The McCanns have told the twins

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Parents of Madeleine McCann tell five-year-old twins how their older sister was 'taken'

By Andy Dolan
Last updated at 10:39 AM on 28th April 2010


The parents of Madeleine McCann have told how they tried to 'gently' explain their daughter's disappearance to their younger twins.

Gerry and Kate McCann said five-year-olds Sean and Amelie were old enough now to know something was wrong in the family, and Mrs McCann said they were asking questions that needed to be answered.

She told GMTV's Lorraine Kelly: 'I think it was last year Amelie asked me, "Has Madeleine run away?"... and she said "because it's not nice to run away".
Disappointed: Gerry and Kate McCann believe police should be doing more to find their daughter

Disappointed: on the eve of the third anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, Gerry and Kate McCann say police should be doing more to solve the case

'That really upset me because I thought I don't want her to think that Madeleine is at fault. So, probably about the third time she asked when we were at home, we just explained that someone had taken Madeleine.

'But we tried to make them understand in as gentle a way as possible. It's a bit like stealing, you know? That's how the understand it.

'So they know someone has taken her and they know it is wrong.'

Mrs McCann's heartbreaking comments come on the day the couple accused British police of 'giving up' on their missing daughter.

The McCanns, both 41, spoke out just days before the third anniversary of Maddie's disappearance, urging investigators to go back to the start and review the case.

They fear their own £2million search - funded by public donations received since Maddie vanished from their Algarve holiday apartment - has stalled.
Madeleine McCann

Madeleince McCann: The couple spoke out just days before the third anniversary of her disappearance

They claim this is due to the failure of both Portuguese and UK police to investigate leads unearthed by their private investigators.

In a pre-recorded GMTV interview due to be broadcast today, Mr McCann said: 'It's not right that an innocent, vulnerable British citizen is essentially given up on. And I don't think it's right that, as parents, that we have to drive the search.'

He added: 'We need to have a proper review of all the information - that's how we will move the investigation forward.'

Mrs McCann, a GP who gave up work to concentrate on the search for Madeleine, said: 'We do this in medicine. You know, if there is a case that you don't seem to be getting the diagnosis, somebody will come in and review it. They'll go back to square one... and that's where you find out what else needs to be done and it will help point you in the right direction.'

Leicestershire Police have carried out their own inquiries, as has the taxpayer-funded Child Exploitation and On-Line Protection Centre. But neither is actively seeking the little girl.

The three-year saga has already cost UK taxpayers nearly £500,000.

The couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, said it was 'incredibly frustrating' that police in Portugal and the UK are not doing more to find Maddie, who was three when she disappeared from the holiday complex at Praia da Luz on the evening of May 3, 2007.

The McCanns were criticised for leaving the girl and their twins Sean and Amelie, then two, alone in the apartment while they dined with friends at a tapas restaurant 40 yards away.

In the latest interview, Mr McCann, a consultant cardiologist, said that if they could go back, they would not leave Maddie alone.

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justagrannynow 1 wrote: The McCanns, both 41, spoke out just days before the third anniversary of Maddie's disappearance, urging investigators to go back to the start and review the case.............


He added: 'We need to have a proper review of all the information - that's how we will move the investigation forward.'

Call it a review, investigation, whatever, I would agree that the best place to start is the beginning. By clearing up as much of the disinformation which was given out in the early days, it might just move things forward.

Let's start with the jemmied shutters. Jill Renwick and the others who reported this must be able to recall whether this was a figment of their imagination, a myth dreamed up by the media, or if someone told them.
Matthew Oldfield must be able to clarify if he entered the apartment and looked into the bedroom or listened at the window.
If Jane Tanners eyesight is so remarkable that she can distinguish the white floral pattern on the pyjamas, she should be able to do the same again in a reconstruction. That should clear up what she saw.
None of these things would be difficult to resolve, and clearing away the deadwood would make it easier to move on to the next stage thus getting nearer to either the truth or the root of the mystery of what has happened to Madeleine.

I have never understood the reluctance of the parents and their holiday friends to explain these inconsistencies. Surely it would be worth it if there was any chance that it might lead to knowing what has happened to Madeleine McCann. Blaming police corruption/incompetence/open borders etc.etc. will not find Madeleine, nor will running half marathons or inviting celebrities to anniversay dinners, but co-operating in an investigation which looks into everything from the beginning might.