Madeleine McCann: Family say they will never give up hope

Dec 24 2007

Kate and Gerry McCann will never give up hope in the search for missing Madeleine, a relative said today.

Kate’s aunt Janet Kennedy said their family motto of leaving no stone unturned had changed to one of never giving up hope.

She was speaking as Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39, from Rothley, Leics, endured their first Christmas without their four-year-old daughter, who went missing from the family’s holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3.

Mrs Kennedy, who lives in Rothley with her husband Brian, said: “The motto has changed. Rather than not leaving any stone unturned, it is that we never, never give up hope.

“Eight months on, we have become even more determined and resolute and it (the message) becomes that we never, never give up.

“We are still very much thinking of Madeleine and a lot of people are staying the course with us. People are showing that they are right in there with the family and that is very important.

“Kate and Gerry say that every day is a difficult day and we are just the same.”

Mrs Kennedy helped collect about 1,000 toys left for Madeleine at the village war memorial in the centre of Rothley in the months after she disappeared.

Around two-thirds of those toys have now been distributed by the charity Samaritan’s Purse to orphanages in Belarus.

The presents, which include teddy bears and dolls, have been sent to orphans in the capital Minsk and to the town of Zhodino, 30 miles away, where 86 children aged three to seven live in cramped conditions.

Many of their parents have died, become drug addicts or been sent to prison.

Mrs Kennedy said: “Once five or six toys were left by the war memorial, people came and tied more to the railings and trees. It was just overwhelming. It completely transformed the village centre.

“It became the focus for people to come from all over the country. They literally drove in to Leicestershire to leave a toy for Madeleine.

“I sent photographs to Kate and Gerry in Praia da Luz. It made them feel that contact with home. People have been so supportive and that support has not waned.

“People still come up to us, particularly at this time of year, and say their thoughts are with us.

“It’s quite amazing because sometimes people do it for the first few weeks but eight months is a long time and it has been constant.”

In July, Madeleine’s family started taking down the toys gradually so the village centre could be used for a Scout parade in August. They were then washed by local families before being sent out to Belarus in October.

Mrs Kennedy added: “We didn’t want people to feel that we had taken over the centre of the village.

“The toys were beginning to look dirty and were possibly a bit smelly and we felt that all of this could be turned into something positive.

“Kate and Gerry think it is tremendous. It helps the healing process by bringing joy to other children.

“There was a positive outcome in the middle of all this anguish and desperation. If people’s goodwill, love and concern translates into something positive, then all is not lost.

“Kate and Gerry were in no way upset that the toys were going to be taken down. It didn’t mean that we had forgotten about Madeleine at all.

“I felt that things had run their course. There comes a time when perhaps you move on. But it doesn’t mean that when you move on, you forget about Madeleine.”

Jane Simmonds, from Samaritan’s Purse, said: “These children are orphans for whatever reason and they have to go without. If they can be given a gift that is new and solely for themselves, it makes such a difference.”