Missing - Every Year, Thousands of People Vanish Without Trace. Here are the True Stories Behind Some of These Mysteries. Rose Rouse
child – the story hit us at an emotional level that we can’t rationalise away. It encapsulates all our very worst fears.
The McCanns fell into uncharted waters where shock, anguish, fear and guilt were all horribly present. Somehow they managed to function throughout the terrible time. Both parents talked about their terror and despair. ‘The worst feeling was helplessness and being completely out of control of anything in terms of getting Madeleine back,’ Gerry explains. However, Gerry and Kate managed to garner ‘some strength from somewhere’.
Close relatives flew in to support them, including Madeleine’s godmothers and Kate’s parents, and they started to get thousands of messages of support from people – people that they didn’t know, but who cared passionately about their plight. People everywhere took the McCanns into their hearts and poured out feelings of love and empathy. This incredible support was to give the McCanns the strength to stay positive when it would have been so easy to sink into the mire of hopelessness. Of course, they knew that they had stay strong for the twins, plus they were practising Catholics so they drew hugely upon their faith for support too. The church nearby, Nossa Senhora da Luz, became a sanctuary for them and a place where the local community in Praia da Luz could show them love and support as well.
In those first few days, Gerry and Kate appeared on TV to make a brief but heartbreaking appeal to whoever had stolen Madeleine from them. Looking tired and emotionally drained, Kate sat by her husband as he said, ‘We would like to say a few words to the person who is with our Madeleine or has been with her. Madeleine is a bright, sunny and caring little girl. She is so special. Please, please do not hurt her. Please do not scare her. Please let us know where to find her or put her in a place of safety and tell somebody about it. We beg you to let Madeleine come home. We need our Madeleine. Sean and Amelie need Madeleine and she needs us. Please give our little girl back. Por favor, devolva a nossa menina.’
Family liaison officers from Leicestershire Police flew out to Portugal. Criticism was levelled at the Portuguese police by Madeleine’s aunt, Philomena, or Phil, who was Gerry’s sister and worked as a teacher. Phil was incensed that the police there seemed to have initially played down the disappearance and hadn’t released any details of a suspect. It transpired later that one of the McCann’s holiday companions actually saw a man carrying something that seemed to be a child on the evening of Madeleine’s abduction, but nothing had been done about it. The Portuguese system of investigation works in a completely different way. In the UK, the police give out as much information as possible in order to recover children quickly. Portuguese police have to abide by their country’s law of judicial secrecy, which means virtually no information can be released without risk of jeopardising a trial. This was very frustrating for the McCann family. Days afterwards, Gerry referred to the ‘void of information’ during the initial period as being very painful for them. There also started to be intimations in the press around this time that this could be an abduction by a paedophile ring.
On Sunday, 6 May, there was a Mother’s Day service at the local church and Kate broke down as she expressed her gratitude for the community’s support. On the Monday, the Portuguese press reported that the abductors were suspected to be British, then later on the police gave a press conference in which they said Madeleine was being held locally. There were requests for photographs from tourists who might have snapped Madeleine. A couple were reported to have been seen at a petrol station with a blonde girl.
Five days had passed since Madeleine had gone missing and more and more people were becoming involved. In her home village back in Leicestershire, people held a silent vigil with prayers for her safe return, and football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo made a TV appeal. Lots of supposed sightings of Madeleine were coming in and the British ambassador defended the Portuguese police’s investigation. After a few days, local searches in the surrounding countryside were wound down so that the investigation could focus on finding suspects. Trauma counsellors were flown out by the holiday company, Mark Warner.
Somehow the McCanns found fortitude and determination in the middle of the chaos. They decided to take charge of the huge media interest in a way which would really help them find Madeleine. They made up their minds that they had to stay positive so that they could get the best results. There was a distinct change in their approach and the change came about because Madeleine had not yet been found. The McCanns became focused on keeping their daughter in the news in the belief that this would increase the likelihood that she would be found. They were desperate, but they channelled their desperation into positive action.
This was something quite new. People in this kind of turmoil usually retreat behind closed doors, feeling too vulnerable to let their intense emotions be on show for the media. The McCanns courageously turned the standard approach on its head. Kate appeared again and again looking wan and distraught, always clutching Madeleine’s distinctive cuddly toy cat. She looked as though she was in another universe and she was. They allowed camera crews to follow them around because their mission was to keep their daughter in the headlines in order to find her. There was some criticism of them leaving their children alone but the media were mostly kind and more than willing to participate.
On 11 May, Gerry stated that their intention was ‘to leave no stone unturned’ in their search for their daughter. The quote headed their official website, www.findmadeleine.com, which went on to attract over 100 million hits within a few weeks. Every parent identified with their desire to find their daughter safe and well. And with their intention to do everything possible to make that happen. David Beckham made a television appeal: ‘If you have seen this little girl, please get in touch with the local authorities or police with any genuine information.’
Madeleine’s fourth birthday fell nine days after she was snatched from her bed. The evening before there was a poignant late-night vigil in the local church, with 300 people showing their support. The next day, the McCanns took the opportunity to ask everyone to redouble their efforts. Gerry also acknowledged the offers of support being made daily and said it was this ‘that keeps us strong and gives us hope. On Madeleine’s birthday, please keep looking, please keep praying, please help to bring Madeleine home.’ In Leicestershire, pink balloons were released in her honour, while in Portugal her parents took time privately with their twins to mark this special and tragic day. They had bought Madeleine a green doll – green being the colour that symbolises hope in Portugal. Every day, the McCanns could be seen wearing green and yellow somewhere; often, it was Kate’s hair ribbons and Gerry’s wristbands. They wanted the world to see they were making a demonstration of their feelings of hope.
Friend and fitness instructor Nicola Gill told the press that the McCann’s two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie blew kisses at the TV when they saw their sister’s face. They were too young to know what was going on but they’d noticed that Madeleine wasn’t around. They’d been told that she’d gone on a little trip. It also became apparent that the McCanns were not thinking of returning to England in the near future. ‘Today, Madeleine’s birthday, was their hardest day,’ says Nicola Gill. ‘They are not coming home unless Maddy is with them.’
Madeleine’s aunt, Philomena, had the brilliant idea of making a poster that could be downloaded from the internet. Ideas on increasing awareness about the abduction were coming in all the time. Much was made of Madeleine’s right eye, in which the black pupil runs into the blue-green iris. It was a distinctive feature clearly visible in photographs and appears on the website and posters. ‘We want to make the most of it,’ said her mother. ‘We know her hair could be cut or dyed.’
Her birthday emphasised the enormity of their loss, but offers of help kept arriving. Billionaire businessman Philip Green offered the use of his private jet plus money. A reward totalling £2.5 million was offered for information leading to her safe return, with Richard Branson, author JK Rowling and Simon Cowell among those contributing. Lawyers flew over from the UK and a fighting fund was started as well. Leicestershire locals tied yellow ribbons and soft toys to the railings of the war memorial in the McCanns’ home village of Rothley. This was a spontaneous outpouring of care and concern for Madeleine and the family. The war memorial was a sea of yellow and, comically in this anguish, a giant rabbit reigned over this mass show of support.
Even incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown