Missing - Every Year, Thousands of People Vanish Without Trace. Here are the True Stories Behind Some of These Mysteries. Rose Rouse
release information about suspects. They did finally release the description of a suspect – although they got the height wrong – and then arrested a local English expat, 33-year-old Robert Murat. Hysterical newspaper headlines followed and the house that he shared with his mother was searched and a computer removed. Despite all the speculation, he was released without charge.
On 16 May, Gerry and Kate – who had been constantly photographed and occupying front pages, whether with pictures of them running, or playing with the twins – took questions from journalists for the first time. The information that they were keen to impart was that they believed their daughter to be alive, safe, well and looked after. It was crystal-clear that the Madeleine case was receiving unprecedented coverage, serving also to highlight how little coverage there is for the hundreds of other less media-friendly cases of missing teenagers and adults. The hope was that Madeleine’s case would bring more attention to the whole issue of missing people. ‘This case has raised awareness that “missing” is a social issue that could affect every one of us,’ said Paul Tuohy, the chief executive of Missing People. ‘We hope it has changed public perceptions. We now need the public to show support for all missing people and those left behind.’
The McCanns drew enormous wells of strength from their own prayers and those of others, as well as from the support of the media and the caring messages via the internet. They visited Portugal’s most important shrine, Fatima, where there was a special prayer service for Madeleine. Kate and Gerry were showered with hugs and kisses from the hundreds of ordinary people at the shrine. So many people shared their pain and showed they care – it was almost overwhelming. They spent an hour in one of the chapels praying on their own. Afterwards, people burst into spontaneous applause. They can’t help but be touched, but the reality is it was the 20th day that their darling daughter had been missing and, despite all the phone calls to the police and the supposed sightings, she still hadn’t been found.
On 25 May, Gerry and Kate gave their first media interview. Obviously striving to control their turbulent emotions and anguish, they admitted they felt guilty that they weren’t with her when she was abducted. ‘No one will ever feel as guilty as we do,’ they confessed, adding that they were also aware that thousands of parents also leave their children in similar circumstances. They told the interviewer that Madeleine was an extroverted, vivacious and lovely little girl who they believed will be found safe and well. They also said the holiday had been idyllic before Madeleine was taken and that she’d been having great fun with her twin brother and sister. ‘She might look like Kate,’ says Gerry, ‘but in terms of personality, she is more of a McCann. She is very fiery and often a little ringleader in the nursery and with her friends.’
They also talked about how difficult it was to have little information from the police in the first 48 hours. ‘It took us back to the darkest places, where we didn’t want to be and which ultimately didn’t help us,’ said Gerry. He talked about being ‘almost non-functioning’ for that period of time, but that communication channels had opened up since then. ‘Certainly, at the moment, we are happy about how information is conveyed to us,’ he said. They also added that it had helped tremendously when they had started to take control of the publicity around the case. Again, they stressed their thanks to all the people that they didn’t know who were doing so much to help. And they urged people to get in touch with information. ‘We believe the public will hold the key,’ he said. ‘Someone knows something.’
British police from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency had received more than 500 images, which they were cross-referencing against a database of pictures of UK paedophiles. There were reports of a sighting of a little girl seen in Morocco asking when she could see her mummy, as well as those reports of the couple at a petrol station with a little blonde girl. There was information but no clear leads. Behind the scenes, there was a lot of police activity, but the McCanns were having to plan how to find Madeleine and support themselves, not to mention their families and close friends.
They were invited to go to the Vatican and have an audience with the Pope. Being such committed Catholics, they seized the chance to receive such an important blessing and reinforcement of their own faith that Madeleine was still alive. They also realised that the world coverage of them in Rome would focus fresh attention on Madeleine’s story. Gerry and Kate took Philip Green’s offer of a private jet even though they had to leave the twins for the first time. It was difficult for them to separate, although the twins were with relatives.
In the Vatican, they were seated in the front line at the service and received a personal prayer and meeting with the Pope. They were very moved by the encounter. The Pope showed recognition when he saw their faces and he said he would pray to help them sustain their hope and determination to find Madeleine. He put his hand on the photo of Madeleine. It was 30 May, 26 days after their precious daughter’s disappearance, and they needed to gather strength all the time to nurture their determination to find her. In other circumstances, they would have relished seeing the Pope in such a private way, but their agony was too much for it to be a pleasure. They did, however, receive a tremendous lift in spirits from this religious experience.
The McCanns decided to extend their campaigning plans to cover other countries. There was a distinct feeling that Madeleine would have been taken out of Portugal very quickly. They set on visiting various places where her abductors might have taken her or where people might have returned after having been on holiday in Praia da Luz and seen something of relevance without realising it. They made their minds up to go to Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Morocco in order to increase awareness and to try to find out any additional information. Gerry stressed that it was not a tour but a series of brief visits with a purpose. It was a strange case for the public, who had never witnessed parents of the missing with such enormous resources at their disposal. It felt as if the search might turn into a global media circus. However, both parents maintained a very level-headed approach throughout.
They visited Spain straight after Rome and gave a press conference urging people to download pictures of Madeleine and share any information they had. The family of a seven-year-old boy who was abducted a couple of months earlier in Gran Canaria handed the McCanns a letter of support. Encouraged by the Spanish response to their search, they returned to the Algarve and their twins feeling as though the Spanish embraced them as if they were their own countrymen.
On the day marking a month since Madeleine’s disappearance, there was a special service in Praia da Luz. Kate broke down when a young Portuguese girl kissed her on the cheek as the congregation exchanged signs of peace. The Igreja Nossa Senhora da Luz church has been their sanctuary and the place local people have shown them enormous amounts of care, concern and love. Again and again, the McCanns returned to this church for strength and the courage to carry on. ‘It is incredibly difficult not having Madeleine here,’ said Gerry, ‘as every day and week becomes a month. We still believe she is out there and alive, and we remain positive and determined that we will find her with everyone’s help.’
Madeleine’s picture was also screened during the FA Cup final to an estimated audience of 500 million. Gordon Brown wore a yellow ribbon to demonstrate his solidarity. She has also been the cover story on scores of publications, including People magazine in the USA, where Oprah Winfrey invited the McCanns to appear on her talk show.
On 5 June, they appeared on Crimewatch in the UK, holding a pair of pink pajamas adorned with pictures of Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh, clothes identical to the ones that Madeleine was wearing when she disappeared. Kate said she hoped that Madeleine had been taken by someone who was ‘sad’ as opposed to ‘bad’ and who wouldn’t harm her. Gerry went on to give a detailed description of the suspect – seen by their friend – who had been observed carrying what was thought to be a child on the night that Madeleine disappeared. The suspect was about 35 with dark hair parted at the side and longer at the back. He wore a dark jacket.
They also appeared on TV in Berlin and were asked as part of the open interview by German journalists what they thought about the fact that more people seemed to be pointing the finger at them for the abduction. Slightly incredulous, Gerry and Kate calmly defended themselves but the accusation made headlines all over the UK. They repeated that it would only take one phone call for them to find their little