Madeleine McCann's grandparents reveal their torment

Oct 24 2007

THE Liverpool grandparents of Madeleine McCann last night admitted that it was becoming harder to remain positive about finding the missing four-year-old.

In their latest interview with Spanish television, Brian and Susan Healy, from Liverpool, recalled the night her daughter called to break the news of Madeleine’s disappearance.

Mrs Healy said: “I was able to say to her ’We’ll be able to get her back’. I’m finding it harder to say that.

“But we are not going to acknowledge she has gone from our life altogether, she’s too important for that,” she said in the interview, reported in today’s Sun newspaper.

Mr Healy added: “We will keep searching.”

Madeleine's parents, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann, still believe she is alive, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said as a a 24-hour phoneline manned by private detectives was launched in a fresh attempt to find her.

He said that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the couple still believe their daughter, missing since May 3, could be alive.

He also dismissed reports that the couple had “amazed” staff at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz by their calm demeanour in the days after their daughter’s disappearance.

In an appeal on Spanish television, the McCanns will urge people in Portugal, Spain and North Africa to phone +34 902 300213 if they have any information about the four-year-old.

They are concentrating on that region because it is thought to be the area where the little girl is “most likely” to be, said Mr Mitchell.

In their first televised interview since being made official suspects in their daughter’s disappearance, the Leicestershire couple will tell viewers of the Antena 3 network that they welcome the work carried out by the new head of the police investigation, Paulo Rebelo.

“In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, Kate and Gerry firmly still believe that Madeleine could well be alive and being held somewhere,” Mr Mitchell told GMTV.

“As a result, they feel that there is someone out there who has that vital piece of information that could lead to her being discovered and brought home.”

Mr Mitchell insisted that the work of the helpline would not side-step the Portuguese police investigation into her disappearance.

He said: “We are not side-stepping anything. This in effect, is going to be a complementary structure, if you like.

“One where our own investigators are able to chase things up very quickly, follow up any potential leads, and I would stress that any credible information that comes in to the phoneline is immediately shared with the respective police forces, either in Spain, Portugal, or North Africa, depending on what the information is.

“This is not a sign of losing faith. We want this to be a collaborative exercise with the police.”

Mr Mitchell dismissed reports that Mr McCann had “stunned” hotel staff by organising a game of tennis while the hunt for Madeleine was under way.

“For nearly six months now, we have had this stream of unwarranted speculation, in many cases ill-informed rumour and downright misinterpretation of events.

“Kate and Gerry did nothing wrong in the immediate aftermath of Madeleine going missing. The only thing they did do was fight for their daughter’s return and that is what they have continued to do ever since.”