Gerry and Kate McCann are acknowledging a very sad day with an incredibly hopeful message. If you’re unfamiliar with their tragic story, the McCann’s are parents of three — their eldest daughter Madeleine and their younger twins Sean and Amelie. Seventeen years ago, the British family of five was on vacation at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
On May 3, 2007, Gerry and Kate decided to have dinner about 100 yards away from their room. When they returned, Madeleine — who was just shy of turning 4 — was missing.
The global search for the toddler began. The McCanns have traveled worldwide, asking people to look for their daughter. In 2020, German authorities named Christian Brückner as a suspect. Brückner — who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Portugal for rape — has denied any involvement and never been charged, per the BBC.
All these years later, despite the lack of answers and reunion they desperately want, the McCann’s continue to share hopeful messages on their site.
“It’s 17 years since Madeleine was taken from us,” they wrote on the updates section of FindMadeleine.com. “It’s hard to even say that number without shaking our heads in disbelief.”
“Whilst we are fortunate in many ways and able to live a relatively normal and enjoyable life now, the ‘living in limbo’ is still very unsettling. And the absence still aches,” they continued. “Your support continues to encourage us and bolsters our strength to keep going. We know the love and hope for Madeleine and the will to find her, even after so many years, remains, and we are truly thankful for that.”
The parents ended their post by thanking people for remembering their daughter and “all missing children.”
The McCann’s immeasurable hardship opened their eyes to the staggering — and frustratingly hard to quantify — number of children who go missing and/or are abducted each year. Meanwhile, their story is still a reminder to families and caregivers worldwide of the fact that terrible things can happen to your kids even when you’re right around the corner.
Last year, we saw parents on Reddit who wanted to make an agreement with their neighbors that if one couple wanted to go out after the kids were asleep, they would give their baby monitor to the other family to “watch” the kids. Redditors called it “an extremely terrible, dangerous idea.”
“Whenever I hear people say stuff like this I always think of Madeleine McCann,” one person said.
They think of the young girl who should be celebrating her 21st birthday with her family on May 12.
