04-05-23, 07:31
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#31
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re: Weird Madeleine McCann Shrine Found at Reservoir Where Police Were Searching
Madeleine McCanns' Sister - Now 18 - Makes Poignant Statement on Devastating Anniversary
Amelie, now 18, and applying to go to university was pictured for the first time since she was a toddler and gives a glimpse of what her older sibling may now look like as an adult
BBC News 4 MAY 2023
Madeleine McCann’s sister lit a candle in her memory tonight as she joined her parents and well wishers on the poignant 16th anniversary of her disappearance and later said: “It’s nice that everyone is here together but it’s a sad occasion.”
Amelie, now 18, and applying to go to university was pictured for the first time since she was a toddler and gives a glimpse of what her older sibling may now look like as an adult.
The young woman was warmly welcomed along with Kate and Gerry by locals and supporters during an informal prayer gathering in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire. Her twin brother Sean did not attend.
Kate’s close friend Fiona Payne, one of her "Tapas Seven” pals who was on the fateful holiday in Portugal when three-year-old Maddie vanished in May 2007, was among the crowd.
Amelie took her turn to light a candle for Maddie and other missing children at the war memorial where pictures of her sister adorned the black railing and where a lantern of hope still glows around the clock for her.
Kate joined in prayers but neither she nor Gerry addressed the crowds.
Fiona, a doctor, read a moving poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson. She later shared a warm embrace with Kate.
Vicar of the local parish church, the rev. Rob Gladstone, leading prayers at the informal outdoor, told supporters: “We are here this evening to show our loving concern for Madeleine and for all young children who have been taken away from their families against their will.
“We are also here to encourage one another to keep up hope and pray for a renewal of strength even after this long time.”
Amelie, accompanied by her friend Georgina, joined in repeating mantras read out by individual people in the 70-strong crowd including “Never never give up”, “leave no stone unturned”, “don’t forget about me” and “still missing, still missed."
Kate and Gerry cling onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie, who would now be aged 19, nearly 20 , could still be alive
Kate’s uncle, retired head teacher Brian Kennedy, 84, after the event: “Kate and Gerry are very moved by the size of the group of people who turned up.
“After all these years people still assemble - some come every time and some are new and we are very grateful.”
Brian, who lives in the same village with wife Janet, also addressed supporters. He said: “16 years without someone and still not knowing where they are is a very long time. Even if it was bad news, in some ways, would give us some closure. But with no closure there is still hope."
German police are convinced Maddie is dead and have been intent on charging prime suspect Christian Brueckner - sensationally named nearly three years ago - with her kidnap and “no body” murder.
But it recently emerged that the convicted paedophile may never face a trial in the high profile Maddie case, and with unrelated alleged sex offences, because of a legal technicality over foreign courts' jurisdiction.
Brueckner, 45, is currently serving a sentence in a German jail for the rape of an American tourist in the same Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz Maddie vanished from in May 2007.
He has vehemently denied any involvement in her abduction.
No suspects have ever been charged in connection with the world’s most talked about missing child mysteries.
British Police have recently asked the Home Office for more money to keep their investigation, codenamed Operation Grange and which has cost the taxpayer £13 million so far, going.
Three-year-old Maddie vanished in May 2007
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