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

Day 528: 12/10/2008 Sunday. Madeleine Beth McCann

OCTOBER 2008

Day 528: 12/10/2008 Sunday. Madeleine Beth McCann  

 

First of all I want to apologise for not updating this blog for so long. I would like to assure everyone that this gap is not because there is little going on in the search for Madeleine. On the contrary, Kate and I have been incredibly busy over the last couple of months since the PJ files were made public. We and our family have always vowed to leave no stone unturned in the search for our daughter and knowing exactly what has been done and, more importantly, what has not been done is vital in planning our future strategy.

 

Getting the files translated accurately is a time consuming and expensive process but essential to our search. There is a huge amount of information contained within the files which we have not been party to until now and this needs to be assessed carefully. This is even more important as the Portuguese investigation is officially closed.

 

In some ways, although this task is monumental, it has been good for us doing being something active and positive which we believe may help find Madeleine. We are also using this period to get advice to maximise our effectiveness and efficiency in our overall strategy going forward. Keeping Madeleine's image in the public eye will continue to be important and the distribution of posters is central to that aim.

 

Many people have also asked us what is happening with the Amber alert after the successful adoption of the written declaration by the European Parliament. It has been relatively quiet due to the summer recess but hopefully the momentum gained, added to the desire of the European Commission to for an Amber Alert system, will affect change in the near future.

 

Finally we would like to thank everyone for their continued, support, prayers and letters.

I promise to do another update in the near future. We will be looking at how the website functions, as the main portal of the find Madeleine campaign, and perhaps future updates will be via another route rather than my blog. Why don't you let us know what you think by e-mail messages of support'

 

Day 469: 14/08/2008 Thursday. Madeleine Beth McCann

AUGUST 2008

Day 469: 14/08/2008 Thursday. Madeleine Beth McCann

Investigation files

 

It is over 3 weeks since we learned that the Portuguese authorities had closed the investigation to find Madeleine, lifted our arguido status and ended judicial secrecy. We were surprised that copies of investigation files were given to the media. The content of these files has been extensively reported. It will be clear to everyone now, that there is absolutely no evidence that suggests Madeleine has been seriously harmed. Knowing this, we strongly believe that Madeleine is out there and can be found.

 

Of course whoever is responsible for Madeleine's abduction must, and can be, found to prevent them from putting another child and family through the misery we have suffered. We have always believed that this heinous crime could be solved with the help of the public.

Our investigators continue to explore credible leads and will continue to do so as long as Madeleine is missing. Now that the authorities are no longer looking for Madeleine we implore everyone who has provided information to the enquiry to contact us at investigation@findmadeleine.com or on + 44 (0)845 838 4699. We will guarantee that all information will be treated in the strictest confidence. You can help us find Madeleine.