I need to know if Madeleine is dead or alive, says Kate McCann

 
Kate McCann: The worst thing is not knowing what happened
Kiran Randhawa1 May 2014

The mother of Madeleine McCann has told how she needs to know whether her daughter is dead or alive as the seventh anniversary of her disappearance approaches.

Kate McCann said the worst thing is not knowing what happened to Madeleine after she vanished from the holiday resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal.

The 46-year-old said the family are desperate for answers and some form of closure over what happened to the toddler who disappeared on May 3 2007.

“We obviously want Madeleine back number one, but we want an answer whatever,” she said. “I’m not underestimating the blow of hearing bad news that your child has been killed, because obviously we’re not going to go ‘OK, at least we know.’ But I’ve spent hours thinking about that and, each time, I still come up thinking we need to know. Regardless, we need to know.”

The GP from Rothley, Leicestershire, added she also wants to be able to provide answers for her younger children, twins Sean and Amelie who are now aged nine.

“Sean and Amelie need to know,” she said. “They’ve got their whole lives ahead of them and no-one is ever going to say to me they will not try to look for their sister, they will. I don’t want them having to carry this on.”

She added: “But there is always the worst case scenario. That’s always been a possibility and anyone who thinks that we’re blinkered doesn’t know us.”

Scotland Yard recently announced they believe Portuguese authorities will allow them to carry out searches in the area Madeleine vanished from.

Mrs McCann’s comments came as she backed a revamped alert system triggered when missing children are kidnapped or their lives are at risk.

She urged members of the public to sign up for Child Rescue Alerts, which will be overhauled later this month.

She said: “When a child is abducted, families are devastated and entire communities are torn apart. The agony of not knowing where your child is is almost impossible to imagine. The helplessness is at times overwhelming.

“But there is now something we can all do to help. Please sign up to receive alerts, you could save a child’s life.”

The new system will allow alerts to be issued via text, email, social media, digital billboards and to the media.

Members of the public can already sign up to receive alerts, although the new system will come into play on International Missing Children’s Day on May 25.

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