- Title: Madeleine McCann's parents talk of 'stolen' time 10 years after disappearance
- Date: 30th April 2017
- Summary: PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL (FILE - MAY, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RESORT COMPLEX FROM WHERE MADELEINE MCCANN HAD VANISHED POLICE VAN BEING PARKED NEXT TO APARTMENT FROM WHERE MADELEINE HAD VANISHED / POLICE CORDONING OFF AREA PORTUGUESE POLICE SNIFFER-DOG TEAM CONDUCTING SEARCH PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL (FILE- MAY 10, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) KATE, GERRY MCCANN, PARENTS OF MADELEINE, WALKING DOWN DRIVEWAY WITH THEIR TWIN CHILDREN SEAN AND AMELIE PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL (FILE - MAY 12, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) PEOPLE LEAVING FLOWERS, TYING YELLOW RIBBONS ON FENCE TWO CHILDREN TYING FLOWER BOUQUET TO FENCE POSTER OF MADELEINE TIED TO RAILING PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL (FILE - MAY 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) MCCANNS, THEIR TWINS WALKING DOWN DRIVEWAY VATICAN (FILE - MAY 30, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) KATE, GERRY MCCANN MEETING POPE BENEDICT WHO BLESSES PHOTO OF MADELEINE PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL (FILE - SEPTEMBER 6, 2007) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) KATE, GERRY MCCANN ARRIVING AT PORTIMAO'S POLICE DEPARTMENT WHERE KATE WOULD BE QUESTIONED / GERRY GIVING KATE KISS / KATE MCCANN WALKING THROUGH LARGE CROWD OF MEDIA TOWARDS POLICE DEPARTMENT WITH FAMILY FRIEND
- Embargoed: 14th May 2017 08:55
- Keywords: missing child anniversay decade BBC Portugal Kate and Gerry Madeleine McCann
- Location: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM / PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL / VATICAN / PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL
- City: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION / UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM / PRAIA DA LUZ, PORTUGAL / VATICAN / PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice
- Reuters ID: LVA0036EL9CG7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
Almost a decade after three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished, her parents say their hope of finding their daughter is "no less than it was almost ten years ago".
McCann disappeared from her bedroom on May 3, 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal, while her parents were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant in the resort of Praia da Luz.
Despite a massive international search and media coverage which prompted reported sightings from across the globe.
London police said they were still following critical lines of inquiry but might never solve the case.
London Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said police had no definitive evidence as to whether Madeleine was alive or dead.
In the 10 years since McCann vanished, the media has suggested a host of explanations for her disappearance, ranging from a burglary gone wrong to abduction by slave traders.
Madeleine's parents were named as official suspects by Portuguese police four months after the disappearance but in 2008 were cleared. Portugal's public prosecutor later dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence.
The McCanns and friends who were with them on the night Madeleine went missing later won large payouts from newspapers over stories that they were involved. Another Briton was awarded 600,000 pounds in damages over false allegations he had abducted the girl.
The Portuguese closed their inquiry in 2008. London police launched a review of the case in 2011 after the McCanns wrote to then British Prime Minister David Cameron.
The subsequent investigation examined 600 individuals and threw up new leads, prompting Portuguese prosecutors to order the case re-opened in 2013.
Following interviews and a search of wasteland near Praia da Luz, four suspects were cleared of any involvement.
London police have spent 11 million pounds on their investigation and last month were given another 85,000 pounds for four detectives to continue for a further six months. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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