twins to see a child psychologist this week to help to explain to them what has happened.
In a tacit acknowledgment that Madeleine may never be returned to them, Gerry McCann, a consultant cardiologist, said: “We really have to make sure it doesn’t affect the twins growing up and their normal childhood.”
In a tumult of emotions, he and his wife, a locum GP, said they were pinning their hopes that Madeleine is still alive on the fact that a large-scale hunt by the Portuguese police has failed to find her body.
It is now 24 days since she disappeared and 300 police officers with helicopters, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging equipment have combed a nine-mile radius around the resort at Praia da Luz.
Gerry McCann described what they had been going through: “If you have a bereavement it’s very, very close to what you feel like. But we don’t know she is dead. I truly believe she is still alive.
“If she was dead I think the search was so extensive they would have found something. The worst feeling is the complete helplessness.”
As it emerged that Gordon Brown has been in direct contact with the McCanns to pledge British government support, the couple are planning a “European tour” to raise Madeleine’s profile in the countries that send the most holidaymakers to the Algarve.
Gerry McCann compared the efforts to keep her picture in people’s minds as “like waging a war”. He added: “This is not a time for grieving. It’s a backs to the wall thing.”
The couple have been offered the use of the private jet of Sir Philip Green, the Topshop and Bhs billionaire, and the itinerary next month includes Seville, Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam.
The McCanns plan to meet politicians and organisers of missing people’s organisations in each city. Gerry McCann said: “The most important aspect of the campaign is making sure Madeleine’s profile and image are as well known as possible. It’s important for us to do everything to get Madeleine back.”
Brown, the prime minister in waiting, has spoken to Gerry McCann several times on the telephone and is believed to have put pressure on the Portuguese authorities to release details of a second suspect.
Yesterday the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall expressed their support for the McCann family.
Clarence House said: “The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been following the case of Madeleine McCann closely and with deep concern for the parents and fervently hope that Madeleine will be safely returned to her family as soon as possible. [Prince Charles’s] thoughts and prayers remain with Mr and Dr McCann at this very difficult time.”
Gerry McCann’s eyes welled up with tears when he was asked what would be the first thing he would do when Madeleine was returned to them.
“I think we will be having a very big hug,” he said. “Hope, strength and courage are our motto.”
The McCanns have said that the guilt of having left their three children alone on the fateful night will never leave them. They had left the patio doors to the apartment open to make it easier to check on the children while they joined friends for a meal inside the complex. Kate McCann said yesterday that she had not been able to use her camera since taking the last photograph of Madeleine.
They spoke as veteran British police officers criticised the Portuguese police for waiting until Friday to release details of a possible second suspect, in addition to Robert Murat, 33, the British businessman who has been questioned at length after volunteering to act as a translator for the police. A man aged 35 to 40 was seen carrying a child near the McCann apartment at about the time Madeleine disappeared. He is described as 5ft 10in tall, of medium build, with short hair and wearing a dark jacket, beige trousers and dark shoes.
The McCanns have known about this for three weeks but had to use the threat of legal action and British government intervention to get the information released.
Yesterday they welcomed the decision which followed an “amicable and constructive” meeting with Portuguese police chiefs.
Roy Ramm, a former Scotland Yard commander, said the failure to release information about the new suspect earlier was an “opportunity missed”. He added: “The public are an investigative tool and that tool needs to be used like any other.”
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former detective at Surrey police who worked on the Sarah Payne murder inquiry and other paedophile investigations, said: “If they had that information at the time it is staggering that they didn’t release it. How difficult must it have been for the McCanns, knowing that and not being able to say anything?”
The Portuguese police employed Murat – their only named suspect – as an official translator and trailed his movements for more than a week before taking him in for questioning, according to sources close to the investigation.
Detectives had hoped that round-the-clock monitoring of Murat would yield fresh clues about the fate of Madeleine. However, last night investigators admitted that despite extensive surveillance and questioning they still do not have enough evidence to arrest Murat.
Preliminary results of forensic tests have also failed to link him to the McCann’s apartment. He helped police to search the apartments of other holidaymakers in the same block but the McCann apartment had already been sealed off and there is no evidence that Murat had ever been inside.
A detailed reconstruction of Murat’s movements by The Sunday Times has cast further doubt over the direction of the police inquiry, particularly as his mother’s account and independent witnesses appear to corroborate his story.
On Thursday, May 3, the night of Madeleine’s disappearance, Murat claims he spent the evening sitting with his mother Jennifer in the kitchen of her villa Casa Liliana until they heard police sirens after 10pm.
Gerry McCann, 38, Madeleine’s father, said: “It could have been worse, we could have lost the twins too. There were three children in the room. That’s the worst nightmare.”
He and his wife Kate, also 38, said that they now share a bed with the twins, Sean and Amelie, aged two.
“The twins sleep in the bed with us now,” said Kate McCann. “They help us get through this.”
The couple are making arrangements for the twins to see a child psychologist this week to help to explain to them what has happened.
In a tacit acknowledgment that Madeleine may never be returned to them, Gerry McCann, a consultant cardiologist, said: “We really have to make sure it doesn’t affect the twins growing up and their normal childhood.”
In a tumult of emotions, he and his wife, a locum GP, said they were pinning their hopes that Madeleine is still alive on the fact that a large-scale hunt by the Portuguese police has failed to find her body.
It is now 24 days since she disappeared and 300 police officers with helicopters, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging equipment have combed a nine-mile radius around the resort at Praia da Luz.
Gerry McCann described what they had been going through: “If you have a bereavement it’s very, very close to what you feel like. But we don’t know she is dead. I truly believe she is still alive.
“If she was dead I think the search was so extensive they would have found something. The worst feeling is the complete helplessness.”
As it emerged that Gordon Brown has been in direct contact with the McCanns to pledge British government support, the couple are planning a “European tour” to raise Madeleine’s profile in the countries that send the most holidaymakers to the Algarve.
Gerry McCann compared the efforts to keep her picture in people’s minds as “like waging a war”. He added: “This is not a time for grieving. It’s a backs to the wall thing.”
The couple have been offered the use of the private jet of Sir Philip Green, the Topshop and Bhs billionaire, and the itinerary next month includes Seville, Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam.
The McCanns plan to meet politicians and organisers of missing people’s organisations in each city. Gerry McCann said: “The most important aspect of the campaign is making sure Madeleine’s profile and image are as well known as possible. It’s important for us to do everything to get Madeleine back.”
Brown, the prime minister in waiting, has spoken to Gerry McCann several times on the telephone and is believed to have put pressure on the Portuguese authorities to release details of a second suspect.
Yesterday the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall expressed their support for the McCann family.
Clarence House said: “The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been following the case of Madeleine McCann closely and with deep concern for the parents and fervently hope that Madeleine will be safely returned to her family as soon as possible. [Prince Charles’s] thoughts and prayers remain with Mr and Dr McCann at this very difficult time.”
Gerry McCann’s eyes welled up with tears when he was asked what would be the first thing he would do when Madeleine was returned to them.
“I think we will be having a very big hug,” he said. “Hope, strength and courage are our motto.”
The McCanns have said that the guilt of having left their three children alone on the fateful night will never leave them. They had left the patio doors to the apartment open to make it easier to check on the children while they joined friends for a meal inside the complex. Kate McCann said yesterday that she had not been able to use her camera since taking the last photograph of Madeleine.
They spoke as veteran British police officers criticised the Portuguese police for waiting until Friday to release details of a possible second suspect, in addition to Robert Murat, 33, the British businessman who has been questioned at length after volunteering to act as a translator for the police. A man aged 35 to 40 was seen carrying a child near the McCann apartment at about the time Madeleine disappeared. He is described as 5ft 10in tall, of medium build, with short hair and wearing a dark jacket, beige trousers and dark shoes.
The McCanns have known about this for three weeks but had to use the threat of legal action and British government intervention to get the information released.
Yesterday they welcomed the decision which followed an “amicable and constructive” meeting with Portuguese police chiefs.
Roy Ramm, a former Scotland Yard commander, said the failure to release information about the new suspect earlier was an “opportunity missed”. He added: “The public are an investigative tool and that tool needs to be used like any other.”
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former detective at Surrey police who worked on the Sarah Payne murder inquiry and other paedophile investigations, said: “If they had that information at the time it is staggering that they didn’t release it. How difficult must it have been for the McCanns, knowing that and not being able to say anything?”
The Portuguese police employed Murat – their only named suspect – as an official translator and trailed his movements for more than a week before taking him in for questioning, according to sources close to the investigation.
Detectives had hoped that round-the-clock monitoring of Murat would yield fresh clues about the fate of Madeleine. However, last night investigators admitted that despite extensive surveillance and questioning they still do not have enough evidence to arrest Murat.
Preliminary results of forensic tests have also failed to link him to the McCann’s apartment. He helped police to search the apartments of other holidaymakers in the same block but the McCann apartment had already been sealed off and there is no evidence that Murat had ever been inside.
A detailed reconstruction of Murat’s movements by The Sunday Times has cast further doubt over the direction of the police inquiry, particularly as his mother’s account and independent witnesses appear to corroborate his story.
On Thursday, May 3, the night of Madeleine’s disappearance, Murat claims he spent the evening sitting with his mother Jennifer in the kitchen of her villa Casa Liliana until they heard police sirens after 10pm.
