Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Police handout
Topics: Madeleine McCann, UK News
Dominic Smithers
Kate and Gerry McCann have released a statement to mark the 15th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance.
Madeleine was just three years old when she vanished from her family's apartment at a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.
The couple have since dedicated their lives to trying to find her but have so far been unable to do so.
Tomorrow (3 May) will mark 15 years since Maddie disappeared.
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In a statement shared by the couple, Kate and Gerry thanked everyone who has supported them over the years.
They said: "This year we mark fifteen years since we last saw Madeleine. It feels no harder than any other but no easier either. It’s a very long time.
"Many people talk about the need for ‘closure’. It’s always felt a strange term. Regardless of outcome, Madeleine will always be our daughter and a truly horrific crime has been committed. These things will remain.
"It is true though that uncertainty creates weakness; knowledge and certainty give strength, and for this reason our need for answers, for the truth, is essential.
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"We are grateful for the ongoing work and commitment of the UK, Portuguese and German authorities as it is this combined police effort which will yield results and bring us those answers.
"As always, we would like to thank all of our supporters for their continued good wishes and support. It is a huge comfort to know that regardless of time passed, Madeleine is still in people’s hearts and minds. Thank you."
This comes after German police said their prime suspect in the case has not given them an alibi.
Christian Brueckner, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in 2005, was officially named as a suspect in the notorious disappearance case last week.
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The 45-year-old German prisoner was unofficially attached to the crime in 2020 after the discovery of phone records that placed him in Praia da Luz on the night of her disappearance in 2007.
In an upcoming three-part documentary, Madeleine McCann: Prime Suspect, Brueckner communicated with British investigator Mark Williams-Thomas from his prison cell in Oldenburg, northwest Germany, where he provided an alleged alibi.
Speaking to The Sun, the former detective said: "We have since been in contact at length in writing and he has explained his position to me in detail.
"He has told me exactly where he was on the night Madeleine disappeared – and that he was not where the police say he was. He also insists that he is entirely innocent.
However, local authorities have since told the publication that they’ve not been told of any alibi, suggesting Brueckner is ‘playing games’ with them.
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German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: "We’re not aware of any alibi at all."