The disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann while on vacation in Praia de Luz, Portugal, has left her family suffering for over a decade. The incident turned their lives into a nightmare, and Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Katy McCann were devastated that their daughter had vanished from the apartment they rented at the resort.
Last year marked the ten-year anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance. Although numerous theories and details emerged in those intervening years, it took a decade for the following clues to surface. The family’s former nanny broke her silence for the first time since that fateful day and made it clear that Madeleine’s parents were not involved in the disappearance of their daughter. The nanny described Katy crying, “They’ve taken her,” and pacing the room like a madwoman. Gerry was also very distressed, and the ex-nanny recalled his desperate search for Madeleine under the cars. She said there was “no way they did it”.
Despite the passage of time, authorities have finally identified the “woman in purple,” who was seen outside the Ocean Club apartments just ninety minutes before Madeleine was reported missing. The woman is believed to be Luisa Todorov, a 58-year-old waitress who was “watching intently” after the abduction occurred and “acting bizarrely” when news of Madeleine’s abduction started spreading.
The McCann case is still an ongoing investigation, and authorities have received an additional $200,000 to continue their investigation. The Metropolitan Police hopes to investigate the “important final line of inquiry” and determine what happened that sad day a decade ago. The Home Office has pledged its support for the investigation, saying that they “remain committed to the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.” They have also granted Special Grant funding for Operation Grange.
The authorities have questioned 600 persons of interest and collected 9,000 reported sightings since Madeleine’s disappearance. However, Scotland Yard will not “give a running commentary on the investigation while it is ongoing,” so it is unclear how close they are to solve the case.
The family remains hopeful that they will find out what happened to their daughter one day. They are grateful to the Metropolitan Police for their continued efforts and the Home Office for providing additional funding. According to the family’s spokesperson, Clarence Mitchell, “It gives them hope that one day they may finally find out what happened to their daughter”.