03 May 2023 , 08:47
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Kate and Gerry McCann say their daughter Madeleine is “still very much missed” as they mark the 16th anniversary of her disappearance.
In a post on the ‘Official Find Madeleine Campaign’ Facebook page, the couple wrote: “Still missing …. still very much missed.”
Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, added: “It is hard to find the words to convey how we feel.”
They then posted a poem by Clare Polland, titled ‘The Contradiction’, saying it “resonates strongly with us”.
The heartwrenching poem reads: "You are not here, I’m not myself, but still I talk to you like this."
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And adds: "I cannot hold you, yet I do: please let me hold you in my head and where you are now, hold me too."
Madeleine McCann vanished 16 years ago (PA)
Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal (REAL MADRID TV/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX)They ended their post by saying: “The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough.
“Thank you to everyone for your support - it really helps.”
Kate and Gerry are expected to join friends and family tonight to remember their daughter.
A prayer gathering is due to take place in their home village at 7pm.
It is not known if Madeleine’s twin siblings Sean and Amelie, now aged 18, will attend the service.
Their older sister was three when she vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
Kate and Gerry are still hoping their daughter, who would now be 19, will one day be found alive.
German paedophile Christian Brueckner has been named as the prime suspect (REX/Shutterstock)
Brueckner was living in a farmhouse close to Praia da Luz in 2007 (ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES)Her great uncle Brian Kennedy said ahead of tonight’s event: “Kate and Gerry always feel heartened by the attendance of well wishers.
“It is much appreciated that people still want to show such support.”
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German paedophile Christian Brueckner, who was living in a farmhouse close to Praia da Luz in 2007, has been named as the prime suspect.
But the 45-year-old, who is serving a jail term in his home country for raping a pensioner in Praia da Luz, denies any involvement.
Last week, he had the rape allegations against him dropped by a German court.
The suspect has not been charged in the McCann case, in which he is under investigation on suspicion of murder.
An investigation began in Germany after prosecutors there discovered "concrete evidence" of her death.
Brueckner had been charged with several sexual offences that occurred close to where Madeleine was holidaying with her family before she vanished.
Prosecutors in the northern city of Braunschweig in October charged Bruckner in several separate cases involving sexual offences allegedly committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.