The campaign reaches Berlin, where the McCanns are visibly disturbed by a question from Sabina Mueller, a reporter from German Radio.
When asked what message they would give to Madeleine, there was a long silence before Mrs McCann said quietly: "She knows we love her."
- Daily Mail, 07 June 2007
Berlin, 05 June 2007 - 06 June 2007
Date: 05 June 2007
Brief overview of events
Before leaving for northern Europe, the McCanns have a meeting with police detectives at the British Consulate in Portimão.
Sources said the Tuesday meeting was in line with similar briefings given by police in the past, but "within the bounds of Portuguese secrecy laws". The source added that "nothing new" was disclosed during the meeting.
British Consul Bill Henderson told The Portugal News that the Consulate served "as a facilitator" and was providing constant "consular assistance" to the McCanns.
Kate's parents arrive and they spend a few hours together before Kate and Gerry head off to Berlin.
Date: 06 June 2007
Brief overview of events
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, hold hands before a news conference in Berlin in June 2007. Photograph: Alex Grimm/Reuters
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann, hold hands before a news conference in Berlin in June 2007. Photograph: Alex Grimm/Reuters
At the press conference in Berlin, a German reporter asks the McCanns how they feel about the fact that "more and more people seem to be pointing the finger" at them.
Kate and Gerry's exit from Berlin is delayed when the Portugese police say they have received some information that they need to be consult the McCanns on. It means they arrive in Amsterdam 3 hours late and miss 2 TV programmes - Gerry later dismisses the information as being 'nothing of interest'.
Gerry's blogs
04 Jun 2007
Busier day today with travel arrangements for Berlin and Amsterdam finalised. Leaving tomorrow night and coming back Thurs afternoon. It will be a very busy schedule similar to Madrid. On Thurs night there is a music festival in aid of Madeleine in nearby Lagos which we will be attending. Tonigh, we were interviewed for Crimeatch which will be shown on BBC1 tomorrow night. This was a very good opportunity to recap on all the information which is in the public domain and re-emphasise the appeal, especially since the description of a suspect seen carrying a child was released by the Portuguese police after the initial British appeal. As well as some reports from Crimewatch, you may see a picture of me in a green and yellow find Madeleine t-shirt in tomorrow's paper. The t-shirts were brought over by Phil and later on I thought better about wearing it around the resort she was taken from. I am sure all the people who have chosen to continue their holliday here, rather than take an alternative location, know about Madeleine’s disappearance and don’t need a further reminder.
05 Jun 2007
Met with the Portuguese Police today. It is good to talk face to face especially with so much speculation in the media. Kates parents arrived today to see the kids and us. We managed to spend a couple of hours with them before heading off for Berlin. I had completely forgotten that it is my birthday today, it is anything but a happy one. However Sean and Amelie made me a birthday card on behalf of them and Madeleine and Trisha made a fruit flan. We sang happy birthday and blew the candles out together which Sean and Amelie really enjoyed. They were really happy to see Grandma and Grandad, whom they are used to seeing every few weeks in England. Kates parents have been a huge help to us, especially since the twins were born, often driving down to Leicestershire for the weekend to help with the kids. This has been really important when I have been on-call at weekends and Kate would have been left looking after the three of them on her own. Trisha would often fly down to help when she had a few days off or when her and Sandy were en route to Cambridge. It makes us feel better knowing that we are leaving Sean and Amelie with very close loved ones whilst we are away on this short trip to appeal for further information and raise awareness of Madeleine's disappearance. Arrived in Berlin. Another busy programme tomorrow with TV, press, and politicians to see and then straight on to Amsterdam for more of the same. It all helps in the search for Madeleine.
06 Jun 2007
Today seemed to go very well with huge interest in our search for Madeleine. There has also been a little bit of criticism in the German press about the amount of media coverage but this did not seem to diminish the level of interest. The German interviewers are a little more direct with their questions but I was still surprised by the question as to whether Kate and I may be involved in Madeleine's abduction! Hopefully our answers removed any doubt on that score and that our sole focus in all of the family campaigning is to get Madeleine back. After the media we met with a couple of politicians in private. Firstly, we saw the deputy justice minister for Germany who gave us reassurances regarding the investigation. Following this we met the Mayor of Berlin who is a very powerful and charismatic politician. He asked us what he could do for us and following this meeting asked German tourists who were in the Algarve around the time of Madeleine's abduction to come forward. He is very popular and such public backing should help our appeal. We had to delay our onward flight to Amsterdam because of some information received by the police, which we needed to be consulted on. We diverted to the embassy in Berlin but it turned out to be nothing of interest. We unfortunately had to miss 2 TV programmes as we arrived in Amsterdam 3 hours late, very tired and emotionally drained. We did manage to catch up with a few friends briefly who we know from the year we lived in Amsterdam. They have been actively campaigning here on our behalf with poster distribution, contacting media and liasing with companies to get advertising space for large posters of Madeleine.
Kate's diary
05 Jun 2007
Woke up relatively late again, around 7.30am, with a good morning wake-up call from S and A. Adorable!! I just wish it had been all three of them that came into the room. After a shower and breakfast, I took S and A to the Kids' Club. I asked if they could make birthday cards for their Grandma and Gerry—today is his birthday but I had forgotten which is not surprising!
Press Reports
Maddie's parents to fly to Berlin The Sun (No longer available online)
Published: 04 June 2007
GERRY and Kate McCann will push forward their appeal to find missing daughter Madeleine by jetting to Berlin tomorrow.
The McCanns will fly in a private jet which has been offered by an anonymous donor for the trip.
On Wednesday - the same day as the G8 meeting convenes - they plan to meet political figures and hold a press conference before flying on to Amsterdam.
And after a series of interviews on Thursday, they will fly back to the Algarve in time for a jazz concert in their daughter's name in Lagos.
The couple have decided not to take twins Sean and Amelie with them, even though they will be away for two nights.
Their family spokesman said the children would stay with Mr McCann's sister Trish Cameron and her husband Sandy, as they have done for the past two trips.
Plans are being put in place for a final trip to Rabat in Morocco, possibly as soon as Sunday.
The couple feel Morocco is an important place to go because of its proximity to Portugal and the country has surfaced repeatedly in the hunt for Madeleine, with a reported sighting of a little girl seen with a couple.
The stress of searching for their missing daughter has left dad Gerry with no idea of time - even forgetting his own birthday.
The consultant cardiologist turns 39 tomorrow but as he and Kate desperately cling to the hope that Madeleine is safe, the family has put everyday life on hold.
Gerry said: "Frankly, I had forgotten it was my birthday, it is insignificant as far I am concerned.
"I cannot even think about it."
Meanwhile, Madeleine's abduction is likely to feature on Crimewatch, a family spokesman said today.
It is hoped that an appeal will be made on the BBC1 programme tomorrow night at 9pm.
The parents of Madeleine McCann on claims about their behaviour BBC News Video (No longer available online)
06 June 2007
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have denied involvement in her abduction when questioned by a German journalist.
06 June 2007
Transcript by Nigel Moore
Sabina Mueller: Sabina Mueller, German radio. How do you deal with the fact that more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you, saying the way you behave is not the way people would normally behave if their child is abducted; and they seem to imply that you might have something to do with it?
Kate McCann: (inaudible aside to Gerry) To be honest, I don't actually think that is the case. I think that's a very small minority of people that are criticising us. Errm... you know, the facts are out there; we were dining very close to the children and we were checking on them very, very regularly. Errm... you know, we are very responsible parents and we love our children so much and I think it's only a very few people that are actually, errm... criticising us.
Gerry McCann: I have never heard before that, errr... anyone considers us suspects in this and, errm... the Portuguese police certainly don't. And, errm... without going into too much detail, errr... about the circumstances, we were with a large group of people, errm... and, you know, there is absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction. I would like to point out that the people who are important to us... (deep breath) I'll go back one step... I can understand why people are amazed at what Kate and I are doing and, if, before this happened to us we would have been amazed and I'm sure everyone in this room has asked yourself how, when your daughter, that we love so much, has been taken can you continue to function. And in the first two or three days, it was... we were almost non-functional and one of the worst feelings - along with the terror, and the anguish and the despair - was helplessness. And when we tried to, errr... influence things and... by raising awareness, which we were advised... and everything we have done has been by taking counsel from experts around us. But we were advised that generally raising awareness of a disappearance will help in the search for that person. It helped Kate and I and we have taken strength, not just from the people who have supported us, but we have taken strength ourselves by being active in the search. And, I think, you know, if we had, for example, stayed in doors, locked ourselves away and just waited and waited and waited for a month, we would be shells of the people we are.
McCanns defend tour around Europe BBC News
06 June 2007
Last Updated: Wednesday, 6 June 2007, 12:22 GMT 13:22 UK
The parents of Madeleine McCann have said their trip around Europe to raise awareness of their missing daughter is their way of taking positive action.
Gerry McCann said that if the couple had simply "stayed indoors" then they would "be shells of the people we are".
Mr McCann was speaking in Berlin, where he and his wife Kate are seeking information about the four-year-old abducted in the Algarve 34 days ago.
Earlier Mr McCann said Madeleine is "more likely" to be alive than dead.
The couple have already been to Rome to speak with the Pope about their daughter.
"If we had, for example, stayed indoors, locked ourselves away and waited, and waited, and waited, for a month, we would be shells of the people we are," said Mr McCann.
"I can understand why people are amazed at what Kate and I are doing. Before this happened to us, we would have been amazed.
"I am sure everyone in this room has asked themselves how, when our daughter whom we love so much is missing, can we continue to function?
"In the first two or three days we were almost non-functional and one of the worst feelings of all - along with the terror, the anguish and the despair - was helplessness."
Intense days
Earlier Mr McCann said that the couple were sure Madeleine is still alive.
"There is an absence of evidence to the contrary," he said.
During one of Wednesday's press conferences, Sabina Mueller from German Radio asked how the couple felt about the fact that "more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you, saying the way you behave is not the way people would normally behave when their child is abducted and they seem to imply that you might have something to do with it".
Mrs McCann replied: "To be honest, I don't actually think that is the case. I think that is a very small minority of people that are criticising us.
"I have never heard before that anyone considers us suspects in this and the Portuguese police certainly don't.
Mr McCann said: "Without going into too much detail, we were with a large group of people, and you know there is absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction."
During the conference Mrs McCann also said that the trips around Europe were "not easy".
She said: "A day like today is very intense but it is actually just one day. We do have a lot of time back with the children, Sean and Amelie.
"We are doing this for a purpose, to try and find our daughter and to try and get Madeleine back - that is very important to us and Madeleine."
'Positive thinking'
The couple are spending less than 24 hours in Germany before flying to the Netherlands, where they lived in 2004. They flew to the German capital on a private jet on Tuesday night.
The couple were also featured in an appeal for information on BBC One's Crimewatch.
It is thought Madeleine was snatched from the family's apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May while her parents were at a nearby restaurant.
Portugal is a popular destination for German tourists, and the couple hope someone may have some useful information which could help the police investigation.
Mrs McCann, wearing green and yellow ribbons tied to her waist, said: "There has been a lot of speculation and it is hard not to think the worst.
"But as time goes on and there still isn't any news, we have to think positively."
Mrs McCann dismissed criticism the couple were courting too much publicity in the search for their daughter.
"We have got to feel happy that we have done absolutely everything we can to get our daughter back - I don't think any parent would be critical of that."
During their visit to Berlin, Mr and Mrs McCann will meet British ambassador Sir Peter Torry, Germany's Deputy Justice Minister Lutz Diwell and the colourful Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit.
They then go straight on to Amsterdam where the couple lived in 2004, leaving when Madeleine was just a year old and Mrs McCann was pregnant with twins Sean and Amelie, who are now two.
This will be the first time they have gone back and they expect it to be a highly emotional visit.
Friends in the Netherlands have been working behind the scenes since Madeleine was taken and 500 billboards bearing her face are being put together ahead of the trip.
After further interviews on Wednesday, they will fly back to the Algarve in time for a jazz concert in their daughter's name in Lagos.
The couple left Sean and Amelie at the family's holiday apartment in Portugal with Mr McCann's sister Trish Cameron and her husband Sandy.
In the Crimewatch appeal, Mrs McCann, 38, held up a light-pink pyjama top with capped sleeves and a picture on it of the cartoon character Eeyore, who is curled up with the words "Sleepy Eeyore" written underneath.
She also produced white cotton pyjama bottoms, covered with small flowers and carrying another Eeyore motif on the right leg.
The pyjamas are identical to those Madeleine was wearing when she disappeared and belong to Amelie.
Suspicious timing
Mr McCann, who turned 39 on Tuesday, gave a detailed description of a suspect seen carrying what was thought to be a child on the night Madeleine disappeared.
He said the man was approximately 35 years old, about 5ft 8in or 5ft 9in tall and had dark hair, which was parted at the side and slightly longer at the back.
He said the man was wearing a dark jacket slightly longer than a suit, beige trousers and dark shoes.
Asked if he thought the man had taken Madeleine, he said they were: "suspicious of the timing and that person needs to be eliminated from the investigation".
He also urged people to hand in any pictures taken around the time Madeleine vanished at Praia da Luz with strangers in the background.
The McCanns are also expected to make a trip to Morocco, a country which has been linked to the case because of a reported sighting of Madeleine there.
German media accuse Kate and Gerry Daily Mirror
06 June 2007
THE stunned parents of Madeleine McCann looked appalled when a radio reporter today asked if they had anything to do with their four-year-olds abduction.
Kate and Gerry McCann, in Germany to highlight the search for missing Madeleine, were forced to deny any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance.
German Radio reporter Sabine Mueller asked pointedly: "How do you feel about the fact that more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you, saying the way you behave is not the way people would normally behave when their child is abducted and they seem to imply that you might have something to do with it?"
Horrified Mrs McCann replied: "To be honest, I don't actually think that is the case. I think that is a very small minority of people that are criticising us.
"The facts are that we were dining very close to the children and we were checking them very, very regularly.
"You know, we are very responsible parents and we love our children so much and I think it is only a very few people that are actually criticising us."
Shocked Gerry, his voice shaking with emotion, added: "I have never heard before that anyone considers us suspects in this and the Portuguese police certainly don't.
"Without going into too much detail, we were with a large group of people, and you know there is absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction."
The couple are in Berlin to try to raise awareness of Madeleine's kidnap 34 days after she was taken from the Algarve town of Praia da Luz.
German media shock McCanns The Sun (No longer available online)
06 June 2007
New appeal ... McCanns in Germany this morning
By ONLINE REPORTER
Published: 06 Jun 2007
GERRY and Kate McCann were stunned today when they were asked if they were involved in their daughter Madeleine's dissappearance by German media.
During a press conference, Sabina Mueller from German Radio asked: "How do you feel about the fact that more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you, saying the way you behave is not the way people would normally behave when their child is abducted and they seem to imply that you might have something to do with it?"
Speaking during a day-trip to Germany as part of their search for the youngster, Gerry McCann said: "There is absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction.
"I can understand why people are amazed at what Kate and I are doing. In the first two or three days we were almost non-functional but one of the worst feelings, among fear and terror, was helplessness.
"I have never heard before that anyone considers us suspects in this and the Portuguese police certainly don't."
Wife Kate added: "To be honest, I don't actually think that is the case. I think that is a very small minority of people that are criticising us.
"The facts are that we were dining very close to the children and we were checking them very, very regularly.
"You know, we are very responsible parents and we love our children so much and I think it is only a very few people that are actually criticising us."
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, made the trip to appeal for information from German holidaymakers in Portugal's Praia da Luz on May 3.
They urged them to check their holiday snaps for images of a male suspect who was seen carrying a child near to the resort.
The man is thought to be 35, 1m75 tall, dark hair and wore a dark jacket, a light coloured trousers, and dark shoes.
"He was seen carrying a child shortly before Madeleine was discovered abducted," he said.
The couple insisted their daughter was more likely to be alive than dead - 34 days after she vanished in the Algarve.
Gerry said: "We have got to keep going, we believe she is alive. There is an absence of evidence to the contrary.
"We think it is more likely that she is alive than not alive."
Kate, wearing green and yellow ribbons tied to her waist, added: "There has been a lot of speculation and it is hard not to think the worst.
"But as time goes on and there still isn't any news, we have to think positively.
"The chances of this happening is effectively more than 100 million to one - the chances of a good outcome have to be at least as good, if not better."
The McCanns started the day with a sofa-style chat on the German television Sat1 breakfast show where they sat close together, holding hands for support before moving on to news channel N24.
Afterwards Ms Mueller, 35, who has worked for German Radio for 14 years, was unrepentant about asking the question.
"I was aware it was a difficult question but I felt it was a question that needed to be asked.
"I don't suspect the McCanns of being involved. I know it has been seen as a hard question but I do not think it was improper.
"I did not want to hurt these people, I thought when he replied, Gerry McCann was very calm and I was completely convinced by his replied. Either they are very good actors or they are telling the truth.
"If they had walked out I would have been sorry. They are putting themselves out there a lot and if they keep staging press conferences they have to expect uncomfortable questions.
"I was doing my job as a journalist."
06 June 2007
Crime | 06.06.2007
A British couple whose small daughter was abducted in Portugal raises public awareness by touring European capitals and giving a press conference in Berlin.
It is every parent's nightmare. Ever since their four-year-old daughter went missing from a holiday resort in Portugal's Algarve region on May 3, Gerry and Kate McCann have launched a high profile campaign to find Madeleine, who was allegedly abducted from the bedroom of the villa where they stayed. The British couple, who are doctors, had left her and her two-year-old twin siblings, who were unharmed, in the apartment, while they went to a restaurant on the premises.
They have already met Pope Benedict XVI in Rome and traveled to Madrid, which was the start of their tour of European capitals to raise awareness for their daughter's disappearance.
Now they have publicized their appeal in Germany since German and Dutch tourists make up the majority of foreign tourists in Algarve.
Publicizing appeal in Germany
"We are here to ask the German public for help in searching for our little daughter," Gerry McCann announced at a press conference in Berlin with his wife Kate at his side.
The couple asked German tourists to look through holiday photographs taken in Portugal last month to see whether the little girl, and perhaps also her abductor, might be in the background. When a journalist suggested that they could in some way be involved in the abduction of their child, Gerry McCann retorted: "I have never heard before that anyone considers us suspects in this and the Portuguese police certainly don't."
The case has captured considerable attention from the German media. Bild, the mass circulation tabloid, published an open letter to the McCanns from Brigitta Sirny, the mother of the Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch, who had been kidnapped as a 10-year-old on her way to school and held in captivity for more than eight years. Last summer, Kampusch made a dramatic escape from her abductor, who then killed himself before he could be arrested.
Parallels with abduction of Austrian girl last year
"My daughter Natascha was also kidnapped," Sirny wrote. "She was held for 3,096 days at the mercy of a demented criminal. I have suffered countless hours of despair. Hours in which I kept asking myself: Why? Why my child? Who has done this? Who would kidnap a defenseless child? Could I have stopped it? Did a lapse of a few minutes cost years of my child's life?"
The newspaper also quoted Sirny as saying that publicizing the case, which became a sensation in Germany, was the right thing to do, "because the worst that could happen for a kidnapped child is to be forgotten."
There is still hope
In an interview with German newspaper Berliner Morgenpost on Sunday, Gerry McCann said that there was still hope.
"As long as there is hope, we are not giving up," he said. Kate McCann said she hoped Madeleine was safe and was being cared for.
"We know there are evil people out there, but there are also confused people," she said. "We do not know who this person is. We hope the latter."
The couple also met with the mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. They said they would fly to Amsterdam later Wednesday to make a similar appeal there.
McCanns appalled by newsgirl's slur Daily Mirror
07 June 2007
German reporter asks McCanns: Were you involved in abduction?
Martin Fricker in Berlin
07 June 2007
MADELEINE McCann's parents were yesterday cruelly forced to deny being involved in her kidnap.
In a shocking slur, German reporter Sabine Mueller asked Kate and Gerry McCann: "How do you feel that more and more people seem to imply you might have something to do with it?"
Appalled Kate, 38, replied: "I don't think that's the case." Angry Gerry, 39, added: "There's no way Kate and I are involved."
The McCanns were in Berlin to publicise the disappearance of Madeleine, four. Defiant Mueller, 35, said: "Either they're very good actors or they're telling the truth."
It was an outrageous question that Madeleine McCann's parents could never have expected - and it left them visibly stunned.
But despite their anger Kate and Gerry McCann kept their dignity yesterday when a German journalist asked if they had anything to do with the kidnap of their four-year-old girl.
With an insensitivity that beggared belief, German Radio's Sabine Mueller coolly asked: "How do you feel with the fact that more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you?
"They're saying the way you behave isn't how people would normally behave when their child is abducted.
"They seem to imply that you might have something to do with it." Clutching Madeleine's Cuddle Cat toy, Kate, 38, looked utterly appalled by the monstrous suggestion.
But somehow she collected herself, and shot back: "I don't actually think that's the case.
"It's a very small minority of people who criticise us. The facts are out there. We were dining very close to the children and checking them very regularly.
"We're responsible parents and love our children so much."
Struggling to contain his rage, Gerry said in a voice shaking with emotion: "I've never heard that anyone considers us suspects. The police certainly don't.
"We were with a large group of people and there's absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this." The couple were at a news conference in Berlin to highlight Madeleine's disappearance from her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, on the Algarve, 35 days ago.
The youngster was taken as her parents ate nearby.
Afterwards an unashamed Ms Mueller, 35, insisted her question was legitimate. She said defiantly: "I knew it was a difficult question but I felt it had to be asked. I didn't think it improper.
"I didn't want to hurt and I don't suspect the McCanns of being involved.
"Gerry McCann was very calm and I was completely convinced by his reply. Either they're very good actors or they're telling the truth.
"They're putting themselves out there a lot. They've got to expect uncomfortable questions. I was doing my job."
A friend of the couple tactfully said they were "surprised" by the question.
The friend said: "They answered it firmly and dismissed it out of hand.
"It's a travesty to suggest something like that. It's totally untrue.
"I was ready for them to walk out. But, in keeping with the people they are, they maintained their dignity and moved on.
"They'd no idea there was talk of them being remotely suggested as suspects.
"They've nothing to hide and took the question on the chin.
"If they'd got cross or upset it would have implied they'd something to hide, which is simply not the case." Later, Gerry defended the couple's decision to keep Madeleine's disappearance in the public eye by visiting European cities.
The 39-year-old heart specialist said: "I understand why people are amazed at what we're doing. I'm sure everyone has asked how we can continue to function.
"We've tried to influence things by raising awareness. We've taken strength by being active. If we'd just locked ourselves away and waited, we'd be shells of the people we are.
"This isn't a tour. We're coming to centres we think can influence the search. What we can't do is look back in six months time and say we wished we'd done this or that.
"We don't want a long campaign, we just want Madeleine back. We've got to keep going. We think it's more likely she's alive than not alive."
Kate - mother of twins Sean and Amelie, two - said: "It's not easy. We're doing this for a purpose, to try to get Madeleine back." It is clear the relentless trips across Europe have left the brave couple, from Rothley, Leics, exhausted. By last night, they had held 14 interviews in 13 hours.
Before arriving in Berlin, the McCanns met the Pope in Rome. They then travelled to Madrid.
After meeting German politicians and the British ambassador yesterday, they flew to Holland. They will return to Portugal before making an expected trip to Rabat, in Morocco, on Sunday.
And still there is no let-up. The family is even planning to lobby MEPs to raise issues of child protection.
On the flight to Berlin, Gerry wearily admitted the couple's campaign to find Madeleine could last years.
They refuse to leave Praia da Luz while their precious daughter is still missing.
Asked how long they might stay there, he said: "Well, our kids don't start school for three years."
STOP THIS POISON & PRAY THAT MADELEINE GETS HOME
Fiona Phillips
I FEEL sickened by the venomous whispering campaign surrounding Kate and Gerry McCann.
More and more people seem to be joining in now and it turns my stomach. If it was one of my children missing, I'd sell my soul to get them back.
Kate and Gerry McCann are attractive, middle class and earn decent livings as doctors. This seems to provoke a dreadful envy among some people.
I've heard rubbish about how there wouldn't have been the publicity had Madeleine been the daughter of a single mum from a council estate.
Of course there would. Class does not come into it. Regardless of class, money or status, we all feel the most incredible amount of love for our children.
I've had floods of letters from Mirror readers slamming the McCanns for leaving their children alone.
People claim they would never have done the same. Apart from being utterly insensitive and unhelpful, that smacks of smugness.
Believe me, Kate and Gerry will be beating themselves up enough about what happened. They don't need the rest of us to join in.
I've even had letters saying that Gerry should stop wasting the taxpayers' money and get back to work.
I was listening to a radio discussion and people were arguing that there was more than one little girl missing in the world. That isn't the McCanns' fault. This tragedy could have happened to anyone.
I can't imagine the pain the McCanns are going through. If I was in their position I'd be tempted to lock myself away and weep.
But every day, out of sheer desperation to get their little girl back, the McCanns have somehow gathered the strength to face the cameras. They've done so with such dignity. They do it to keep Madeleine in the public eye.
The McCanns should be applauded, not condemned.
Anyone with a soul should feel nothing but overwhelming compassion and sadness for Kate and Gerry.
Please, let's stop this poison and focus on what's important. Bringing Madeleine back home.
07 June 2007
by PAUL HARRIS
Last updated at 12:46 07 June 2007
Kate and Gerry McCann were forced to answer the question that had remained unspoken for the last 34 days.
In front of a live TV audience of millions, they had to defend themselves against a suggestion they were involved in their daughter's disappearance.
The couple issued a public denial after a German reporter told them people were "pointing the finger at you".
Kate and Gerry McCann appear on German daytime TV to appeal for information about their missing daughter
It was the first time in public that anyone has even implied they could be suspects - and it clearly stunned them.
Search goes on: Kate, clutching Madeleine's favourite toy, and Gerry McCann share a quiet moment today
Hard question: Sabine Mueller
They also faced questions over leaving four-year-old Madeleine unattended in their Algarve holiday apartment that night of May 3 while they dined nearby, as well as being challenged over the extraordinary round-Europe travelling campaign to keep her name in the public mind.
The grilling came during a Berlin press conference to launch the Find Madeleine campaign in Germany, which has a high number of tourists visiting Portugal.
Sabine Mueller, a reporter from German Radio, asked: "How do you feel about the fact that more and more people seem to be pointing the finger at you, saying the way you behave is not the way people would normally behave when their child is abducted?
"They seem to imply that you might have something to do with it."
Looking horrified, Mrs McCann responded: "I don't actually think that is the case, I think that is a very small minority of people that are criticising us.
"The facts are that we were dining very close to the children and we were checking them very, very regularly.
"We are very responsible parents and we love our children so much."
Her husband Gerry, his voice shaking with emotion, added: "I have never heard before that anyone considers us suspects in this and the Portuguese police certainly don't.
The McCanns hold up a set of pyjamas similar to those worn by Madeleine
"Without going into too much detail, we were with a large group of people.
"There is absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction."
A source close to the family said the couple were "completely surprised" by the question, but had "taken it on the chin".
He added: "They had no idea there was any talk of them being even remotely suggested as suspects.
"They answered the question firmly and to the point and dismissed it out of hand.
Madeleine's parents in a TV studio in Germany
"It is a complete travesty to suggest something like that.
"It implies all sorts of things and was totally, utterly untrue.
"Quite frankly, I was ready for them to walk out of the press conference.
"But in keeping with the people they are, they maintained their dignity and moved on."
Afterwards Sabine Mueller, 35, who has worked for German Radio for 14 years, was unrepentant.
"I know it has been seen as a hard question but I do not think it was improper," she said.
"I did not want to hurt these people, I don't suspect the McCanns of being involved.
"I thought when he replied Gerry McCann was very calm and I was completely convinced by his reply.
"Either they are very good actors or they are telling the truth.
"They are putting themselves out there a lot and if they keep staging press conferences they have to expect uncomfortable questions."
The McCanns flew into Berlin on Tuesday night in a private Hawker jet, lent to them by the owner on condition of anonymity.
They met British ambassador Sir Peter Torry and the Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit before flying on to their next port of call - Amsterdam.
Mr McCann, a consultant cardiologist, defended the publicity he and his wife have generated, struggling at times to compose himself.
He said they felt they were doing something positive and had been advised by experts that raising Madeleine's profile would help.
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, looked tired and strained as they urged any German tourist who may have been in the Algarve in the two weeks before Madeleine disappeared to come forward.
Mr McCann insisted Madeleine was more likely to be alive than dead: "We feel that if she had come to harm or been killed we would have found her."
When asked what message they would give to Madeleine, there was a long silence before Mrs McCann said quietly: "She knows we love her."
Pictures
Gerry McCann displays a poster of Madeleine
Kate and Gerry McCann show a photo of their daughter Madeleine at a press conference in Berlin
McCanns hold up pyjamas said to be similar to the ones allegedly worn by Madeleine
The McCanns show the pyjamas Madeleine is alleged to have been wearing
McCanns at German TV studio, 06 June 2007
By Jochen-Martin Gutsch
June 12, 2007 – 02:14 PM
Four-year-old Madeleine vanished five weeks ago, and her disappearance set off an unprecedented search. The parents have become media darlings, and were even granted an audience with the pope -- and Berlin's mayor.
Gerry and Kate McCann appealed for information from German tourists at a news conference in Berlin last week.
First they appeared on Germany's main early morning TV show, then in a studio of the N24 news channel, and after that they were driven in a gray-blue Renault to the German government's press center in central Berlin. Now they are sitting here, in room 5/6, telling their story.
It's a story they have told countless times in recent weeks. It has appeared in the print and broadcast media hundreds of times and, as a result, the story has gradually ballooned in impact and importance. A few days ago Gerry and Kate McCann saw the pope in Rome, perhaps the most powerful ally of all for a Catholic couple from Rothley, a small town near the English city of Leicester.
Today, in Berlin, they have brought along a German-language missing poster and a small pair of pajamas. In room 5/6, normally a venue where cabinet ministers and secretaries of state explain the German government's policies to the media, Gerry McCann holds up the pajama pants to the cameras, like a piece of evidence.
Kate McCann holds up the short-sleeved pajama top. The pajamas are identical to the ones the McCann's daughter Madeleine was wearing on the night of her disappearance. The couple stands there for a moment, looking lost behind the enormous podium, facing a wall of photographers, reporters and cameras. A white-haired interpreter is sitting next to the McCanns, as is Clarence Mitchell, their press agent.
World's most famous parents
Mitchell tells the assembled reporters that anyone asking questions should bear in mind that Kate and Gerry are two completely ordinary people. But that's debatable. In fact, at this moment Kate and Gerry are probably the world's most famous parents. The McCanns.
They have done their utmost to ensure that the story of their daughter Madeleine doesn't die. They jet around the world in a private plane a British businessman has made available. They have the support of the pope, David Beckham, Joanne K. Rowling, Prince Charles and all of Britain. In fact, they have the whole world behind them. They are running the largest privately-organised hunt in history.
On the evening of May 3, the McCanns put their children -- two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie and their eldest daughter Madeleine, who was three at the time -- to bed in a two-room apartment on the mezzanine level of the "Ocean Club." The family was vacationing in Praia da Luz, a resort on Portugal's Algarve coast.
Gerry and Kate McCann waited until their children were asleep, and at about 8 p.m. they left the apartment to join friends at the resort's restaurant only about 150 feet away. Indeed, they were so close that they were able to watch the door of their apartment from the table. As the McCanns would later testify, they checked on the children every half hour.
At about 10 p.m., and in this respect their accounts are contradictory, Kate opened the door to the apartment to check on the children. Madeleine's sandals stood in front of her bed, and Cuddly Cat, the girl's stuffed animal, was on the bed next to the pillow. The twins were asleep. But the window was open and Madeleine was not in her bed. A few minutes later Gerry saw his wife running out of the apartment, screaming.
Madeleine, now four years old, went missing on May 3.
Appeal to German tourists
The incident happened more than five weeks ago, and the couple has been searching ever since. Speaking directly to the cameras, Gerry McCann, a 39-year-old physician, appeals to all German tourists who were in Praia da Luz during the two weeks before May 3 to look through their vacation photos. Maybe they show some unknown person in the background. McCann holds up a sign with an Internet address to which photos can be uploaded. Police experts, he says, will examine the photos for possible clues.
They are looking for a Mister X, and they believe he could have been captured by a tourist's camera.
There is already a suspect. Gerry McCann rattles off the description. A man was seen at the resort, he says, who looked about 35 to 40, was approximately 1.75 meters (5' 9") tall, had short black hair, and was wearing a jacket, beige trousers and dark shoes. An everyman.
Why are you searching in Germany? a reporter asks.
"According to the experts, the Algarve is especially popular among the Germans and the Dutch, next to the British," says McCann, speaking in a hard Scottish accent.
There has been criticism of your media campaign, someone says.
"Every step has been coordinated with the experts," says McCann. "You know, it's a good feeling to be able to do something. Just sitting around and waiting -- no one can endure that."
How much longer will you continue your search?
"I don't know. Weeks? Months? We don't want a long campaign. We pray that it will be over every day."
Do you think about the possibility that Madeleine could be dead? someone asks.
"We think it's more likely that she is alive," says McCann.
Do you blame yourself?
"Yes, we are the parents."
The press conference ends and they hurry off to their next meeting. A woman standing at the entrance hands Gerry McCann a note. "Information," she whispers. McCann thanks the woman and places the note into a binder -- the one containing all the other notes people hand him every day.
They climb into the blue-gray Renault, and Gerry McCann looks around, almost as if he were getting his bearings. The car takes them to the justice ministry. Later on they have an appointment with Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's mayor. It's a hot day in Berlin. They are more than 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from the place where the whole thing began. But that ceased to be an issue long ago.
The McCanns, together with other vacationers and club employees, spent the night and the early morning hours of May 4 searching the resort. The police arrived and the search continued until morning, but unsuccessfully. The McCanns called friends at home in Britain, and the friends immediately began using their connections. One friend knew a news reader, and another lived on the same street as the brother of Gordon Brown, the future prime minister.
Stars, business leaders join campaign
The story of Madeleine's disappearance quickly gathered momentum. Reporters and television crews traveled to Praia da Luz, and the Portuguese police, feeling the pressure, dispatched 150 officers to comb through the grounds and search wells and garbage cans. The owner of the resort provided the McCanns with a press agent, and as the media descended on the small community, the couple began giving interviews and press conferences. Friends put together a home page, which received 170 million hits in the coming weeks. Scotland Yard sent experts to Portugal, as the search for Madeleine McCann became a national affair -- and continued to grow.
David Beckham appealed for help in a TV commercial, as did Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese star at Manchester United and a native of the country where Madeleine disappeared. A video of Madeleine was shown at half-time during the FA Cup final, and British cinemas will soon begin showing a short film about Madeleine before each movie. Prince Charles says that he prays for the McCanns, the pope grants them an audience and blesses a photo of Madeleine, companies like BP, McDonald's and Exxon display photos of Madeleine in their outlets, the McCanns give press conferences in Madrid and Seville, and celebrities like Virgin CEO Richard Branson and football star Wayne Rooney donate a reward of three million pounds for valuable information.
Joanne K. Rowling plans to have bookmarks with Madeleine's picture printed and included with the latest of her "Harry Potter" books.
British police are planning to display pictures of Madeleine in the Second Life virtual world. And the McCanns are also reported to be trying to convince search engine Google to display their daughter's eyes in the double Os in its name on its site. The couple told news agency AFP that Google had yet to respond to their request.
The McCanns stagger through Berlin as if possessed. He, straight-backed, wears a black jacket. She, thin and petite, wears a pink top and holds a worn stuffed animal in her hand: Cuddly Cat. They want to keep public interest in the case alive as long as possible. About 1,600 children and adolescents disappear in Germany every year, but there are no reliable figures for Britain. The numbers conceal silent fates and unknown folders in forgotten search files, the files that represent dead stories, cold cases.
Photogenic parents
Perhaps the McCanns were lucky, or perhaps their case contains all the requisite elements of a media event: a likeable professional couple, a pretty blonde girl, a club in Portugal, the ocean. No subsidized housing and no alcohol. The McCanns seemed made for the front pages, suitable to be turned into icons, people with whom one can identify. And everyone would do exactly what the McCanns have done -- if they had the means. Now it's become possible to follow the McCanns as they travel the world searching for their missing daughter. Two parents on the hunt for Mr. X.
Essentially there has been no news for weeks -- no new suspect and no new information. As the McCanns run from one appearance to the next, they are also running for themselves, running to reassure themselves that they are doing everything humanly possible.
It's afternoon and the McCanns are standing next to Mayor Klaus Wowereit in Berlin's Red City Hall. They have spent 15 minutes with the mayor, but what they discussed isn't entirely clear. Nor is it clear how the mayor of Berlin can help this couple. But the room is full of journalists, and that's all that counts at this juncture. Maddie's story must not die.
The McCanns are already in Amsterdam by evening. Their next stop is Morocco. A Norwegian tourist told them that she saw a man there with a blonde child wearing pajamas.
The child spoke English.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan
Courtesy of Nigel at mccannfiles
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