The parents of Madeleine McCann have marked the 18th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance, which occurred on May 3, 2003. Maddie, as she was affectionately known, would have celebrated her 22nd birthday in a few days, as her parents, Kate and Gerry, have reminded.
“As we reach the 18th anniversary of Madeleine’s abduction, we would like to thank everyone once again who supports us and never forgets Madeleine,” they began in a statement shared on social media dedicated to the case.
“The years seem to be passing even faster, and although we have no significant news to share, our determination to get to the bottom of the matter remains unwavering. We will do everything we can to achieve this,” they continued.
In the statement, the McCann family also noted that this month marks International Missing Children’s Day on May 25. In this context, they remember not only Maddie but all children who go missing both in the United Kingdom and around the world, as well as children displaced from war zones, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza.
Expressing gratitude for the work and efforts of the British charity Missing People, and emphasizing that resources are limited, the McCanns recalled that Maddie would have her birthday on the upcoming 12th.
“May is also Madeleine’s birthday month—she would be 22 this year. No matter how near or far she is, she is still here with us every day, but especially on her special day. We continue to ‘celebrate’ her as the very beautiful and unique person that she is. We miss her,” they concluded.
The British girl disappeared from the room where she was sleeping alongside her younger twin siblings, in an apartment of a holiday resort in Praia da Luz.
In 2023, the German Christian Brückner was named as a suspect by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the disappearance of Maddie McCann. The German’s name first appeared on the list of suspects in the abduction in June 2020.
According to authorities, Brückner is believed to have lived in the Algarve during periods between 1995 and 2007, and phone records place him in the Praia da Luz area on the day the English child disappeared.
