NETHERLANDS: The parents of missing child Madeleine McCann visit Amsterdam to raise awareness about their daughter

Record ID: 513127

  • Title: NETHERLANDS: The parents of missing child Madeleine McCann visit Amsterdam to raise awareness about their daughter
  • Date: 8th June 2007
  • Summary: (W3) AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (JUNE 7, 2007) (REUTERS) VAN WITH MCCANNS ARRIVING AT THE HILTON HOTEL MCCANNS EXITING THE VEHICLE
  • Embargoed: 23rd June 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Reuters ID: LVA635N1TH52DUB7CBF85N0ZVRZ7
  • Story Text: The parents of missing child Madeleine McCann visit Amsterdam to raise awareness about their daughter. Portugal, where Madeleine was abducted, is a popular holiday destination with Dutch tourists.
    The parents of Madeleine McCann visited Amsterdam on Thursday (June 7) to search for clues of their abducted daughter. It was their first time there since 2004, when they lived in the city for a year.
    Dutch, German and British tourists make up about 90 percent of all the foreign visitors to the Algarve where Madeleine went missing from the family's holiday apartment five weeks ago. The news conference on Thursday was to raise awareness in the hope a Dutch tourist might have some information.
    "This decision to come to Berlin and Amsterdam and also the trip to Madrid which we have done, had very specific focuses and we believe that by doing what we have done it increases our chances of finding Madeleine and that is why we are doing it," Gerry McCann said.
    If Madeleine is not found in the next few days, their next stop will be Morocco, where there was a reported sighting of the four-year-old,
    "The reason we did not go straight to Morocco is that when a sighting comes in, Interpol are alerted and they direct the inquiries," said Madeleine's father.
    It emerged on Thursday that a mystery phone call to the Portuguese police from a man claiming to know the whereabouts of missing Madeleine McCann could provide a new lead in the case.
    The couple were informed of the potential development while in Germany, where they were appealing for information about their four-year-old child before flying to Amsterdam.
    The caller did not reveal his identity or nationality, but the information was considered important enough to alert the McCanns. The couple nearly changed their plan to fly on to the Netherlands, but all efforts to re-establish contact with the caller failed.
    The McCanns response to their daughter's abduction has come under greater scrutiny in recent days. When asked repeatedly at the news conference on Thursday about their involvement in her abduction, Gerry McCann said,"We are not involved. No one I know thinks we were involved. We are doing the best for Madeleine. I don't want to spend time talking about press conferences, I want to spend time talking about investigation."
    But Kate McCann said she could understand why people might question their course of action, "You just don't know how you behave. We didn't know we'd be able to come and publicise it you know, but, we've got strength from somewhere and we believe it's vitally important. I can understand people when they say - how can they do that? - because I would have," she told journalists.
    Madeleine's father said at the end of the news conference that he hoped their plight raised awareness of other missing children and child exploitation, "I have to say I don't think we were very aware of (this), before this happened to us," said McCann.
    It is 35 days since Madeleine was abducted from her bed in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.
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