'Still hope' for missing Madeleine: family

Services marking 10 years since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have been held in the UK and Portugal as her family remain hopeful she'll be found.

Madeleine McCann's family say they "miss her every second" as they reflect on 10 years of "stolen time" without her.

A letter sent by her mother Kate was read at a church service at Praia de Luz in the southern Portugese region where the three-year-old was last seen a decade ago.

"Ten years without Madeleine. If I'd let that thought even enter my head back in May 2007, I wouldn't have lasted another day," it read..

"And now, a decade on... it is still inconceivable. How can it be?

"Our little girl who brought us the gift of parenthood. Ten years on. We miss her every second."

British detectives working on the case revealed recently that they were pursuing a "significant" line of inquiry, with information received on a daily basis.

Jenny Murat, who lives near the Ocean Club complex where Madeleine was last seen, revealed she had seen a car driving towards the McCanns' apartment.

"I saw the driver, I was beside the driver. Both of us looked at each other. I think he had a very British look about him," he said.

Kate and Gerry McCann and about 200 people attended a service at their local village church in Leicestershire on Wednesday.

Inside the church, photographs of Madeleine and other loved ones who have disappeared were displayed, with messages attached to yellow ribbons.

The service, led by the Rev Rob Gladstone, began with Cat Stevens' rendition of Morning Has Broken and included tea lights being lit for missing children.

A special assembly was held at Rothley School to pray for Madeleine and other missing children, with new ribbons tied to the Tree of Hope which was planted in 2007.

People have said prayers for Madeleine at the church in Praia da Luz in Algarve every week since her disappearance.

The service on Wednesday attended by about 40 people including those who helped search for Madeleine, took place at 9pm - about the time she disappeared.

Appeal posters and T-shirts were placed near the altar of the medieval church, along with candles that were lit throughout the service.

Kate McCann wrote a letter to the people of Praia da Luz on May 3, exactly a decade after she vanished.

Members of the congregation at the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz wept as the letter was read at a special service.

Outside the church, wellwishers had left flowers, a card with a photograph of Madeleine on a heart made of rocks and a teddy bear with a yellow ribbon bearing her name.

At sunset, 10 balloons to mark the 10th anniversary were released on the beach at Praia da Luz.

A pink balloon was also tied to the gate of apartment 5A of the Ocean Club resort, where Madeleine vanished while her parents ate supper nearby.


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3 min read
Published 4 May 2017 8:16pm
Source: AAP

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