Day 720: 22/04/2009 Wednesday. Madeleine Beth McCann

APRIL 2009
Day 720: 22/04/2009 Wednesday. Madeleine Beth McCann 

 

Day Gerry used Thursday 22 April 2009   

It has been an incredibly busy couple of months. We have been working on 2 main areas: appeals for new information and awareness raising.

 

The appeal for new information was launched with a local campaign in and around Praia da Luz starting at the end of March. We have had leaflets delivered to local households as well as A-vans, buses and billboards with posters in Portuguese asking for people with information to come forward. The message is that we must not give up on Madeleine and that if someone knows something, it is not too late to do the right thing. 

 

The second aspect of the new appeals is a reconstruction of key sightings and other information from within the files that may generate new leads. These were decided by our senior detective, and will appear in a documentary, which will be screened in the UK by Channel Four on May 7th.  This involved filming in and around the site from where Madeleine was taken. We had hoped to do the filming quietly but it did generate a large amount of media attention and I apologised to the local people for this unfortunate disruption.

 

It is likely that the programme will be screened in Portugal and other European countries and we are very hopeful that this will generate new leads. Since the case has officially closed, it is vital for Kate and me that we continue to try and discover new information that may help us find Madeleine.

 

In conjunction with the fresh appeals will be continued awareness raising. Although Madeleine disappeared in Portugal she could have been moved out of the country very easily and at this time she could be anywhere in the world. As it is almost 2 years since Madeleine was kidnapped we will also be launching a new 'age progression' photograph. This has been produced by graphics experts at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the USA. We will be visiting NCMEC this week and then appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show to promote this new image. The Oprah show is broadcast in over 100 countries worldwide and will ensure the new image is disseminated as widely as possible. The poster will be available to download in the support section in the near future.

 

Finally we would like to thank you all for the continuing support in the ongoing search for Madeleine ' including all the kind messages and thoughts sent for Mother's Day and Easter. It all helps 'thank you!

 

We must never give up on Madeleine. 

Gerry