Everything You Must Know About the Disappearance of Madeleine McCann 10 Years Later

This year is the tenth anniversary since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a three-year old British girl who was on vacation with her parents in Portugal. The case has been a media sensation. Dozens of experts and investigators have looked into her disappearance, but there has still been no sign of Maddie. Here we have collected the details you might have missed about what has been described as “the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history.” The Disappearance On May 3, 2007, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bed while her family was on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal. An intense investigation followed, drawing in experts from throughout Europe. Despite their efforts, Maddie has yet to be found. The key question remains: what happened the night she went missing? The Neighbor Pamela Fenn, who was staying next door to the McCann’s apartment, heard a child crying and yelling “daddy,” just two hours before Maddie turned up missing. Fenn says she heard the crying for over an hour before the McCann parents arrived back at the apartment after dinner. Fenn says this happened just before midnight. The Tapas Bar The night Maddie disappeared, the McCanns were out at a tapas bar enjoying dinner with friends. They say they frequently called to check in on their three children. Despite claiming that the restaurant was as close as a back garden, it was actually 120 yards away from the room, where the kids were left unattended. Friend Matt Oldfield checked on the children at 9:30 pm when he returned to the apartment complex to check on his own children, who were staying right next door. Oldfield says he cannot say definitively whether Maddie was in bed when he checked on her. He saw her twin siblings, who were sleeping in the same room. Oldfield’s statement is inconsistent, since he observed the twins breathing and their cot was on the other side of Maddie’s bed. Oldfield would’ve had to look straight over Maddie’s bed to see the twins. A Kidnapper? A family told police they saw a man carrying a child toward the beach at around 9:55 pm. Martin Smith said it wasn’t a concern to the family, since people frequently were carried up from the resort at that time of night. He said he had no reason to believe it was anything other than a father carrying his daughter. But once the family found out about Maddie’s disappearance, they believed the child they saw had to have been her. Gerry McCann, who is Maddie’s father, was seen just five minutes away from the area where the child was carried toward the beach. The Description The family gave a detailed description of the man they saw. The drawing that was created shows significant similarities to Gerry. This caused many people to assume it was in fact Gerry who was carrying Maddie. One of the family members who witnessed the incident said she was about 80% sure it was Gerry, but there is no other evidence to support this claim. Who are “They”? Maddie’s mother, Kate McCann, is the one who realized Maddie was missing. She walked to the apartment to check on the kids just after 10 pm. When she found out Maddie was gone, she ran to the tapas restaurant screaming: “THEY’VE TAKEN HER.” Some find this account strange, since at this point no one knew if Maddie was really gone or if she had just gotten up and wandered off. Perhaps she had walked through the patio doors, which Kate and Gerry had left open so they could easily slip in and check on the kids. A Break-In The McCanns supposedly told their English friends that an intruder had “smashed” and “broken” the shutters and then exited with Maddie by climbing through the window. But there has never been evidence of a break-in. Later, the family’s spokesperson Clarence Mitchell, retracted the claim, stating “There was no evidence of a break-in.” Kidnapped by a Couple? According to Yvonne Martin, a social worker who was also on holiday in Portugal, the McCanns told her that Maddie had been kidnapped by a couple. The McCanns asserted this just one day after Maddie went missing. However, there were no leads, and no evidence had been recovered that she was even abducted. Blood About two months after her disappearance, in July 0f 2007, specially trained springer spaniel dogs were sent to Portugal from the UK. One dog was trained to find traces of human blood. The other dog was trained to detect the scent of a human corpse. Although the dogs made a thorough search of the entire resort, the only time they alerted their handlers was when they entered the apartment where the McCanns had stayed. The dogs paid particular attention to a spot just behind the sofa in the living room. They also noticed a space under the veranda in the bedroom that Kate and Gerry had used. The Car Police took the dogs to check the Renault Scenic rental car that the McCann’s had used. It had been 24 days since Madeleine went missing. When one dog went to the underground car park where the Renault had been parked, the dog pointed its handler to the trunk of the McCann’s rental car. The dogs apparently also gave alerts to Kate’s clothing, Maddie’s favorite plush cat and Kate’s Bible. Denial The McCanns and their spokesmen stated that the video footage of the dogs showed the handlers guiding them to certain areas. They also concluded that if there was a smell of corpses on Kate’s clothes, it could be because Kate was a doctor and had frequent contact with the deceased. The Sunday Times claimed the dog might have confused the smells of rotten meat from the garbage bags with the smell of a corpse. The Money Maddie’s disappearance resulted in a huge amount of worldwide attention, with many people wanting to help. Many people donated to a fund established to help the McCanns find Maddie. However, it was later revealed that the McCanns used most of this money in order to pay off the mortgage. Different Accounts Kate and Gerry gave inconsistent statements about their last day with their daughter. They gave three different versions of their story about who read the kids bedtime stories that day. The Sticker Book Some friends of the McCanns tore the cover off of Maddie’s Sticker Book and wrote down what was happening as it unfolded. They wrote that Jane Tanner, another friend, saw a potential abductor at 9:15 pm. Strangely, this allegation was not brought to light until 24 hours had elapsed. Police Questions Kate McCann would not answer the entire 48 questions posed by local police. Kate and Gerry also refused to attend the police reconstruction of events. They also did not join with other searchers who went out looking for Maddie. Drugs The McCanns gave their children sedatives. At first the parents denied giving any of their children Calpol or any other sedatives. They denied this on television. But later, Kate McCann’s father confirmed that he knew his daughter and son-in-law gave the children Calpol. Cuddle Cat Maddie had a favorite toy named Cuddle Cat. Despite her knowledge that the sniffer dogs were coming to smell Maddie’s belongings, Kate washed the cat because she said it smelled like suntan lotion. This made forensic analysis difficult. Gerry’s Loan Analogy Gerry’s behavior and reactions have raised suspicion. When Gerry was asked how it felt when Maddie went missing, he remarked “It was like being told you were overdrawn on your student loan.” This was an incredibly off way to describe losing your precious child. Phone Records Gerry and Kate deleted their phone records shortly after Maddie’s disappearance. When Gerry was confronted about potentially killing his child, he replied “Find the body and prove we killed her.” Again, this is an incredibly bizarre response, particularly since the last thing a parent in this situation wants to think about is finding the body of their child. DNA Scrubbed Investigators allege that the DNA was scrubbed from the apartment. Police could not run forensic tests because the McCanns said their children all shared one toothbrush. Gerry flew back home to England to get Maddie's pillowcase for DNA testing. Maddie Kate and Gerry said “Madeleine does not like to be called Maddie and doesn’t answer to Maddie.” However, both of them repeatedly called her Maddie and so did their twins, family and friends. Credit Cards There are many bizarre denials by the McCanns. The British police apparently told the Portuguese authorities that the McCanns had no credit cards, but their vacation was paid for with credit cards. Gerry then told a convoluted story about how his wallet was stolen - in two different places. A Horrible Smell A neighbor reported seeing the McCann’s car trunk open all night after Madeleine went missing. Michael Wright, who is related to the McCanns, told police the car was left open because of the horrible smell inside. This is the same rental car where the dog alerted handlers that it smelled a corpse. Madeline Today? Since 2017 is the anniversary of Maddie's disappearance, experts have directed the public attention to sketches of what she would look like now. Maddie would have turned 13 if she were here today. Could this be her? Or could this one be closer to her look? Despite the massive investigation, no body was recovered, no suspects were named and the police have no leads. It is not known whether Maddie was kidnapped and could be alive, or whether she perished at the hands of her parents or other tormentors. The family and public hope that Maddie may be one of the lucky ones who turns out to have been alive.