Who was Madeleine McCann?
When was Madeleine McCann born? Madeleine Beth McCann, who was also called “Maddie” by the people who knew her, was born on 12 May 2003. She was born in Leicester in England and lived with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her younger twin siblings. She had short blonde hair and bright blue-green eyes.
The case of Maddie McCann is perhaps the most documented missing girl case in modern history. For Maddie’s family, though, she will always be remembered as a “very happy little girl with an outgoing personality” who never fails to bring joy to anyone who meets her (http://findmadeleine.com.).
Who were Madeleine McCann’s parents?
The McCann family was a typical family living in Rothley in Leicestershire, England. Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are both physicians. The couple met in 1993 and were married 5 years later.
After 5 years of trying for a baby, Maddie McCann was conceived through IVF treatment. 20 months later, Maddie’s twin siblings were conceived also through IVF treatment. Madeleine McCann’s siblings were Sean and Amelie, who were fast asleep during the night she was abducted.
The first person to discover that Madeleine was missing was her mother, Kate McCann (Wikipedia).
How old was Madeleine McCann when she disappeared?
How old was Madeleine McCann when she went missing? The date of disappearance of Madeleine McCann happened in 2007, when she was 3 years old and just a few days away from turning 4.
Madeleine McCann’s age now would have been 18 years old. An age progression of Madeleine McCann has also been made available to the public.
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann: What happened to Madeleine McCann?
When did Madeleine McCann disappear? On 28 April 2007, the McCanns arrived in Portugal for a seven-night spring break together with their seven friends and their children. The group stayed in a resort in Praia da Luz, a small village known as “little Britain” because of its British homeowners and tourists.
The McCanns stayed in 5A Rua Dr Agostinho da Silva, a 2-bedroom apartment in a group of apartments called Waterside Village. This particular room was accessible to the public via the front door, which Kate and Gerry kept locked, and sliding glass patio doors at the back.
What really happened to Madeleine McCann? On 3 May 2007, over breakfast, Madeleine made a remark about her and her brother crying the night before (Wikipedia). After Maddie’s disappearance, her parents wondered if this remark meant someone was in the children’s bedroom. However, this did not occur to them during the holiday.
That night, Madeleine and her siblings were put to sleep at around 7 pm. Madeleine slept with her comfort blanket and soft toy, Cuddle Cat, in her short-sleeved, pink-and-white pajamas. Later that night, at around 8:30, Kate and Gerry McCann, together with their friends, dined at a nearby open-air tapas restaurant, around 55 meters away from 5A where the children slept.
The group booked a table that overlooked the apartments, which was written in a note in a message book at the swimming pool reception area. The message said that the group requested for this particular table because their children were sleeping in the apartments. In hindsight, it is possible that Maddie’s abductor could have seen this note.
The McCanns and their friends took turns to check on the children every half-hour or so. At around 9 pm, Gerry McCann carried out the first check and saw all children sound asleep. He did notice that the bedroom door was wide open even though he recalled leaving it just slightly ajar. Before returning to the restaurant, he left it just slightly ajar again.
At 9:30 pm, the McCanns’ friend, Matthew Oldfield, checked on the children and noticed that the McCanns’ children’s bedroom door was again wide open. However, he did not check to see whether the children were all there.
When did Madeleine McCann go missing? At around 10 pm, it was Kate McCann’s turn to check on the children. Investigators believe Madeleine was abducted just a few moments earlier. When Kate entered the apartment, she noticed that the children’s bedroom door was wide open. When she tried to close the door, she saw that the bedroom window was also open. Madeleine was gone.
Kate went back to the restaurant, screaming, “Madeleine’s gone! Someone’s taken her!” (Wikipedia).
Thirty minutes later, the resort activated its missing-child search protocol, and sixty staff and guests searched for the missing Maddie. The people continued to search for the missing girl until 4:30 in the morning.
How long has Madeleine McCann been missing? As of 2021, Madeleine McCann has been missing for over 14 years. With no concrete update regarding her case, Maddie’s family still hopes to be reunited with her.
The Case of Madeleine McCann: Suspects and Investigations
One of the first suspects was a man seen by Jane Tanner, one of the McCanns’ friends. According to Tanner, she saw a man carrying a child at around 9 pm. Later on, the man was identified as another British holidaymaker who was on his way back to his apartment after fetching his daughter from the Ocean Club night creche.
During the weeks that followed Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, the Portuguese police, after misinterpreting a British DNA analysis, came to believe that the girl died in an accident in the apartment and her parents covered it up. Thus, they were given suspect status until it was lifted in July 2008 for lack of evidence.
Martin and Mary Smith, who was vacationing in Praia da Luz from Ireland, reported seeing a man carrying a child on the night of 3 May. According to the Smiths, the man was carrying a 3-4 year old girl with blonde hair and pale skin wearing light-colored pajamas. The couple claimed to see the man at 10 pm around 500 yards from the McCann’s apartment. They also recall seeing the child barefoot.
The Smiths added that the man did not look like a tourist and seemed uncomfortable carrying the child. He was in his mid-30s and around 1.75-1.8 meters in height.
Was Madeleine McCann ever found?
The disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains to be one of the most mysterious and talked-about missing-person cases in recent history. When Madeleine McCann went missing in 2007, her parents hired private detectives to continue the investigation.
In 2011, Scotland Yard opened Operation Grange, treating Maddie’s disappearance as “a criminal act by a stranger” (Wikipedia). In 2013, they released e-fit images of suspects including the man described by Martin and Mary Smith in 2007.
Has Madeleine McCann been found? Fourteen years later, there are still no concrete developments about the case, and there are no clues as to where Madeleine could be if she were still alive.
Is Madeleine McCann dead?
Has Madeleine McCann been found dead? The disappearance of Madeleine McCann happened on 3 May 2007, but the body was never recovered, leading Maddie’s family and the public to believe she might still be alive somewhere.
However, because Madeleine remains missing to this day, she is presumed dead by authorities.
Was Madeleine McCann found dead in July 2012? In 2012, Scotland Yard said there might be a chance Madeleine was still alive. They also identified 38 persons of interest on July 4, 2012.
The Search Continues: Finding the DNA Evidence
In February 2013, a DNA sample from a girl in New Zealand was evaluated, but the sample did not match up with Maddie McCann’s DNA profile.
In 2017, a new name became part of the list of suspects. According to the German police, a tipster contacted them saying that a man named Christian Brueckner drunkenly confessed to him that he knew what happened to Madeleine.
Christian Brueckner, a German man living in a camper van near Praia da Luz, is believed to be responsible for the taking and murder of McCann.
Upon looking into Brueckner’s history, German authorities discovered his long list of offenses, including charges for burglary, drug trafficking, and sexual assault, which included assault on little girls. Police discovered hundreds of files containing child pornography in his possession. He was also charged for abusing a 5-year old child.
A day after Madeleine disappeared, Brueckner placed his car under another person’s name and returned to Germany soon after.
However, at this point, the evidence is, at best, circumstantial, and the prosecutors have yet to secure DNA evidence from Brueckner. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, German prosecutors are confident they have the suspect, who is currently serving time for separate offenses in Oldenburg, Germany.
Madeleine McCann’s parents have not made a public comment about Brueckner but publicly declared that they will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive.
Right now, Kate and Gerry McCann continue to work as physicians while continuing their search for Madeleine. Maddie’s siblings, who were just 2 years old when their sister was abducted, are both attending Catholic secondary school in Leicestershire.
